Race Previews

Jessica's Iron Quest - "I Had Not Earned it Yet."

Friday, 28 June 2019 23:10

ED. We found this cool story about a Brainerd triathlete Jessica DeShaw on Facebook. ..

By Conrad Engstrom (brainerddispatch.com)

Jessica DeShaw remembers not crying despite not finishing her first ever Ironman triathlon in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.
She got pulled off at mile 17 of the run because she didn't make the marker in time.

"I did not know how to train in the heat and that was something that held me back," DeShaw said. "I remembering not crying because when they pulled me off I realized I had not earned it yet."

An Ironman triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run in that order. To put that in context, a regular triathlon consists of a 0.93-mile swim, 24.8-mile bike and a 6.2-mile run.

DeShaw, a Brainerd mother of three sons, started training for Ironman after going through postpartum depression after having her third son. After losing weight she ran in her first 5K run in 2015 and then competed in the Baxter triathlon a year later. After swimming the first leg of the Baxter triathlon, she told her husband she would never do a triathlon again. She finished the bike leg in last place, but as she crossed the finish line and completed her first triathlon she felt great. A few days later, DeShaw was hooked and wanted to sign up and train for an Ironman triathlon.