May 24, 2007

In my last entry, I wrote, “Today begins my voyage to becoming an Ironman.” I’d like to explain that today.

My ultimate triathlon goal is to finish an Ironman. It was my goal when I first started swimming, biking and running. Actually, the first time I heard of Ironman was in the 5th Grade. My friend David Scouras explained what it was to me and, for some reason, I remember exactly where I was (in the portable classroom where I had Social Studies class in elementary school).

2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run. Do that, and you are an Ironman.

It sounds insane. Well, it is insane. But triathletes are a unique group. We like to push our bodies to the limit and Ironman is the ultimate limit. Hence, it is my ultimate goal.

I signed up for an Ironman before. Ironman USA Lake Placid in 2005. Although I didn’t train as hard as I could have for it, I definitely could have finished it. But five weeks before the race, I injured my Achilles tendon. My training was over. My race was over, before it began.

I actually am thankful that I wasn’t able to do that race. Why? Because I now realize that I wasn’t doing it the right way. I wasn’t enjoying the process of becoming an Ironman. I wasn’t soaking up every minute. I wasn’t thankful every day for how lucky I am to be able to swim, bike and run. This time around, I am going to do it the right way.

Ironman Wisconsin, September 2008 (http://www.ironmanwisconsin.com/).

That is my goal. It’s a long way off, I know. Nearly 16 months. I can’t even sign up for the event until this September and I won’t start my training until December 31 of this year. But I have the event picked and I’m ready to start preparing.

The rest of this year, I’m going to enjoy myself. I’m still going to swim, bike and run. I’ll probably do a sprint distance triathlon later this summer. I’d like to play some tennis and also some golf. For now, though, I’m going to hang up Bruiser (my triathlon bike) in favor of Red (my regular road bike). He needs a rest.

I went for a short swim this morning. It was my first workout after Florida 70.3. It felt good to do something after doing nothing for three days. But I needed the rest as I won’t fully recover from the half-Ironman for another few weeks. I won’t bike until the weekend and I won’t run until next week.

So, my voyage has begun. There will be ups and downs, but I want to look back when it’s all said and done and be able to say that I enjoyed every minute of it.