As you may have guessed by now, the purpose of this blog is to track my progress towards the goal of completing an Ironman distance triathlon. It's something I've wanted to do since I was a kid. I've always been enamored with long distance events. I've finished two marathons, spent a week backpacking the Grand Canyon, and have read more books about climbing mountains in the Himalaya than I can count. My wife will tell you that my mornings in July are all booked because I'll be watching the Tour de France, marveling at how those guys get up every morning and ride another 100+ miles, including stages that climb the Alps and the Pyrenees. I just finished Christopher McDougall's phenomenal book, "Born to Run," which chronicles his discovery of the art and science of ultradistance running. It all fascinates me.
Is this just a pipedream? Maybe. But it's not as farfetched as many of you might think. I've been doing triathlons for the past three years. I finished my first true Olympic distance race in mid-August and felt great doing it. I've also finished my triathlon season each year with the brutal Brierman race in Western Maryland (the only flat part of the entire race is the swim). I've seen my dedication to training increase over the past few months. I used to spend all my free time trying to figure out how to play some more poker, now I spend it trying to figure out how to get in another workout. Speaking of free time, I don't have that much of it. So this blog will also be the story of how I carve out time to train while also being the best husband I can be, the best father to my three kids that I can be, and continue to do good work in the retirement business. I'll try not to make it just a log of training runs, swims and rides. Nobody just wants to read about how far I went or how hot it was. For your sake, I'll keep those posts relatively short, but they will be in here.
If all goes according to plan, my race schedule for the next year or so will look something like this:Sept. 2010 - Dewey Beach Sprint Triathlon (www.deweybeachtriathlon.com)
Oct. 2010 - Brierman Triathlon-Sprint Distance (www.piranha-sports.com/Race80.aspx)
Nov. 2010 - Richmond Half Marathon (www.richmondmarathon.com)
June 2011 - Eagleman Triathlon (www.tricolumbia.org/Eagleman)
Aug. 2011 - Vermilion Triathlon
Sept. 2011 - Dewey Beach Sprint Triathlon
Oct. 2011 - Brierman Triathlon-Half Lite Distance
Nov. 2011 - Ironman Florida
I'm trying to remain flexible. It might be that Ironman isn't in the cards in 2011. What I do know is that multi-sport racing is something I enjoy a great deal, and part of that enjoyment comes from pushing to go faster and longer with each passing year. So if it isn't 2011, it will be some year.
That brings me to the question that is the title of this post. Am I Insane? That probably depends on who you ask. My sisters and brother probably can relate to the desire to go faster and longer, after all, one is trying to get back in shape for a half marathon after having her third child, one is constantly looking for new challenges (there aren't many left when you've summited Kilimanjaro), and one has already done a half-iron distance triathlon and would probably join me in pursuing the full distance if he wasn't busy rebuilding engines for his racecar. My friends probably think I'm nuts to want to do anything for 17 hours that doesn't involve a poker game, sporting event, or adult beverages (or all three at once). But when you get down to it, the only people who have to think I'm sane are my family. So if I complete this goal, it will only be done with my wife and children supporting me and making it possible. And if they think I'm sane, it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, does it?
