At The Beginning.... Again

Welcome to my blog! I am finding myself at the beginning of the journey towards ironman for the 2nd time in as many years, and I thought it would be fun to share the ride.

You see, this whole exercise to the point of ironman thing started about 6 years ago. I was running a little, up to 5k and 10k races, but always had "run a marathon" on my life-checklist. I received a postcard from UCP (United Cerebral Palsy) for a fundraiser marathon race they were doing. In Monaco. I thought to myself - well, if you're going to do one, Monaco's about as great a place as any! So I signed up. That was early spring 2001. The race was in November of 2001, so there was plenty of time to train. Sadly, 9/11 happened inbetween sign up and race day. Many, many people dropped out from fear of flying to Europe as a group of Americans, but about 50 or so of us stuck with it. Much to the dismay of our UCP coordinators, most of us decided to wear temporary american flag tatoos in honor of the people that died/were injured/had their lives destroyed simply because they went to work at the WTC in NYC that horrible day in September. We weren't sure how the people in France, Monaco, or Italy (we ran through all 3 countries) would react, but it was important for us to be proud of our country and honor our fellow americans. I have to say, I cannot count the number of people that touched me that day. Some with their eyes, some with their hands, and others still with their voices. The support for us was almost as unreal as the concept of running 26.2 miles all at once. Anyway, at the finish I said, loudly, "I will never, ever, #&*%ing do that again in my life!!" Of course, my second marathon came along about 6 months later, and I will soon complete #7. You see, I met Tri-dog mom during this training, and after the race we started spending a lot of time together. Next thing you know, we're running together, training for a marathon together, moving-in together, wow - we're married!! Daily exercise had just become a part of life. And strange things happened. I felt better. hmmmm... I kinda like this! I remembered seeing the ironman on TV when I was younger, and was drawn to triathlon. Absolutely fascinated by it. I just had to try one. I'll tell you the story of the beginnings of trishane in a future post. But for now, back to the beginning....

Last year, I started training for IM Wisconsin in April, and raced on Sept. 10,2006. If you've heard about the race you undoubtably know that the weather conditions were dreadful. 50 degrees, raining ALL DAY, windy. Well, I'm from Arizona. I was prepared for temps in the 90's, even the 100's, but not 50. Luckily for me (but not tri-dog mom), I'm a pretty stubborn guy once I decide I'm going to do something. I just kept moving, no matter what. I'll attach or post my race report, and a pict or two, once I figure out how to work those features of the blog. As I started the run, K (tri-dog mom) told me she had been offered her dream job while I was on the bike - to work from hom with our friend IronMomo. That meant that I could sign up for IM Couer D'Alene and race with my friends!! Of course, at the time, I was mostly trying to stop shivering and keep moving forward, but I think she could tell I was happy for her?!? We have 7 athletes competing in the race, so it will be a lot different than Wisconsin (just me). So here I am, at the beginning. This week is my first week of a 20 week training plan. I am not in racing shape right now, for sure, but I do feel like I'm already ahead of last year's week one. So, off we go. 11 workouts per week, 19 1/2 weeks to go. As you read, I hope you get even a fraction of the pleasure I will get through all this suffering, pain, sleep loss, and achievement. Enjoy the ride...