05/18/07: Florida 1/2 Ironman

In September 2005 at a Tony Robbins Seminar in Palm Springs, Life Mastery, I had an interesting experience that I'm sure many of you have had...I opened my mouth and some words came out before my brain had a chance to get in the way. At the time, I didn't quite realize how much those words would change my life going into the future.

Those absurd and seemingly unachievable words that I uttered in front of 80 or so people were "I'm going to do an ironman within 5 years." Well, fast forward a year and a half. Two marathons and a bunch of shorter triathlons later, this weekend I'll be half way to my goal.

On Sunday May 20 at Disney World in Orlando, I'll be joining 2,200 of the fittest and most committed professional and amateur athletes on the planet to do a half ironman: a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run. My competition: the clock, my determination, and my ability to endure pain. What's at stake?

A spot for Ironman Florida in November. With the exception of the world championships in Kona, there's no need to qualify for ironman events, UNLESS they're sold out. Well, as luck would have it, Ironman Florida sold at in 45 minutes last November. The good news: there are 50 spots up for grabs this weekend, and I REALLY want one of them.

As Lance Armstrong once said, "Be brave and fight like hell. Pain is temporary, but quitting is forever." Come to think of it, Lance did triathlons as a kid...hmmm.......

Since I started training for the Rock n Roll Marathon back in Jan 06, a lot of people have come and gone in my life, circumstances have definitely changed, but two things have remained constant: Kramer, the best dog in the world, and my focus on becoming an ironman.

I decided to start writing this blog for a few reasons:

1. I've lost touch with way too many of you over the last couple of years, and maybe now would be a great time for us to re-connect. Seems like as good a time as any.
2. For all of my good friends, family and acquaintances, this seems like a great way to stay connected.
3. There is no foreground without background. As I continue on this crazy adventure, this is a great place for me to track my progress and training. Public commitment got me into this in the first place, so why not keep doing what already works.

It took me about a year to get to a point where I could start the 13 week training for the half. Thirteen weeks is about to come down to one very brief moment in time (if you consider a 6-8 hour race brief). As my training tapered off, my energy definitely started growing, now turning into nervous anticipation.

I know what to expect in a marathon: at about 22 miles, you hit a wall and life sucks. To quote a good friend (you know who you are), "fuck running, I hate this."

There's still a lot of unknowns for the 1/2 ironman. Did I train right for the race? Absolutely. Can I swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13.1 miles? Yip. Will I be able to do all three, one after another on race day? Certainly. Am I going to hit a massive wall and suffer through the last countless miles and hours? Probably.... just have to wait and see.....

Check back in the next few days. I plan to to put up one more post prior to the race, partly for me, and partly for you.

For now, it's off to do some more carbo loading and to start packing everything for the race...it's amazing how much crap it takes to go 70.3 miles in a day :)

Andy

Live with purpose....Enjoy the Adventure