A Dear John Letter

Thirty-four weeks and seventeen hours - that's the amount of time separating me from the title "Ironman". On September 11, 2011 I'll be competing in Ironman Wisconsin which is a triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run - a total 140.6 miles. There will be plenty of time over the next 8 months to talk about the race though. First, I thought I'd start with some background as to how I got here.

2009:
I joined USA Fit Philly in the spring and run the Broad St. Run (10 miles), the Philadelphia Distance Run (13.1 miles) and my first marathon that fall in Harrisburg, PA. Wrapped up the season thinking that was all well and good, but was looking for something new. Around the same time I catch up with an old friend from work and find out he's about to compete in Ironman Florida*. The wheels in my head start turning.

2010:
I joined T3 Triathlon a tri team based out of Philadelphia. I sign up for two races: a sprint and an Olympic distance race. My only goal for this year is to finish races. I'm not racing for speed. I throw in a duathlon, the Broad St. Run, the Jersey Shore Half Marathon and a few other races along the way. My Olympic race occurs at the end of July, and I then realize there's a lot of the season left. It's too late to start training for a marathon, but I don't want the time to go to waste. I also find it hard to train when I don't have a target to shoot for.

I need to figure something out, so I take this question to my Thursday morning run group. Fellow T3'er and Thursday morning runner, my friend Marita says I have two options: 1) Go for a few more sprints and go for speed or 2) Go long! Not being the fastest, I opt for choice two and finish my season with a half-Iron distance race - the Delaware Diamondman. Not having started the season looking to do a 70.3 mile race, I'm happy finishing in just over 6 hours.

I finished the year running a lot and took some time off from the pool and the bike, but now it's 2011. It's time to get back in the water, hit the bike trainer and log more miles running. I hope to get at least one post up a week as we go along, but I can't promise any precise schedule. Here we go...

*I promised my friend John I would give him credit in my first entry not only for the Ironman inspiration but also for a blogged journal covering the training. My wife on the other hand would like to take a moment to blame John for what he's helped get me in to. We both thank you sincerely.