The Start

A picture can inspire in many ways, so I thought I would show everyone what finally inspired me to sign up for an Ironman triathlon and by everyone I mean the select few who may actual read this.

This dude did IM Wisconsin this year (fairly hilly course) on a less than ideal bike, but was able to complete the course within the cutoff time of 17 hours.  He swam 2.4 miles, biked 112, and then ran 26.2 miles.  

Please note its a hybrid that is ridden upright (lots of drag for 112 miles) and he rode for eight hours then ran a marathon.  I can't imagine the pain he felt when he took a shower after the race since he decided to race in what I consider chaffing inducing clothing.   Maybe that explains the look on his face..

In a sport that a lot folks spend an obscene amount of money to look "fast" and one up each other, this dude is a nice contrast to them. 

So after I stumbled across his picture/story, I decided to stop procrastinating and to take care of something I wanted to do since I was a twelve years old.  I signed up for Ironman Florida and I am looking forward to next November !!! (a bit scared as well)

After signing up for the race, step 2 is starting a blog about how cool you are since you are training for an Ironman, so I finally pulled the trigger on getting this blog thing rolling.

Step 3 is actually training, but that can wait.

Back to blogging, you may ask why another guy writing about exercising and training for an Ironman ?  Aren't there like a thousand of those already?  Yep, you are right there are a lot of them out there.

So for my first post I will be the reasons why :

Top Five Reasons To Blog

1.  I want to write about this experience, so I can savor the details after the race is over.  

2.  It will help me stay focused on my training over the next eleven months.  Most of my training is done alone and this will helps me hold myself accountable if I am actually writing stuff down.  I will just pretend there are lots of folks reading this and every time I think about skipping a workout, I will say to myself "what will my readers think...I can't let them down! HTFU !"  

3.  I enjoying reading other folks blogs about racing and life.  I have learned a good bit from them, so I figured I might be able to provide a nugget of knowledge to others out there.    

4.  My buddies doing this race with me will be able to see whats going on with me.  One lives in Colorado and the other is impossible to get on the phone, so this is another way to keep our group motivated and up to date on each others' journey.  

5.   And the final reason is that I want to be cool like the other triathletes out there.  Plus the wife laughs every time I mention "my blog" and thinks that I am joking, so here is to making her laugh even more! 

More details to come, so stay tuned.   It won't be all about exercising, I am certain politics, movies, music, theology, and life in general will be discussed.