Ironman 70.3 Steelhead - I am coming for you!

     

     For about six months, I had the goal of completing an Ironman 70.3 around mid-2012.  An Ironman 70.3 consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run in consecutive order.  I registered for the Ironman 70.3 Steelhead on August 29th 2011 and the event is August 19th, 2012.  I plan on posting all of my training activities, plans, and thoughts I have during my training on this blog.  This first post is to share some of my fitness history and motivation. 

      I hated running in high school and I never thought I would enjoy riding a road bike or swimming laps.  I saw a sign that needed volunteers for a marathon and I just felt like helping out so I signed up; this motivated me to take my first run, which lead to wanting to cycle, and ultimately swimming because I wanted to compete in a triathlon.

     I had no idea how long a marathon was and amazed to find out it was 26.2 miles!  Learning that people were capable of running 26.2 miles made me want to do it.  I went out for my first run about two weeks before the marathon; I felt like I was going to die after the first .25 mile and only made it .5 mile instead of the full mile I intended.  I ran a second time and finished a mile; it continued to get easier because I did not feel sick after I ran anymore.  Over the next 75 days, I fulfilled my volunteer roll at the marathon, met someone who I consider to be a very close friend, and increased my mileage to three; I felt like my progress took a long time even though I knew I was in much better shape than when I started.

    

      I signed up for the YMCA Team 13 Training which prepares you for the Evansville Half-Marathon (13.1 Miles).  Team 13 is a 13 week program that helps you meet your goal of 13.1 miles and introduces you to a lot of information and great people.  I recommend the Team 13 Training program to anyone that wants to complete a Half-Marathon; the volunteers remember what it's like to be in your shoes.

 It isn't if you think you can complete a Half-Marathon; you will never be able to imagine the finish before you train for it.  You have to ask yourself, do you want to finish?  If the answer is "yes", then you should train.

My first Half-Marathon with a finishing time of 2:14:33

     After finishing the Evansville Half-Marathon, I had the desire to go farther and signed up for the Southern Indiana Classic (SIC) Full Marathon and training program as soon as they opened registration.  During the first run I experienced a common pain for someone that over trains or does not stretch/warm-up before running.  I took a few weeks off running and experienced the same pain when I returned so I knew that completing the marathon in April 2011 was not going to be a possibility.  I still completed the SIC Half-Marathon which is an accomplishment that I will always be proud of.

     I picked up a road bike while training for the SIC because I wanted to start riding, it looked fun!  I got up to 60 miles and I love to ride.

My wife would ride faster if she stopped taking pictures of me :P This was one of our first few rides together My wife would ride faster if she stopped taking pictures of me :P This was one of our first few rides together

     I got the run and the bike, I need the swim!  I found the Southern Indiana Triathlon Team which led me to the U.S. Masters swim team.  The Masters coach started me on exercises right away and I saw progress.

     Fast forward to now, I signed up for the Ironman 70.3 Steelhead in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  I paid for my registration and even booked a highly rated bed and breakfast for Ashley and myself for a few nights.