Day Before Ironman

 The night before

It is the day before the Alaska Ironman race. I started this ludicrous adventure exactly 1 year ago. At the time Emily and I were training for her first ever half marathon. We were doing great and loving the training. She did great incidentally. While at work a social worker named Sarah Zaglifa started talking to me about doing an Ironman. Now, for those of you that don’t know what an Ironman entails, it is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and THEN a marathon. This was an absurd notion. As of that time I had never run a full marathon, never bikes over 40 miles, and had never done an open water swim. But over the course of a few months she continued to wear me down. Finally she stated her case in three concise arguments. Number one: I am not getting any younger. I will be in the best physical shape now to do an Ironman. Number two: we have no children right now so scheduling is easier. And finally Ironman will take place in Juneau. This removes travel, transportation, AND means I can train on the course.  So after much deliberation I pulled the trigger and signed up. I had immediate regret and fear which was supported by multiple people informing me of my craziness. But alas, training began. I had to learn how to cycle, get a bike, running gear, restart swimming, and learn how to eat while moving. This grew from 2 to 12 hours of exercise a week. It took major sacrifices along the way. I had to continue training while on vacations, before and after work, and through meals. Flash forward to this week. The Ironman team has arrived and all the athletes have been milling around. The excitement is mounting. Today is the day before the race and. I am relaxing and mentally going through my race. I still can’t believe I am going to attempt this absurd challenge. I look forward to updating you (who ever reads this) with my final result. Here. We. Go.