The Road to the Ironman – 10 days

I have notice it has been awhile since I posted something on the Ironman. That might have been a good idea because I am sure there are a few of you out there getting a little tired of hearing about this thing called an Ironman. Plus believe it or not I am actually getting a bit tired writing about it too, I wish it would get here already. So what to write about this time?

Ironman Louisville

Kim and I spent some time in Louisville last weekend. 1st it was a nice little vacation break from everything going on in our lives. 2nd I wanted to see an Ironman from a spectators point of view and to simply watch as the day progressed to the finish. The weekend started out with a unique feeling. It felt like I was dumped into some type of triathlete village. I wasn’t the odd one, we were all alike. I had a few conversations with people doing the race and when they found out I was there to support them and doing IMWI in two weeks the conversations really perked up. Kim was great all weekend we must have walked over 20 miles, but worse we stood for hours watching everything. Who knew standing could be so painful to ones feet and legs. On Saturday we also took in the Louisville Slugger museum, a place called Glass Works that allow you to make your own art out of glass (I made an IM logo sun catcher, surprised?!?) and we took in a AAA baseball game (Louisville Bats vs. the Toledo Mudhens). Walking 20 miles seemed to be impressive but with the baseball food, one large and wonderful sundae and lunch at Hooters it was a good thing we walked that far. Sunday was an early morning. It was already warm and humid as we walked to the swim start. Most Ironman’s start as a mass start, but this one had each participant jumping off a pier one by one. We really couldn’t see much so we walked along the river until we got to the swim finish. 45 minutes after the cannon went off the first guy was coming out of the water (this is very very fast) about 8 minutes later more swimmers started to come out. What I really enjoyed was watching the later swimmers (people like me). My first thought was I wonder what their thoughts were. I started to focus on peoples eyes. The eyes really do tell the story. Just by watching eyes you can tell if someone is having a good day or a bad day.

As most the of the swimmers were out of the water and on their bike, there really isn’t much for a spectator to do. So what did we do? We had ice cream and took a long nap. Hey someone had to do it and I do those two things very well. In fact I wonder if there is a race that… nah just a thought. We woke in time to watch the riders come in and I found myself doing the same thing. I watched their eyes. You could tell most were just happy to be off that bike after 112 miles. I started to hear there were a good number of people stopping on the bike and quitting. In some ways I can’t blame them it was over 90, the humidity was thick and there was no cloud cover. Kim and I waited to the bike cut off time and walked our way to the finish line. It amazing the the pros had already finished the race. I mean how can someone make something so difficult look so easy? Oh well I really wanted to see the “real” people and have Kim experience the pure joy of an Ironman finish. If those who read this come away with one thing in my experiences this is it. COME TO AN IRONMAN FINISH (8pm to midnight). You will see things that will inspire even the coldest heart. You have 17 hours to finish, the last finisher 16 hours, 59 minutes and 45 seconds. Truly remarkable! It still hasn’t sunk in that will be me in 10 days. Well I walked away getting out what I wanted, which was inspiration. Thank you to all the finishers at Louisville. The weather made a tough race even tougher, you are truly IRONMAN!

The other reason I haven’t written a post in awhile… I have been thinking (here are just a few of my thoughts).

Has it really been almost a year since I signed up for the Ironman? As the days drag by I can say what happened to the last 360 or so days?

People ask me how long will it take? My response has been I paid for 17 hours, I should use all 17 hours. Truthfully I am not sure how long it will take me. It is my first, my goal is to finish but it would be nice to finish sooner than later.

How often does one get to stare down the biggest thing one has ever decided to take on? I have been staring at this for almost a full year. It has changed me. I am a better person. Seriously, how many can say this? If you have been following me and all these posts, THIS IS THE BIGGEST THING I HAVE EVER TAKEN ON IN MY LIFE! I don’t mean to be dramatic, but this is so much bigger than me.

I am about to join a great family of people. Sure there are a few boneheads out there but doesn’t every family have a bonehead or two?

I talk about this being a journey and sadly this chapter is about to close but it is only a chapter, the book continues. It has been an interesting chapter to say the least. Starting with my weight loss and finishing up being an Ironman closes this chapter perfectly.

Live in the moment! No four words have become more important in my life. You can’t worry about the past because the past is past. You can’t worry about the future because it hasn’t happened yet. You can only control right now, make the right decisions and the future will be bright.

So in 10 days I will take on the biggest single event in my life. Will there be more? Sure hope so, because this journey has just begun!

Totals:

Running Miles: 779.50

Number of Hours: 120:55

New shoes: 260.50 miles (for my record keeping)

Newest New shoes: 7.5 miles

Biking Miles: 1,788.00

Number of Hours: 105:40

Swimming Miles: 78.54 miles or 138,238 yards

Number of Hours: 34:00

Swimming laps (25 yard pool): 5,350 lengths or 2,675 laps

Weightlifting hours: 26:00

Stairs in Cancun: 1:05

1 pathetic game of volleyball: 1 hour

TOTAL HOURS – 301 hours and 00 minutes