Prelude

It was early fall when I finally decided that it was time to pursue this endeavor of IronMan.  The day of the event was upon me and I was still on the fence as to whether or not I was really going to commit to Florida or continue to bide my time for a 'better' time in my life for this goal.  I knew the only chance would be to sign up immediately, there is no time to procrastinate for IM signup, and then deal with the journey that I quickly placed myself on.  I got on the site at high noon, exactly when online registration opened, and I completed my application by 12:07.  I received my registration confirmation and then notification that IMFL had sold out....16 minutes after registration opened.  Exactly 1 day less than one year and I will be in FL completing my first IM.

This journal details the learnings, self-discoveries and general musings in my journey to becoming the next IronMan.

I decided to build this journal as a way to reflect on and remember what it truly took to accomplish my goal by considering all the hurdles I've worked to overcome, the fun, excitement and support I've had in making 2012 the year of the Iron. 

Since sign up in early November, I completed my first Marathon in Philly.  I blew up at about mile 18 (dehydration, injuries, etc), but the experience was incredible.  I finished in just over 3:44, not too shabby for a first timer that tried to opt out of the gym class loop (0.75 miles) every chance he got...
After Philly, I really struggled with my hip injuries.  I was in rough shape going into it, but the marathon exacerbated the issue beyond what I'd consider normal.  I limped...a lot.  I began my rehab process.  PT, Orthopedics...none of these things seemed to pan out.  It wasn't until I went to the Chiropractor, where the hip began to make a come back (twisted pelvis realignment) however, this was at the expense of additional things creeping up - i.e. lower back and most recently, the right knee (combination of hills, mileage build, etc)

Once Philly was over, and I couldn't run anymore, I started up on the bike and swim.  Getting into the water was phenomenal.  I couldn't believe how much I missed swimming from my last training program (2009) in getting through Timberman 70.3.  I've really enjoyed getting back into the pool.  The bike - never really loved the bike, but this year I've decided that the bike is where I will make big gains.  I focused on the run last year, but this year will be about the bike, primarily, and the swim, secondarily.  That being said, I've hired a coach, Matt Giunta with Blueshift Multisport and bought a Quarq power crank with the Garmin 910XT to help me with this process.  Having power is going to be a whole new world of discovery for me. 

We're now in early February and I've been building up the volumes in all 3 disciplines, but now again sidelined.  My knee is shutting me down (never had knee problem before) and its hurting the psyche.  I haven't even started really training yet...so the continuous injury routine is getting old.  I'm now visiting the chiro once a week to get 'adjusted'.  I've been happy with the progress to date, but will need to continue going so that I can fix some of these imbalances causing all these overuse injuries.  I think its now time to take a step back, before it's too late, and fix some of these things so I can stay consistent in my training and be successful, as planned!

Today, February 3, marks the inception of this journal (and 11 month countdown) and details the process, both physically and mentally that I'll be going through this year!!  11 months from right this moment, I'll be coming out of T1 and looking at a 112 miles of steady bike riding in the Florida sun, followed by 26.2 miles of afternoon jog!