Ironman Arizona Thank You's

My first post in this "trilogy" was on why I love triathlon, called: What Is It About Triathlon?

The fact is very clear that there are far more important things in life than for a grown man to go back and embrace his athletic youth by attempting to complete an Ironman triathlon. There are people out there trying to deal with real life health issues, financial problems, personal crises, and just getting through the day. Ironman, at most, is a passing blip on their radar screen. Doctoring or caring for someone who is ill, being in the military and fighting for our country in a foreign land, curing a disease, inventing a way to feed more people for less money, or countless other things would be a far greater accomplishment than completing an Ironman. But I can see that it's very unlikely that I will do any of those other things. (The closest I got was to push my idea for solving global warming by converting all blacktop, aka asphalt, into whitetop, but nobody embraced that.) I'm okay with knowing that the best I will probably ever do is try to make the world a better place for the people in my life who care about me, or at least not make it worse. I can love my family and friends, try to live an ethical life, be kind to others around me, and lend a helping hand when I can. None of that will be written in a history book but that's okay with me. And so I'm pursuing my dream goal: to finish an Ironman. And I'm sharing the adventure, as if I was a teenager who believes that the center of the universe is me, by writing and posting this. The nice thing is that if you're too busy to pay attention, I won't know. And even if I did know, I'd just say, "No biggie." And if I see you I'll just assume you didn't read on...

It's finally here: Ironman Arizona. Linda and I will be on the road to Tempe, Arizona today. Just a few more workouts in my taper this week before the 7:00 start on Sunday morning. According to a scientific study I read about, people perform best when they know other people are watching or paying attention. So everybody, this has been sent to you, whether you actually read it or not, whether you actually pay attention or not, because you've been enlisted by me to help improve my performance just by noticing I'm out there trying to finish an Ironman!

I signed up for Ironman Arizona the day after last year's event, November 2008. Since then there has been a little training to get ready for it. After about 150 swim workouts, (~360,000 yards), around 210 bike rides and indoor spin classes, roughly 190 runs (mostly in the water), and maybe 110 weight training sessions (including more than 39,000 crunches), I'm ready to give it a go. "Ready" of course is a relative term. The marathon run at the end will not be what I had hoped for when I started training, thanks to plantar fasciitis in my left heel for the past 11 months.

Mixed in with all the training there have been plenty of setbacks while trying to get here. Plantar F-ing-itis is first and foremost. I have no idea how much time (and money) I've spent trying to recover from it with doctors, injections, orthotics, physical therapy, acupuncture, heat, and buckets of ice. And I still have it! Then there have been muscle strains, a sliced hand that required stitches, rotator cuff issues, pouchitis (an illness related to Ulcerative Colitis), and a feared hernia that turned out not to be a hernia. (It sucks getting old, except when you get to age up!) And then, just to make the story better, I crashed on my bike with 1 week to go. It left cuts, abrasions, bruises, and a sprain, but no broken bones, no hit head, and no cracks in the carbon fibers of the bike frame. Even with all of that, I may be in the best aerobic shape of my life. And I've never been this lean.

Before the gun, or cannon, goes off on Sunday to signal the start of the 2.4 mile swim, followed by 112 miles on the bike, and finishing with 26.2 miles of running and/or walking, I'll be thinking how forever thankful and appreciative I am of the people who helped me reach the threshold of my dream. Instead of saving the best for last...

Linda has put up with a lot over the last year. I've been away from home to train, gone to bed by 9:30 or 10 five nightss a week, and gotten up at 4:50 a.m. before work to get workouts in. She has ignored messes left in my wake, listened to my recounting of workouts and races, provided reasonable perspective when I've thought about not listening to my body, heard about my doubts and concerns and frustrations, dressed my wounds, removed my stitches, and encouraged me to succeed. She may think I'm crazy but she supports me anyway!

Then there's Mom. She loves her sports, of that there is no doubt. And when her kids do sports, she's all in. Her enthusiasm and interest is infectious. And her encouragement to get treatment for my plantar fasciitis has been invaluable. I know she'll be a little bird on my shoulder during the race, excitedly cheering me on, since she can't be at the race herself. Being with Dad is way more important at this point. Sadly for me, Dad's Alzheimer's won't allow him to really comprehend and appreciate the Ironman anymore. I first learned sports from him. He was always one of my coaches growing up, no matter what the sport was, until I was a teenager. I know I will think of him out on the course.

Then there's all the sharing, friendly people in this sport of triathlon who have offered tips, information, and advice. One person, Gina, who I've met only briefly, spoke with me for over half an hour about her experiences with this race and what I can expect. She, and others, have been valuable resources in getting me here. And then there's the people at work who have tolerated me, allowing me to "flex" my hours so that I could come in a little late (and make up time later) after seeing a doctor or physical therapist. I have been fortunate to have such good people around me.

I know there are others but I have to mention one more person in particular. Diane Buchta's been an unexpected blessing, a gift of strength these past few months as I've gone down this road. Even though we only got together once so she could "show me a few things" with my strength training in the weight room, we have been in touch every few days through email ever since. I am what you'd call a "self-coached athlete", getting my training plan out of a book and adapting it to my needs, strengths, weaknesses, and setbacks. I am consistent and disciplined enough to be able to do this on my own but Buchta, aka XMT (Extra Mean Trainer), has added a valuable voice of encouragement to my training. Because her words come from a place of expertise and experience, having trained people like Paula Newby-Frazier, Mark Allen, and other triathletes great and small, the power of her words and the power of her feedback is tremendous. When I'm out there in the race on Sunday, perhaps struggling through a rough spot, I know that what she has said will echo in my head. And it will be the truth. And I will believe.

There...I wanted to get those "thank yous" out there before the race because, whether I successfully complete this Ironman matters not when it comes to my appreciation of these people. My next post, if you care to read it, will be my "race plan", an important part of race preparation that I first learned as a 16 year old swimmer.