Marathons are for fast runners.

Marathons are only for fast people.. Everyone else should just donate their entry fee to a good cause and call it a day. http://www.slate.com/id/2149867/?GT1=8592 And real bikers must ride bikes that have more than one gear, and the ability to coast. http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=1734#cmt
I grow weary of the hate speech in articles like these. They only exist to get hits (and here I am providing links). I'm here to say, "If you want to run a slow marathon. Go for it!" If you want to ride a bike, or a fixed gear bike, DO IT! Whatever turns your crank, gets your attention and gets you movin. GO! Buy a dog and walk it. Run your first 5k. Do a hand stand. Claw you way to your first 16 hour 59 minute Ironman finish time. Let the nay-sayers be left behind, content in their misery.

Sigh of Relief

It was a tough day out there at Ironman Wisconsin yesterday. Windy, low 60's temperature, and raining. That didn't stop me from fretting about signup this morning. The past five years, I've watched, read about, and followed countless triathletes who've found themselves toeing the line at Ironman Wisconsin. Now, I'm as ready as I'll ever be.
The Iroman journey has started a bit stressfully though.. First, find out when signup is. Be home. From there, it's much like trying to get tickets to a U2 concert online.. Only there are only 2000 tickets, and they are much more non-transferrable. Rumor is "the show" sold out in 75 minutes. In between the kids first day of pre-K and a doctor's appointment for my wife, I managed to throw down almost 500 dollaros on the opportunity to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run a marathon on the same day.
Once registration was confirmed, I sighed in relief. Now all I have to do is kick back and relax... Sometime between now and then, I'll put in the training miles which will hopefully bring me across the finish line. See ya there!

This Is It.

After a pause in blogging.. Here I am. Sorry to the vast sea of fans that religiously read my blog.

The goal was to finish Racine my way, whatever that meant. This year I did that. I had a "good" race. While my swim was not fast, I managed to get out of the water feeling well and ready to go on the bike. I cut 10+ minutes off the bike. And for the second time in 4 tries, I "ran" the entire run (minus aid stations).
Fast forward to September.... This coming weekend is the 5th Ironman Wisconsin . Since 2002 (when I volunteered), I have had this race "on my radar". I wanted to go in with some idea what I'm in for. So, I decided to do the Racine 1/2 until "I got it right". That did not mean "fast" or "winning" or anything.. But, I think I have some idea what time I have to train and what I can put into Ironman training. See paragraph one. Send me a link to this post in one year! That said, I'll be on active.com come Monday morning clicking the submit button. The start of one wild ride.