140.6!

Up to this point in my life I have never traveled more than about 30 miles under my on power. This blog is meant to chronicle my progress and training as I climb my way toward Ironman Florida in November, 2013. There! I said it and it's out there on the internet, never to be taken back. That was a little harder to type than I thought it would be.

140.6. That is the cumulative miles in an Ironman. If that isn't daunting enough, as of the publishing of this post (1/9/12), I have never participated in a triathlon of any distance. Not even a small sprint. I may be biting off more than I can chew but so be it. It isn't the first time and I'm quite positive it won't be the last. I have 21 months to prepare and I plan to take it one step at a time.

My first goal in this process was to simply get back in running shape. I feel I have been working pretty hard over the past few months. Yesterday, I ran the First Light Half Marathon in under 2 hours which was my primary goal. I just missed my secondary goal of a 9 minute pace by 4 seconds. Granted, I was helped along by a friend who is much faster and helped pace me (although I would like to run that last 10th of a mile again).

I have never been one to embrace social media and I'm not a great writer. I'm lucky if I can string a few meaningful words together much less a few sentences. That being said, I feel this is a good way to help keep me focused on my goal. I have two main reasons for starting this blog; accountability/support and to track my progress. Over the past few months, whenever I had a really good run, I would immediately text a handful of friends to tell them how I did (you know who you are). I'm sure this was annoying as hell so now I can just post my updates here to be viewed at your leisure. I'm also hoping that the few people I'm able to convince/badger/coerce/bribe into following this blog will help hold me accountable and provide support along the way. I'M GOING TO NEED IT!

Now that the half marathon is over it is time to turn my attention to my first sprint triathlon. I have targeted the Traditions Triathlon on March 31 which is roughly 11 weeks away. I'm super pumped to get in the water and on the bike after all the running I've been doing. It's been years since I've done either on a regular basis. My plan is to participate in a handful of sprints this spring and summer, try to find at least one olympic distance and then complete the Half Ironman in Augusta, GA at the end of Sept.

So there it is. That's my plan and there is no turning back. Wish me luck.