In the Beginning

I signed up for my first Ironman race on September 6, 2009: 3 months after I purchased my first road bike, 11 months after I saw my first Ironman race and 1 year and 2 months after I was convinced I needed to "get back in the pool" and start swimming again.

The process of signing up for an Ironman race is different for everyone. However, it all starts with a small speck of thought that eventually is allowed to grow and actually becomes processed thought that turns into action.

My speck of thought came after seeing my first Ironman race. I had been back in the swimming pool for 5 months after a 13 year absence at this point. What exactly was my first thought when I saw this race? My first thought was, "these people are insane".

Let's break down this thing for a second. First, athletes must complete a 2.4 mile open water swim; swimming in open water isn't as easy as following a little black line on the bottom of a pool. There are factors involved like other swimmers kicking you in the face and "sighting" so that you don't run off course and make your swim 3.4 miles because you weren't paying attention. Next, after athletes just spent 2.4 miles in the open water and getting kicked in the face half a dozen times, they must run to their bikes, slap on a helmet and peddle their legs off for 112 miles. After biking the 112 miles (sweat now crusted on the skin, legs feeling as though they are on fire) they must now dash off their bikes and throw on their favorite pair of running shoes (the shoes that will only give them 5 blisters instead of 10) and run a complete marathon of 26.2 miles. Yes, admittedly, the first time I saw an ironman race I thought, "these people are insane".

After seeing this race, full of insane people, I went back to my life and working out my usual 9 hours a week and didn't really give it a second thought. However, in December of 2008 I started getting "the itch". The itch is something former athletes get after they have just had an encounter with this past "athletic existence". My itch started when I was swimming 5,000 yards in my community pool after work. I was ready for competition again and bored just swimming laps every week. I needed something more in my life but I wasn't quite sure what or how to go about it.

After feeling this itch and through a series of random meetings with "Ironmen" and "soon to be Ironmen" at the gym, I bought my first road bike in preparation for the possiblity of doing a triathlon someday (I was thinking a short triathlon of course). Long story short, because my mental process was long and just plain weird, after 3 months of feeling the fresh air on my face and the sun on my back (I still have the half moon tan line to prove all the sun I did actually have on my back), I signed up for Ironman Louisville that is scheduled to take place on August 29, 2010.

I don't have the exact days counted yet, but I do know that I am down to a little under 6 months to train for this thing and it has been on my mind every day since I printed off the race confirmation that is now hanging beside my desk as a daily reminder of what I need to do and the fantastic journey that is ahead of me.

I decided to call my blog "Ironmess" because that is what I feel like and have felt since the moment I got on my road bike. The process isn't perfect, there are good days and bad days and just plain "meh" days. There will be days ahead where bugs fly into my jersey and bite me, where I will trip over ruts on my run, almost crash my bike while standing still and where my eyes burn because I have been in the pool too long and the chlorine has taken control of my senses. Crazy things have happened and will continue to happen throughout my training over the next few months. It's important to laugh at oneself through the process. I think it will make the journey even more fun that way.

So, off I go on my Ironman journey the little Ironmess that I am.