17 hours...usually how long I'm awake in one day. Not on July 22, 2012.

I WILL become an Ironman.  It's not an if, I believe it.

So here I am...blogging?  Never thought I'd see the day, but thanks to some nudging from a couple good friends (gracias) I decided after thinking it over for awhile to just do it.  It's a good way to not only share my training experiences, but also have something to help remember my crazy thoughts later. 

For anyone who didn't know, I felt ambitious last July after completing my first Half Ironman (HIM) race and decided to go for it.  My "pit crew" aka Mike, Erica and Amanda helped me register for the Lake Placid Ironman.  After mentally deciding to bite the bullet, I realized I had an all day all staff meeting the day of registration (reg has traditionally sold out in hours and sometimes you haven't even been able to get in online if you didn't volunteer the previous year).  Luckily, I have some pretty awesome people who were happy to help.  And they knew before I that Lake Placid was in my future...and there was not a more exciting feeling than reading their texts and emails confirming I got in. 

And I haven't looked back since, honestly.  I've thought "dude, this is kinda nuts" but have never questioned why I decided to go for it or had any sort of regret.  After finishing my HIM, with the help of my awesome training partner, Doreen, I decided to join her in this amazing journey.  She had decided it was a goal for her in 2012, and it didn't take much coercing to get me on board.  It all ties back to a younger version on my self and some goals I wanted to accomplish.  I remember being a sophomore at The U (for all the non-NEPA or Northeast PA peeps, this stands for the great University of Scranton) in my Ethics class.  I had an absolutely crazy prof, no joke.  But he tasked us to write life goals to accomplish by age 30.  A look into what you want your future to be activity.  Dag, I didn't know 30 would so rapidly approach.  One of my goals at the time was to run a marathon.  Seemed totally reasonable being a collegiate XC runner.  This became less of a goal in the recent years, due to catching the triathlon bug (the budding cyclist and Scranton 1-mile swim proud t-shirt wearer in me took over).  Well, I guess I will accomplish my marathon goal by 30 after all...by running one at the end of my IM :)  Full circle.  It's nice to know some of those goals will be achieved. 

Taking Care of Business...this has become an important saying to me.  Four years ago I signed up for my first tri ever, Memphis In May with Team In Training.  Had been itching to get into tri's for awhile, but never got the nerve to master swimming until I started working for TNT.  Signed up as a tribute to Aunt Stella and all of my family and friends who have battled cancer.  Trained hard and focused on doing this for those who can't.  Ended up going on an amazaing trip, a blast of a weekend with some pretty amazing people (in true TNT fashion).  In Memphis, we naturally went to Graceland and saw the TCB logo plastered everywhere all over everything Elvis.  It became our crew's thing, our mantra that weekend if you will.  "TCB BABY!," we said it all the time and plastered it on our tri outfits as motivation.  It was great.  It has stayed with me ever since then.  I have it on my Road ID and put it on my rack for Musselman (picture in title of my blog), my HIM, last summer. 

The business that I now take care of.  Triathlon is something that has become a huge passion in my life, endurance sports are something I love.  From running to tri's, I've always had a special place in my heart for endurance (well, not in grade school when I told me Dad 400 meters was long and I opted for chasing ice cream trucks with Shauna).  So to me, undertaking an IM made a lot of sense.  After Memphis, I knew I wanted to go for it all, just didn't know when it would happen.  This seemed like the perfect time.  It may seem crazy or illogical to some, but seems like the natural thing to do to me. 

I officially committed in July, started training in Nov/Dec, and have been fully into the swing of training for the past months.  It's not always easy, there are many bad training days.  I try to fit workouts in on busy days when there is no time.  I'd tired a lot, and the long workouts are every weekend.  I fall asleep even earlier than Josh ;), and on my neighbors papasan while they play Super Mario 2 with Mike at 10 pm on a Sat.  But I have purpose, to fulfil this lofty goal.  I don't question will I do it...that's not me being cocky, I just fully trust my coach (Todd P Wiley), my plan, my desire to be an Ironman, and my ability to finish the race.  Anything can happen, I could get injured at any time, but I'm trusting that I will remain healthy. 

My boo (Mike) recently told me that he thinks this will change me, and I will be a better person for it :).  I don't doubt it, it already has started to.  Everyone I've talked to who has completed an Ironman says it's one of the greatest experiences of their lives.  I can't wait for that feeling of accomplishment.  I crave it.  I guess that's why the sport is like a drug, it's addicting.  Aside from alcohol, triathlon and endurance sports are definitely my drug of choice. 

Post Musselman, on my endorphin high and trying to celebrate with a cold one as Erica placed everything around me on me.

Finishing the Musselman HIM was pretty great.  After I cried and the feeling of having to vomit passed and my stomach settled (maybe 15-30 minutes later), I feld tremendous.  When I think about that, I can only imagine how I'll feel after 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of cycling, and 26.2 miles of what no doubt will be an agonizing run.  I might collapse, well out of exhaustion but also out of joy of accomplishing it all.  Tears will undoubtedly be flowing.  I can't wait to bask in the glory of the experience, to challenge myself in a way I can only imagine.  And to celebrate the victory of it all with people I love, some of which I will luckily have there with me. 

So far since Dec, I've not said "no" to much since I started training, but somethings gotta give now.  In the next 4 months, I'll have to turn down some HH's, nights out, etc.  Not all, but definitely more than I'd like.  Sorry kids, small price to pay.  Even if you don't get it, I hope my friends can try to understand my priorites.  Maybe I'll even swear off drinking for a month (crazy).  But it will all be worth it to me, to achieve greatness.  The Ironman will be and has been the hardest test of my personal strength, mentally and physically.  I gotta keep Taking Care of Business, and see what kind of person I become. 

Here's to bettering me.