What drives me

So I am finally entering the blogging world.  What has brought me here......well I could say insomnia.  But in all seriousness, I have committed to doing an Ironman and wanted to document my journey.  The last time I did any sort of journal entry was during my trip overseas to New Zealand, Aussie, and Fiji.  In looking back on my best entries I found that when I incorporated my senses and what I felt during a given situation is when I was at my best.  Going on that theme I will attempt do the same on here.

On September 11th, 2011 I will be competing in Ironman Wisconsin, the insanely grueling event that entails swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and-as if that's not enough- running a marathon (26.2).  So what drives me??  I'm a very competitive person  and very determined.  When people tell me I can't do something, it really motivates me to do it.  Also, I love battling when my back is against the wall.  A prime example of that happened last year.......

So last spring I was in the worst shape of my life.  There were many contributing factors such as women, beer, fast food, and no set goals.  I remember sitting at my desk at work and I started to have chest pains......thought I was freaking having a heart attack.  Not really a big fan of doctors, but bit the bullet and went in for a check up.  Thank goodness I did........come to find out that I had packed on 50 pounds and started to develop some health issues.  That faithful day in June I decided enough was enough and it was time to get back in shape.

With a little motivation from my boss Steve, I joined Xavier Sports Center and started to swim again (had not touched the water in over a year).  June of '10 was a rough month, but the weight started to come off and started to get back into swimming shape.  But knowing myself I knew that would not be sustainable without some sort of athletic goal.  So I decided give the sport of Triathlon a whirl and signed up for East Fork Lake. 

The next month consisted of swimming at XU, riding with Resers, and running stadium stairs-track work at UC.  When East Fork came around I really didn't have any expectations besides trying to break an hour and 30 minutes.  I ended up really surprising myself and went 1:19:00 and got top 10 in my age group.   This got me thinking maybe I have a future in this crazy sport.