My Ironman Decision

So you might be thinking, why an ironman all of a sudden? Some of you may know that this racing season has been a down season for me.  It started off fine at the Miami Int'l Tri in March where I missed 3rd in my age group by 9 seconds. My next race was in April at Collegiate Nationals in Lubbock, TX.  The weather was cold (45 degrees), rainy, and windy. I flatted twice in the race and was unable to finish. I decided to race the Quad Cities Distance Classic 1/2 marathon on Mothers Day. Mistake. For the second year in a row I found out that my knees aren't cut out for that race so early in the year. This was the start of my knee problems. The next couple races were good. I won my age group at Bluff Creek in May. Then I didn't get to race again until August where I began my span of 6 races in 6 weeks. I got 2nd in the collegiate division at XTERRA Sugar Bottom. I won my age group at Crossroads Triathlon in Dewitt. The next weekend Andrew Bennett and I won the male team division at the Du-State-Du and took 2nd overall to a very fast Jeff/Jen Paul team. On the upswing right? Not so fast...the following weekend was Pigman Half-Iron. My knee gave out 43 miles into the bike. I was having a great race but decided the run wasn't going to happen. I saw a guy on the side of the road struggling with a flat. It turns out he was on a team and his CO2 cartridge wasn't working so I gave him my disc and waited for a truck to take me back to transition. Next up was Chicago Accenture Triathlon. I was having an AWESOME race and was leading my age group/wave after the bike. I was feeling great and then my knees decided they didn't want to run. My run split ended up being a 12:30 pace. But I finished. Here it is again in a nutshell:


-MIT - 4th in age group
-Collegiates - DNF (2 Flats)
-QCDC 1/2 marathon - Hurt knee
-Bluff Creek - 1st in age group
-XTERRA - 2nd in collegiate
-Crossroads - 1st in age group
-DuStateDu - 1st male team division
-Pigman Half - DNF (knee)
-Chicago - Leading off bike, ended up 36th in age group


This has been a season filled with regret, under-achievement, and lack of motivation. When Spencer Holten and I talked about doing an ironman, I decided that this would be something to inspire and motivate me.  It would give me a goal to train for. A goal that I have been lacking in my last couple of   seasons. 

Now that I am signed up for Ironman Louisville on August 28, 2011, I have established a goal and a training plan to achieve my goal. This will include approximately 3 months of light exercise and strengthening my knees followed by a 36 week daily ironman training program. I am very excited to have something in the distance to prepare myself for. 


Thanks for reading!