Ironman in Perspective

It's been one year since I decided to do Ironman Wisconsin and it is time to put the year into perspective.

A year ago, when I signed up for IMOO, I just wanted to "do" an Ironman.  To experience it. To finish it with a smile. To take the journey.

Along the way, the journey has been interesting, to say the least. It has been hard, fun, sad, happy, surprising, unexpected, rewarding and in the end life renewing.

Just after signing up I started to wonder how well could I really do... Could I do well enough to "qualify"?  It would be a lot of hard work, but it was possible. VisionQuest gave me the knowledge and the program that I needed to both finish AND qualify. The Kuota Kaliber gave me the tool I needed to make it happen.

But it's funny how journeys don't always go according to plan. 

I finally dealt with a marriage that had gone bad. Sadness and frustration were dealt with by mega training weeks over the Winter. I helped distanced myself further from the issues by creating a difficult seven race season - plus the HHH!

By mid-summer I no longer knew if I was training, racing, tapering or recovering. That's where the journey took a turn. My mother started a chain of events that reacquainted me with my very first girlfriend - my first real love. Within weeks (OK, days or even hours) we knew we were meant to be together. Absolutely no question about it.  And, in the midst of all the racing and the training Sheila and I were married - 10 days ago on August 18th. Marrying Sheila is the best thing I have EVER done, and quite honestly I have not been this happy since I was dating her 35 years ago.

Sheila is a runner and a rower so she understands endurance training. She is very supportive of Ironman and will be in Madison for the entire weekend.

So now the training is over and the waiting and the wondering begins. Did I train enough?  Did I do enough long rides? Runs? Swims?  Do I have the nutrition down?  Is my equipment ready? 

The answer to all of this is that none of it matters - it was all part of the journey and the journey took me to a fulfillment I have only dreamed about. When the horn blows at 7:00am on Saturday, September 9th, my wife will be there.  And when, and if, I cross the finish line later that day she will be there too, and we will continue with the journey we started 37 years ago. That journey will lead to other places, other events and other triathlons - the destinations of which are unknown...

See you out there.

Introducing... My Wife Sheila

My first, my last and my only true love!

It's a "Kilt"! ---- It's a Scottish thing.

My brother, the "minister" and our best friends while we were dating at age 15 (who have been married for 27 years)

Just so you don't think I'm turning into a cross-dresser, my cousin and his son also wore kilts.