Why the hell?

Today marks the first in a long 35 week journey to the Ironman finish line.  Before I even begin to attempt to explain why I'm taking this on, I must thank my wife Jessica for giving me the green light to pursue this nonsense.  She will (and has already) put up with all kinds of crap from me over the next 8 months about how I'm tired, hungry, sore, pissed, annoyed, frustrated, bored, scared, excited, etc.  Along with Jess, the support from my friends and family (you if you're reading this) will play a significant role in helping me cross that finish line.  So before we even get started I'll say 'thank you', and I'll be sure to say it several times along the way.  We're going to have a lot of fun!

First, an Ironman is a race comprising of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, followed by a 26.2 mile run (marathon) all to be completed in 17 hours or less (let's hope for less).  It's a substantial commitment of time, effort, and money (holy crap is it expensive).  Helping me save on one big expense is my brother Jeff as he has loaned me his tri-bike for this little 'experiment', so if for some reason I sign up for this again I can then go out and buy my own.  

Second, 'why?!!!' you may be asking yourself.  There's a number of reasons:  1) I'm always looking for a challenge.  I recently renovated my house and have absolutely nothing left on the honey-do list (Jess will disagree) so I need something to keep me busy, 2) I take pride in doing things that others don't want to do or think they can't do. I believe we are all capable of more, we have to push ourselves to make things happen, 3) I think it's quite an elite club - calling ones self an Ironman.  I only know personally of two people who have completed the race.  The race in Madison only starts 2,500 racers and there are a number that don't get across the line by midnight.  4)  I dare you to come to the finish line of an Ironman race and walk away at least not imagining what it would be like to run down the finishers shoot and hear the MC announce '(Insert Name Here) you are an Ironman!'.  Jess and I were downtown Madison 3 years ago when I first saw this spectacle and I said to her 'I've got to do that someday.'

Lastly, the reason for the blog is a few fold.  I want to give people the option of reading about my training, rather than being forced to scroll through my updates on facebook.  I'm hoping to capture my thoughts and feelings to be able to look back on this and either laugh or cry.  Maybe, just maybe this will inspire a reader to give it a tri (very cheesy)!