My Story
Some Slight Background on my Triathlon Career
So I have been thinking about blogging for awhile now. I don't really think my life is interesting enough to blog about, but I am doing it for a different reason. I have signed up for Ironman Wisconsin on September 9, 2012. This will not be my first Ironman, but it does mean a lot to me. My family (a lot of them) are coming to watch me compete. So I am starting this blog so they can follow the entire journey and not just the race at the end. I don't know how much I will use this but I do have more time than expected (reason coming soon) so I figured I would try.
Some background on my triathlon career (since this is mostly for my family, I don't need to explain myself). My first triathlon was a local Chicago one five minutes from home. I was no longer in competitive sports so I wanted to find something to compete in individually. I went and bought a $80 bike from Walmart and a $35 wetsuit from Amazon and figured I could do it since it was only a sprint. I did train pretty hard and was ready for the race. I had no idea what to wear, if people were supposed to come cheer me on, etc (I was clueless!). The race went ok. My bike seat fell and handlebars came loose. I pedaled my heart out and still everyone passed me. Somehow I finished and despite all the problems, I actually enjoyed it. This is where my interest in triathlons started.
For the next year and a half I trained on my own. I did buy a nice road bike (wow it made a huge difference) and competed in two Olympic distance triathlons in that time. At a practice swim for the Nation's Tri, I discovered Team Z (a local triathlon team) and signed up. This is where I discovered how fun triathlons could be. I trained for my first marathon with this team. While going through this training, I found my best friends. These are people I can't imagine my life without now and I met them through a crazy sport. Somehow, despite telling myself that I wanted to do an Ironman within 5 years, my first year on the team, I signed up for one. Since this is background, I won't spell out the details but it was a crazy year. You spend a lot of time swimming, biking, and running. You go to bed by 10pm every night so you can be up before 5 to get a morning workout in. Most people called myself and my teammates crazy (still do) but it was fun. I was in great shape and doing it with some of the best people I know. Long story, short I loved training and did well at Ironman Cozumel.
Ironman Cozumel was an experience. There is nothing like your first Ironman because I have a slight idea what to expect now, I didn't then. Sadly, my family was unable to come since it was Thanksgiving weekend. My family works retail so there is no chance they were getting Black Friday and the days following off. So I set out on my teammates and their families. It was a wonderful experience, but I wanted to share it with my family. I saw the joy on other parent's faces and wanted to see that with my parent's and family. So of course, I returned from the race and did what others say not to do quickly, I signed up for a foundation slot for Ironman Wisconsin. I had not planned to do that since I planned to take 2012 off of long races, but who can pass up racing with their team near their family? I did check to ensure people would come watch me before signing up. I can't wait to see my parents, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and friends watch me finish. They may not understand why I do this, but they will share in the excitement and joy of the day with me.
My story has changed a little since Ironman Wisconsin has now turned into a feat of survival instead of improving from last year. I just had knee surgery so like I said, it will be an interesting journey. I figured I would try to share it and shed some light onto how it is going. Even if no one reads this, it will be a great documentation of my journey.
Have fun and let me know what you think anytime.
Sam