How? but oh Why?

  My friend and fellow TriClub member Joe and I at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center.  I swim here regulary durring the “season” at 6am sometimes at Noon.

How triathlon?  simple just swim bike and run.  Well not quite that simple there is a whole subculture, economy, theories, techniques, and schools of thought on the hows that can make it quite complicated, expensive and facinating.  But some of those details will inavertidly be covered as I share some of what I’ve been doing training wise.  But the why, now that is a compelling question that can vary greatly from athelete to athelete.  It can be a simple machismo “Duh, Because it was there” answer.  For me it came in a period of my life when I was questioning what now what next.  I had just quit my job and had started my own design practice.  I had a taste of some new freedom and flexibility in my life.  It was Spring of 2005 and I was taking a Landmark Education advanced course.  This education has you put the past behind you and ask the questions of what’s now possible?  What are the possibilities in your life that you’d like to see or become.  Sounds earthy huh?  Well at the end of the 3 day seminar I publicly decalred some profound, meaningful, and important things i’d like to make possible in my life, and then, on a whim concluded with “and oh yeah by the way I also want to do my first triathlon, and also when I turn 40 I want to do that Ironman thing.” I was 37 and naive.  But i said so in front of 100 people and later told people close to me.  No way out now.  Approaching 40 I had this thing about defying the so called “over the hill” and “mid-life crisis” stuff.  I don’t want to encounter a crisis of life, how depressing is that?   I want a celebration of life.  Hence another reason for the audacious goal.  So Monday morning, June 26, 2006 I signed up for the Ironman.  This is the crazy frenzy that is Ironman because these races fill up fast some in 24 hours.  Coeur d ‘Alene sold out in about 5 weeks.  This was especially anxietal because at that point I had yet to complete my first 1/2 Ironman distance race, The Vineman, but got some good advice from my coach and had faith that in a year anything is possible.  Sign up now worry about it later.  After Vineman and some shorter races, ”later” came in December when I got started with the formal trianing plan for Coeur d”Alene.  Next I think I’ll share about some of the people I train with and how I’m a sucker for peer pressure or better put acountability. 

Blessings, Marvin