I’m moving forward on my journey to Ironman. And it’s very exciting.
During the summer, I’ve been letting a few scenarios work themselves out and see where they land when the dust settles down. I’ve been nudging some them along, while others picked up steam by themselves. Here’s what’s been happening along the journey.
I had originally reached out to close friend, who had brought me into the triathlon world, and I asked if he would do the Ironman with me, as a celebration of our triathlon friendship. We had been leaning towards Ironman Canada at Whistler 2016, because it was in mid-July, which is a great timing for our families. July is well before school starting. Well, that path didn’t workout for a variety of reasons, and that’s okay. Life gets busy and takes people in different directions. Some doors close, while others open. Timing is everything, and if the timing isn’t right, then I just move forward. Committing to Ironman is incredibly personal and unique. It’s putting a target a year in advance. It’s a commitment to yourself and to your family. It’s a commitment of time and money. It’s super fun in that regard, because you have to figure out how to fit everything into the life box. It’s super motivating that way too. To me, Ironman Full is a journey to share with my friends. It’s a big part of why I have a blog in the first place. One step sideways.
The other scenario were a bunch of PTC friends who were also doing their first full Ironman triathlons in 2016. I had pushed IM Canada (above) first with my PTC friends, but they chose IMMT due to their coach’s preferences. They are focused on Ironman Mont Tremblant, outside Quebec, in Canada, in mid-August. Mid-August is not great for me, because the kids start school and it’s a very time. I love being a part of their back to school energy. Nonetheless, doing Ironman with friends is much better than doing Ironman by myself. That’s the big part of PTC the Club part! My best friends in the PTC Club are doing this race. During the summer, more of them committed to doing the race. As of today (7/13/15), there’s about 10 friends committed on IMMT: Lynda, Bryan, Luis, Trevor, Nicole, Gregg, Ben, Barry, Johnna, Amy. It will be something very special next year. So, for now, I’m pointing my nose in the Mont Tremblant direction. One or two steps forward.
Coaching
My friend Barry emailed me and offered to coach me for the race next year. He’s an amazing athlete. Check out his blog and race reports on IM and Ultraman. http://barrymantriathlon.blogspot.com/ Barry is a cool guy. Smart, successful. Driven. Dry dry witty. Superdry wit. I’ve thought about coaching and we’ll see how that plays out. It would be very cool to have Barry as my coach. I love his wife Johnna too. She is very cool. She’s often at CompuTrainer and we’ve spent time chatting over there. I will definitely run down this part of the journey. It will be great to think about what I want from a coach, what I need from a coach. Another step forward.
Family
The kids start school in August and our school district doesn’t release the exact dates until right before schools starts. South Pasadena Unified School District is lame in that regard. Families that plan ahead, like me, suffer from the inability to set a calendar ahead of time. So, I’m not sure if the family will join me for Ironman. I would like my family to be at the finish line, but it might not work out. All in all, I cashed in all my SAU, Spousal Approval Units, today to get the okay to go for Ironman next year. It’s such a huge time commitment to train. It’s a real big balancing act to escape Ironman and be happily married. A baby step forward.
(Update 7/18/15, 10 friends now doing IMMT!)
choose happiness 