The Beginning
I always knew I was a little crazy. I didn't know what it was until high school. In college, I thought there was no way I would ever be able to do one. Then, for some strange reason, I had to know if it was possible. Like any good distance runner or thrill-seeker, I wanted to challenge myself and find my limits. I think I found my limit. It was hiding somewhere in the city of Klagenfurt, Austria.
I have lots of people to blame...I mean thank...for putting this idea in my head, or perhaps feeding it. It was 2010 when I first considered the possibility. I started meeting people who had done one and people I already knew started doing them. A group of running friends put together a challenge to do the Ironman Florida (IMFL), and before I knew it, I was part of it. Then my sister threw a new card in the mix. Her friends were training for Ironman Austria (IMAT). Done. The decision was made. I had a year and a half.
Step One: Learn to Swim
This is the part that scared me the most. Considering my idea of swimming was sitting in a hot tub or playing frisbee at the beach, I had a long way to go. I took swim lessons as a toddler, but that's almost like saying I loved my tricycle as a kid, and then entering the Tour de France. My favorite line was that "I knew how not to drown." I shopped around for a gym specifically for the pool. I found one I liked (and my wallet begrudgingly agreed) and I jumped in.
Step Two: Buy a Bike
The bike I had certainly wasn't getting me anywhere. It had a lopsided tire from lack of use (2+ years) and broken gears thanks to drunken Bucknellians. I knew that to be serious about this (and make it easier), I had to get a decent road bike (or hybrid). After some shopping around, I narrowed it down to a Cannondale or Trek. The hardest part was finding one my size! I went with the Trek 2.3 - now all I had to do was not fall over ;)
Step Three: Run, Run, Run
This was the easy part. Right? I've been running since 7th grade and I certainly am built for running. I had run 16 marathons. I had it down. Oh right, this will be AFTER a 2.4-mile swim and a little 112-mile bike ride. Still, I can't drown on the streets.
Training
I thought that I would at least have the cardio down from all the running. Wrong again. Completely different. After a couple of April jaunts in the pool loaded with flailing and gasping, I decided to sign up for eight one-hour individual sessions with a swim coach. I could get across the pool once. It was the next 179 lengths that presented a problem. I figured not only would I get feedback and taught the right techniques, but also some training tips and drills. Best move ever. I struggled early on, and backstroke seemed to be easier (because I could breathe more normally), but as I spent more and more time in the pool, things improved. All you have to do is get in the water and do it.
Meanwhile my bike had come in around the end of May and I was learning to use clip pedals and maneuver a significantly lighter bike. Finding shoes was as difficult as I expected (for having very wide feet due to my extra toes). I'm still not sure if they're big enough. I went for some short rides on the BWI bike trail and practiced clipping and unclipping. Mounting and dismounting. Eventually I felt caged in on the trail and decided it was time to be a big boy and hit the streets.
Start small. I wasn't about to jump straight to an Ironman distance triathlon, so I found a sprint in nearby Virginia. The (first) big day was July 31, 2011. I was excited and nervous. I was about to embark on a new adventure. Read about it HERE.
I had so much fun that I didn't stop training right then and there! I signed up for a Half (70.3) in PA. To help ease my mind, and add some buoyancy, I purchased a wetsuit. I didn't have much of a chance to practice in open water, so going straight was not a strength of mine. September rolled around soon enough - read about my half HERE.
I was halfway there and there were nine months until the big (big) day. It was time to devise a plan. I looked up training plans, read articles, and asked for advice. Pre-made training plans are great, except that unlike a pro triathlete, most people have to work and all that crazy stuff. Don't get me wrong, there's still time to do other things, but you have to arrange and re-arrange things to make it work. My six-month plan began in January 2012.
It started out great. I was running really well, with cardio boosted by the swimming and legs boosted by the cycling. I had purchased an indoor bike trainer to do some riding in the winter and even went to a few spin classes at the gym. Then, in the first week of February, I came down from a jump shot at basketball (why was I playing basketball this year???) and felt something above my left knee. Pushing off the wall in my next swim led to some knee pain. Fearing the worst (ACL or meniscus tear), I shut down and got an MRI. The results were good - no tears, just some chondromalacia, which basically is saying I have a sore knee... I did have a slight tear in my quad, which is probably what I felt. Luckily I could still bike some and swim with arms only and the pull buoy.
Slowly but surely, after a month off, I worked my way back into training. Things were starting to get better. I was able to run. I was biking well. I was making progress in the pool. I met a cute girl on St. Patrick's Day (who recently said "yes!"). I started playing kickball and softball. As should have been expected, I had some tweaks and aches from those too. Nothing major, though, luckily. I completed my second half in May (Lake Anna, VA). I had a pretty annoying flare up of my ITB at the tail end of the run, but I was able to work that out. Before I knew it, it was June. Only a few weeks to go.
Most of our trip plans had been devised, and I finally decided how to transport my bike. The logistics were a little more difficult than I first expected, since I was on business travel in Utah the week before we left for Europe. Then I went straight from there to New Hampshire for a family wedding, and we flew out of Boston from there. I had my local bike shop pack it for a small fee and I shipped the bike to my uncle in NH, and then we carried them as checked luggage (I bought a soft travel case). It was under the 50-lb limit, but if the person checking it knew it was a bike, they charged about $200 (which we found out on the way back - got away with it on the way!). I did one last run in New Hampshire before heading to Munich. Go time.
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