So I signed up for an Ironman

December 30th, 2011 I had a crazy moment and signed up for Ironman Wisconsin. A week earlier, my friend whom I biked with all during my half-ironman training in 2010 had facebook messaged me to say she had signed up for it. From the moment I read that message and then realized entries were still available (for 2X the price for "charity"!) I knew that I would end up signing up as well in order to check off the #1 item on my bucket list.

What led to this? Well, it has truly been a journey of a lifetime leading up to this. I have always been a bigger girl. During high school, I managed to lose a bunch of weight and started going to the gym. My senior year a local gym offered a scholarship opportunity for which I had to go to the gym 3X a week and I got hooked. I ended up going 5-6 times a week and realized I had a love of exercise.

Unfortunately, in college I forgot about that and I gained way more than the freshman 15 and didn't exercise the first two years. The summer after my second year of college I rediscovered my love for the gym and also took up running which I kept up the rest of college, doing two army ten milers with my dad.

Then, my fourth year of college I made a decision that truly changed my life. See, the summer before I followed my friend Graham's journey as he biked across the country with an organization called bike and build that raises money for affordable housing. Although I hadn't ridden a bike since I was 8 or 9 and really didn't remember how, I signed up to bike from Boston to Santa Barbara after my fourth year of college before becoming a real adult.

That summer was filled with ups and downs (you can read my blog from that time for all the painful details) but it was such an amazing learning experience for me. I learned that I was capable of biking 80 miles day after day (which has really altered my definition of a "short" bike ride to 20-30 miles). I learned that both physically and mentally I was strong enough to push through adversity and it gave me such confidence about myself.

The hardest part of the summer was getting sick for 2-3 weeks of the trip and being unable to bike those days. It ended up leaving me feeling slightly unfulfilled. I think that actually is the greatest thing that has happened to me. Since coming back from the trip (and after a year of not working out and navigating the working world), I started going to the gym before work and have worked out 4-6 times a week for the last 2 1/2 years. I have run 2 10 milers, 2 half marathons, 3 marathons, and have done 1 sprint triathlon, 2 olympic triathlons, and one half-ironman. As my brother says, I can't do things half way.

So now I have signed up for an Ironman September 9th, 2012. When I joined Team Z (a triathlon training team I will write more about later) a year and a half ago, they were training for Ironman Wisconsin and since that point it's been in my head. It's goes through wonderful scenic farmland and is cooler than several other options. It is also nicknamed Ironman "Moo" and has a bunch of cow print apparel. After years of saying I want to do an Ironman, I realized that now is the best time to do it. I changed jobs this summer and left public accounting so I finally have time to really train and won't have a busy season that goes until May. I have friends but no kids or dogs that I have to worry about making time for. And while I may not be in public accounting, my job will only get more all-consuming as I gain more experience so my free time to train in the future will be limited. Based on all of this now is the time to do it. Plus the world is ending in December so I better do it now!

I am excited for this summer but still overwhelmed at all of the training before me, especially considering how tired I already am. Due to my horrific memory (I barely remember most of my life), I am hoping that this blog will be a way to track my journey and to remember it in the future. I hope that whoever reads this blog enjoys coming along on this journey with me.

More to come...