I made a blog! That's still a thing, right?

Welcome!  This is my new blog about my journey to finish an Ironman, and everything else along the way.  I'm going to post about my training and races.  I'll try to post on a semi-regular basis, but no promises.  This first post is going to be a little lengthy, so bear with me.

So lets start at the end, that makes sense right?  I'm going to compete in Ironman Madison on September 11 2014.  That day will be the 15th anniversary of 9/11, the 5th anniversary of when Jenny Carter Boyce completed her Ironman, and her birthday.  There are at least 6 of us committed to this insane adventure, but I think I'm the first IronVirgin.

Now, lets jump back to the beginning.  Jenny was a friend of mine from high school.  I say was because she was taken from us all to early.  She was an amazing woman.  As she aged, she became a better version of herself.  She started running, she started biking, and she started swimming.  I remember watching an Ironman competition on TV, and thinking that it was almost literally impossible.  Then, Jenny goes and does one on her 30th birthday.  She showed me that anything is possible.  She showed a lot of people anything was possible.  She convinced a ridiculous amount of people to do the burpee challenge with her.  She made the world a better place, and she did so by the sheer power of her will.

The next year, she ran the Chicago Marathon.  I got to see her, cheer her on, and do a burpee with her.  As we were talking afterwards, she told me that it was my turn next year.  Like an idiot, I committed, because hey, I could always back out.  3 months later, she was gone, and there was no backing out.  Team Jenny was formed, and the training had to begin.

As I ran, Jenny ran with me.  Whenever the runs got long, and things started to hurt, she was always there with me.  Well, not so much with me, but just in front of me, passing me, and showing me that I could do more.  I learned that I'm actually not a bad runner.  I stuck to my training (kinda), and by the time the Marathon rolled around, something clicked.  I wasn't just running for Jenny anymore; I was running for me too.  By the time the other members of Team Jenny got to my house, I was a runner.

Now I'm moving onto the next step in my grand experiment to find out what I can do.  My first Triathlon is a week and a half away.  A friend from work recommended the Bigfoot Tri in Lake Geneva.  Training is underway, and I'll keep you updated here.