Less than a month….
Well, I have less than a month to the race in
Louisville. The training has ramped
significantly and this weekend is the last HUGE weekend of training. For those that have an interest in competing
in an Ironman someday, be ready for the last 6 weeks of training towards the
end. It absolutely buries you. The awesome part is, you get through workouts
and sessions you didn’t think were possible.
It makes you a better athlete, and more importantly, a mentally tougher
person.
As a quick update to the training, my confidence in having a
great day is growing week by week. I’m
hitting some great marks in all 3 phases.
While not every workout has been perfect or great, the body of work has
been my best ever. Physically and
mentally I’m ready to TAPER! Most
athletes feel this the last few weeks of any big endurance training block. It seems as though I’ve also ramped to 5 cups of
coffee a day just to get through J Excitement for race day is building…as I’ve
stated before, my goal is to be in the mix to compete for top 3 in my Age
Group. I believe I’m on track still and
just need to get there healthy to see what happens! I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’m over
the 100+ mile rides and multiple 20 mile runs J
A quick and very special thank you to my wife, Ana. She has been through this 6X before with me
and still does it with a smile. These
past few weeks have been a heavier burden on her because of training and travel
with work. She is absolutely the rock
behind my success in training and life.
I owe more to her than I can express.
She truly makes this journey, and our life journey together amazing. Thank you Ana!
If you are thinking of tackling Ironman someday, my biggest
advise is that make sure you make it a “family” decision. Training and racing can NOT be done
alone. With the genuine support of your
family, it can be one the most rewarding journey’s you could take your family
on.
To date, we have raised $3050 towards our goal of $3550 for
the 12 Oaks Foundation! We are almost
there and if you have the means, we would love your help in making our goal
before race day! When Julie talked about
training for Ironman being similar to the experience Matt went through fighting
cancer, I thought it was a nice sentiment.
Having trained for 6 in the past, I could certainly see where she was
coming from. However, this time around
it has been a little different. Because
of my partnership with 12 Oaks, I have been more mindful of what I’m going
through (physically and mentally). It
makes me wonder if this struggle to get to the start line could ever really
compare with what Matt was going through.
You see, at the “finish line” for me will be something
inspiring, exciting, and a feeling full of gratitude. Matt’s “finish line” was something entirely
different. I can’t imagine the strength
he had and showed when he knew that the outcome wasn’t going to be a “vacation
to Hawaii.” The cool part, the
“inspiring and feeling of gratitude” has made a long lasting impact through his
memory.
Like most things, this race will come and go, and become a
fond memory. It’s my ultimate goal
though to use this platform to help continue to grow the impact that Matt and
12 Oaks are making in the future. So
far, so good!
So, I’ll post another blog the weekend of the race….race day
is October 15th. Until then,
I’m going to keep working hard and trying to inspire others to do things they
never thought they were capable of. I
came across a quote recently that has really impacted me so I’ll share it
below. Think about it…I’m 100% sure Matt
was the kind of kid that did things the RIGHT way.
“What is each day but a series of decisions between doing
things the RIGHT way, or the EASY way.”
Dave
