Well, I just checked the Ironman.com website to see if I got into the Ironman World Championships held in Kona, Hawaii and the news is… (drumroll)…\u00a0 that I didn’t get in.\u00a0 I had a feeling that I actually would get in this year, but it’s okay that I didn’t.\u00a0 What that means is that I’m going to sign up for Ironman South Africa held the last weekend of April 2011.\u00a0 So, I have 53 and a half weeks until race day.<\/p>\n
Ironman is such a different beast than anything else.\u00a0 But with two under my belt so far, and with my intention to hire a personal coach, I know that I will have a good race.\u00a0 The pre-race jitters and psychological torture of Ironman Lake Placid will not exist this time.\u00a0 The dilemmas with my running following an incorrectly surgically-repaired left knee will not exist this time thanks to the correct and effective procedure this past November.\u00a0 The only issue I can foresee is the ability to get in my long rides and runs during the winter.\u00a0 That is, with the race in April, I’m going to have to train from October through April and the cold weather will make it difficult to get in my 80, 90, 100, and 110 mile rides.\u00a0 Running in inclement weather has never been a major issue; it’s really just the bike.<\/p>\n
One possible solution is to make once a month trips to warmer environs.\u00a0 That could mean the Carolinas or Florida or even southern California.\u00a0 Another solution is to finally invest in some quality cold weather gear, e.g. better gloves, booties, undergarments, etc.\u00a0 I have good equipment already, but a couple of pieces warrant replacement.\u00a0 I’ve held off to save money, but this is the Ironman for God’s sake!<\/p>\n
So, here I am, already contemplating this next huge goal in my life.\u00a0 It’s funny though; now that I’m better acquainted with my brethren within the triathlon team, and with many of them accomplished long course athletes, I kinda feel like making a big deal out of an Ironman is silly, but I just can’t take it for granted.\u00a0 This body was not born to be an Ironman; I willed myself to get to the finish line.\u00a0 I’m neither a natural swimmer or runner, and it’s through my father’s genetics that these legs enable me to be somewhat competitive on the bike.\u00a0 Truly, I believe I’m more of an athlete as the good coordination I have (I think from Mom’s side) has always made sports something in which I easily excelled.\u00a0 The Ironman itself isn’t that hard; you just do it.\u00a0 I know, that sounds trite to the non-endurance athlete, but it really is just that simple.\u00a0 To be a fast Ironman… that’s an entirely different story.<\/p>\n
First up is Alcatraz.\u00a0 17 days and counting.\u00a0 I’ve watched a bunch of youtube videos about the swim and the course in general and have a good feeling for what’s ahead of me.\u00a0 Interestingly enough, I find myself comparing it to that which I faced during Ironman Lake Placid.\u00a0 And now, with Ironman South Africa in my future, I’m finding myself more at peace with the challenges at Alcatraz.\u00a0 I’m sure I’ll be singing a different tune come race morning!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Well, I just checked the Ironman.com website to see if I got into the Ironman World Championships held in Kona, Hawaii and the news is… (drumroll)…\u00a0 that I didn’t get in.\u00a0 I had a feeling that I actually would get in this year, but it’s okay that I didn’t.\u00a0 What that means is that I’m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-training"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=404"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":406,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/404\/revisions\/406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gregghgordon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}