The Start

Let's run through this the way my mind views it:

Why? Well, I have always done something athletic in my life. After COVID struck in 2020, I became extremely lazy in my standards. I gained 30+ pounds and couldn't even tell because it came on so slowly over the course of 3 years. For my 30th birthday this year, I went on a trip to Hawaii. During that trip, it hit me. I wasn't as fit and wasn't confident in a bathing suit. I knew I had to make a change or I was going to spiral more. I weighed the most I have ever weighed.

But most people ask... "why an Ironman?" I decided on an Ironman because I knew it wasn't something I could just not train for, and go out and complete. Could I have done a marathon? Sure. But I did one in 2017... With no training. I completed it in a slow time, but I completed it. I needed something that was going to challenge me, get me out of my comfort zone, and push to be healthier. So, here we are.. staring down the training plan for an Ironman.

Now I do have concerns with the Ironman.

1) I have never swam competitively or for fitness. I have no idea what I'm doing, I'm a recreational swimmer. And you mean to tell me this is an open water swim? What does that mean?! Okay okay, I get it... Not in the pool. We can do that right? But how? How do I train for that? Open water swimming sounds terrifying. But maybe I am getting ahead of myself, I still need to learn the discipline of swimming, the techniques, build the muscle memory, get the endurance portion out of it. It's a lot to process and it's a pretty scary sport to learn solo. But that's just one concern..

2) Lets discuss the bike portion. Does the bike portion scare me? Not really. I started short distance cycling when I lived in Europe in 2017. I bought a cheap bike and commuted to work 3-4 days a week. I stopped cycling when I moved back to the US in 2020. Then Hawaii happened.. it's time to pick up the pace on this workout schedule, let's get a bike! Picked up a Cannondale CAAD5 off Facebook marketplace for a couple hundred and got a few rides in and loved it. I was killing these 5-7 mile workouts! Found a Canyon sale shortly after and pulled the trigger on a nicer bike. Distance increased, 10-20 mile rides were the norm. I have no concerns for cycling this Ironman! ... Oh, the cycling portion of the Ironman is 112 miles after the swim? Nevermind.. slight concern.

3) Okay, seriously.. no concerns on this one. I could kill this discipline in my sleep. I've done it before on no training. It's just a marathon. <--- My exact thought until I did my first ever brick workout. My first brick workout was simple, 10 mile bike ride + 2 mile run.. and it absolutely destroyed me. And now.. NOW, I have concerns about the run.

Overall, this is what I've committed to right? Something to challenge me.

Now, how much time has passed since I realized this is what I wanted to do? I started my training on or about 1 August 2023. It's now 28 November 2023, and I think it's time to add a little bit of structure. But first, let's discuss my workouts up until this point.

I have had the most non-structured workouts, but for the most part, have kept Mondays as a consistent rest day. I started out with 2 days of bike, 2 days of running, 1 day of swimming, and 1 day of Strength. Saturdays were always my endurance days, and Sundays were always my swim days. The rest of the week was a free-for-all. Somedays I would go out and run 3 miles, the next day I would do a 10 miles on the bike, with strength days sprinkled along the mix. Even with it not being structured, I still managed to up my mileage and lost weight. From 1 Aug to now, I have also dropped 24lbs. Additionally, I have kept to heart rate monitoring and power zones to make sure I am not over doing it. Linked above is my Strava profile, you can see all my activities as they happen and to go back and look at where I started.

The last thing I want to go over is my goals and expectations. I want to be clear on what I want to achieve, as well as expected struggles.

Goals: Its a simple answer, I want to finish an Ironman. I am not here to compete with the best, I am here to finish. I want to be healthier and just overall... more active.

Expectations: I work a full-time job and have to realize that I am going to miss a lot of two-a-days and workouts in general and thats okay. No matter what I am doing, I am doing more than I was before. I also do not have a pool close by. If I only hit the pool once or twice a week, I have to be okay with that. Realize that I will struggle the most with the swim discipline because of that.

Races: My plan is to NOT do a full Ironman in 2024, but I do plan to do the Half-Ironman in Salem, on 21 July 2023. Yes, this is a full Ironman training plan that I am going to complete.. but its to make the Half Ironman that much easier. I do have the expectation to do the full in 2025.

Lastly, for anyone that actually read this. Thank you. Yes, its a blog but its mainly a tracker, a reminder, and goal setter. Maybe its motivation for others to see that someone is putting in effort, or maybe you just want to follow along the journey. Either way, I appreciate it and will do my best to update along the way. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out through the email below or my Instagram linked at the top of the page.

I am not a professional writer, nor do I want this to be all professional. Expect this to be thoughts down on paper type of writing with misspelled words and bad punctuation.