What normal people do this?

My name is Chris. I am a pretty normal guy looking to do something a normal person wouldn't do- a long distance triathlon. My background is pretty straightforward. I played all sports growing up. Football, baseball, golf, ice hockey. You name it. I did it. There is only one I did not do. That was run. My thinking was "I have a car. Why run?" Actually I did track in high school, but I threw the javelin. Virtually no running involved. This was the case for the first 30 years and 9 months of my life. In July of 2006 my father had taken up running to kill time while working in Florence, Italy and had enjoyed it so much, he decided to sign up for a marathon. In December of 2007 he completed the Kiawah Island Marathon in 4 hours and 41 minutes. He spent countless hours pounding the pavement around Greenville county. He made the decision to put forth the effort to train and exert himself well beyond what most "normal" people would even consider. I was in awe. I was so proud of him. Several weeks later, I came across the taping of the Ironman Championships in Kona. Story after story after story was shown to demonstrate that if you put your mind to something you can do. There were people on there completing a full Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 miles) with a leg missing, a life threatening disease, etc. Things that should have made these people go sit in a room somewhere and feel bad for themselves, wasting their lives away. Instead, they made the decision to do something extraordinary. - To do an Ironman. After watching this, my first thought was "I'm doing a triathlon." I was so inspired by these amazing people. I still watch the video of "Blazeman", Jon Blais at least once a week. I get chills every time. In the You Tube search, type in Blazeman and watch Jon's video or type Sara Reinertsen to watch her amazing story.

I followed through with my emotions. By January, I signed up for Xterra Uwharrie. Xterra is a different kind of tri. It consists of a 1500 meter swim, a 30K mountain bike, and a 10 trail run. I trained, but later found out that it was not enough. It took a while, but I finished.















My first triathlon was under my belt. On the way home, my dad asked how I felt. I told him I was sore. I had a headache. My leg was bleeding. I was starving. It could not get much worse. Why in the world would someone sign up for one of those things? Once I got home, I pretty much went straight to bed. I was physically and emotionally drained. I had enough for one day. The next morning I woke up around 8:00 am. By 8:15, I had found another tri. The Greenville Sprint Tri. I had to ask myself if I was either numb, dreaming or dead? Why would I even consider another one? I don't know, but I signed up two weeks later. I was in for August.

August came and went and I finished my second tri. I did it in 1 hr 58 minutes. I had hoped for 1 hr 30 min., but I got a flat and had no repair kit. After looking at my time, if I wouldn't have had to walk for 40 minutes, that would have put me in 12 minutes better than I had hoped for. Not bad for two weeks of training and 0 times riding a road bike.

Just as with the Xterra, the next morning, I was looking for another tri. This time, I know why I was looking the first time~ It was a freaking blast!!! I watched Blazeman's video and came across what I had been waiting for: Ironman Augusta 70.3. (1.2 mile open water swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile (1/2 marathon) run). I don't have the time to train for the full IM, so 1/2 will do for now. I made the commitment. I joined a gym that had a 25 meter pool, spinning classes (for the winter), and plenty of treadmills (for the winter). Since the event is a little pricey, I have yet to register, but do watch the entries carefully to ensure I don't miss out. I will be in Augusta, GA racing in an Ironman 70.3 in September of 2009 racing on inspiration and motivation from my father, Joe, my wife Sara and the others who said "I will do this".