Well, today I did something I've been trying to convince myself NOT to do my first triathlon season. I signed up for a half Ironman. On October 23 I'll be competing in Ironman 70.3 in Austin, TX. This is exactly 5 months or 152 days away. I chose Austin for 2 reasons: date and proximity. October is a good time of year for me, and it gives me 5 months to prepare. Austin is also only a few hours away, so I won't have to spend a lot of time traveling. I don't know much about Austin, but I do know that it's hilly.
This race consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run (half marathon). While I have been cycling for a few years, I'm not very strong on the hills. In fact, they kill me! There will be lots of hill work in my future. I recently completed a half marathon, so I do have experience with this running distance...just not after biking 56 miles of rolling hills. The swim! I've been swimming less than 5 months. My first open water swim in a race was a disaster. I'm not being modest when I say this. Swimming in a pool vs. swimming in open water is very different. The swim will be my biggest challenge!
I haven't figured out a training plan yet. From what I read, 20 weeks seems to be enough time to prepare. This means I have 2 weeks to figure out what my 20 week plan will look like. Luckily I train and race with an amazing triathlon group, North Texas Multisport (NTM), so I have lots of brains to pick. Without the support I get from these people, I wouldn't even consider doing something like this.
"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it." - stolen from Ironman facebook post
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