Two weeks down 50 more to go! Added Ironman New Orleans 70.3

I am starting week three of my Ironman training. All I can say is that it already seems like getting to the starting line will be the hardest part. I have never trained like this before. Training for the half marathons seems like a piece of cake compared to this training. Every day I have these mini battles within myself. Days where I don’t want to ride my trainer for an hour and 15 mins, I don’t want to get up at 5 to be in the pool by 5:30a. Followed by work and then workout again that evening! It is a tough calling but I have to quiet those demons.

I will say this, once I win those mini battles and get to the training it is soooo much fun. The swim workouts are my favorite. The bike and running training are pretty equal as far as enjoyment. I’m sure that is going to change once I begin cycling outside again. It is waaaay too cold to bike outside. Whatever the temperature is outside, subtract 20 degrees and it will give you an idea of how cold it will feel on the bike. In Charlotte, the average temperature during the winter is 40 degrees. A bike ride in this weather would feel like 20 degrees; well below freezing.

It has also been difficult training through Christmas this year. I just finished my targeted half marathon after months of training and I wanted to splurge a bit. The only issue is I am at the very beginning of the Ironman training. I must admit I have wavered! I ate more cookies in the past two weeks than I have all year! Well mostly because I don’t eat cookies or sweets very often at all! For some reason though, my will was weak. That coupled with working an insane amount of overtime to fund Christmas and entry fees made it EXTREMELY tough to get training in. Glad Christmas is over!

Back on track and looking forward to continuing to test myself. Speaking of Christmas, I received two key training gifts that I am extremely grateful for! My brother gave me the Total Immersion Open Water DVD and Kristi gave me the Finis Lap tracker. Thanks guys! These will be instrumental in my success!

I recently changed Half Ironman Venues. Initially White Lake Half Ironman was going to be my first Half Ironman. However, I ran across the New Orleans Half Ironman which started just two weeks before New Orleans. New Orleans is a better choice for several different reasons:

It’s an Ironman Brand race. Ironman is a registered trademark. These events are well known and respected Internationally.

It’s a much larger venue than White Lake! The equivalent of going to the county fair vs. Six Flags Great Adventures.

Because it’s a larger venue, there is going to be a lot more cheering participants. 3,500 was the estimate of cheering folks for 2009. I was concerned White Lake HIM will not have a lot of fan support! I was sure there was going to be a lot of alone time during my 6 to 7 hour race. This equates to plenty of time to get inside you head; equals mental torture.

The event is also scheduled just two weeks before White Lake Half Ironman so it doesn’t disrupt my training plan by much.

Finally, because this is one of the first races of the triathlon season, many of the big names in the sport of triathlon will be there. Natascha Badmann, undoubtedly a future Ironman Hall of Famer, and a host of other major triathlete and Kona Champions both male and female participated in this event in 2009. What treat to be on the same stage, in the same transition area, in the same city as these guys!

This event also appears to be a little easier for my family, who is traveling from New Jersey, to attend. The rural area  of White Lake did not seem appealing to some of my family. Now, not only will they be supporting me, but they will also be in NEW ORLEANS! The Big Easy! Cant beat that!

To stay motivated I look at several Ironman videos! I mean A LOT! I came across one that told a lot of my story. This is one of my favorites!