I guess the answer to these questions will be answered on November 23, 2008 when I attempt to become an Ironman in Tempe, Arizona.
Can he walk at all? Or if he moves, will he fall?
These may be good questions to ask on November 24, 2008 if I am successful in completing an Ironman.
I had a plan. But like many well-laid plans, the circumstances changed. I was going to do a couple of half-Ironman races and complete all of the elements of the Ironman and then sign up for Ironman Arizona of April, 2009. I signed up for the Ironman 70.3 California next March 29. This is a half-Ironman. I have completed all of the half-iron distances separately and I am confident that with some good winter training, I can finish a half-Ironman. I am training to run the L.A. Marathon in early March. I am planning a century ride for January. I was going to swim 2.4 miles between now and next April. If all of these were successful, I was going to attend Ironman Arizona in April on 2008 and sign-up to make sure I got a spot. Ironman race usually sell out less than an hour after they go on sale on the internet. One has to sign up in person to assure a spot.
On Monday, November 26, I heard that Ironman Arizona is going to change their date from April to November. There will be two in 2008 and then going forward the IM Arizona will take place in November. This is probably a good thing. There is usually less wind in November than in April, and the IM Arizona has had some pretty gnarly wind and sand conditions. However, if I were to wait for the 2009 race, it would be two full years until I would be able to participate. I could have gone for another Ironman such as Coeur d’Alene or one outside of the country, but Arizona would certainly be the least expensive after factoring in travel and hotels.
I talked it over with The Great Magnetic Wife, and even though she was quite dubious about the whole thing, I decided to sign up for the Ironman. I have slightly less than a year to figure out how I am going to do this. A lot of training will be done.
One of the first sacrifices I had to make when I made the commitment to train for an Ironman was to give up my Saturday jam. I just will not be able to take hours out of my only completely free day to do something other than train. With church on Sunday and limited time on weekdays, Saturday was going to have to be the big day. I’m sure there will be many other sacrifices in the next year as well.
Is he live or Dead? Has he thoughts within his head?
We’ll just pass him there. Why should we even care?
Somewhere about mile 14 of the marathon leg of the Ironman, people may be asking that about me.
John Thum
