Ironman Coeur d'Alene

So the guy who has used the word "IF" quite a bit in the last few months (as in "IF" he was going to do a long course race 2012) will now be using the word "WHEN" instead. I registered for Ironman Coeur d'Alene today, which will take place on June 24th, 2012 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

You might recall that I was using the word "IF" because even though the idea of doing a long course race was appealing, I honestly didn't know if it was right for me. I was worried about becoming obsessed by it and I was worried about having the time to train. And though I am still worried about becoming obsessed and having the time time to train, I've realized that if I don't give it a try I will come to regret that decision. A cycnic would call this a "lose/lose situation", but I'd prefer to call it a win. As Richard Branson would say, "Screw it, let's do it!"

By the way, I decided about a month ago in concept but didn't start admitting this to myself or anyone else until the beginning of this week. Also, I've not yet done my first 70.3 yet. This will happen in about 5 weeks on September 11th. I find it a little bit ironic that the guy who spent so much time making this decision is currently in this situation. Hopefully I'll like the 70.3.

Originally, I was thinking a race late in the year would be best. I was going to try for Ironman Arizona and use Ironman Florida as a back-up. But then I got to thinking - since I'll be doing the California 70.3 in April, why don't I just keep going? I'll still start a new training program somewhere at the beginning of December, and California will now be a nice long training day about 2/3rd's of the way through the schedule.

I'll start thinking about the details soon, but for the moment I'm happy to be equal parts excited and terrified for what lay ahead.

I should thank two people for helping me make this decision whether or not they realize their complicity. Ironically, they are both from Texas. I've been lucky in Texas so hopefully the trend will continue. First off, thanks to Jason Bahamundi. I registered for Ironman 70.3 California after reading Jason's race report, and I can't say his decision to go long on 2012 didn't have an affect on my decision to do the same. Secondly, I'd like to than Jeff Irvin. Every time I've emailed him for advice, his answer has been gracious and much more detailed than expected. In fact, the dissertation I got from him today comparing and contrasting Florida, Arizona and Coeur d'Alene was so detailed that I made the decision to go with Coeur d'Alene before I fully absorbed what he was saying lest his abundant good advice cloud my thought process any further.

I'd also like to thank everyone else who reads The Road as well. One thing I've noticed is that the blog community is very supportive of Ironman newbies, and I'm gonna need it.