My Road to Ironman 2025

"We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.    And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation." Romans 5:3-4 (NLT) When and Where?!   I have my race schedule set for next year.  Foreshadowing alert: I am now fully registered for Ironman Florida!  No going back now.... I'll list those out after my weekly stats and recap! Weekly Schedule for Nov 18-24: Mon--    AM:       15.53 mile bike ride (51:51)               PM:       3,500 yd swim (1:10:33);  Ab workout for 16 minutes. Tues--    AM:       4.8 mile run (45 min)                PM:       Strength workout (1 hour)  Wed--    AM:       7.38 mile bike (26 min)     ...

  “Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you.   He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:8 (NLT) Now that I’ve covered the “what” and the “why”, below is the base level of “how” I plan on training and finishing Ironman Florida.   Stay tuned after the weekly stats…. Early Friday Morning Run Weight: 178.9 +.1 lbs from last week -.3 lbs from Nov 1 start Swimming: (1x) 1.68 miles (2,950 yds) 59:19 Biking: (3x) 42.10 miles 2:30:45 Running: (3x) 15.99 miles 2:30:26 Strength: (3x) 2:14:58 Sleep: 7 hour, 3 minutes average TOTALS: 59.77 miles 8:15:27     I only had one swim this week as the Community Center closed early on Veterans’ Day--I didn't know that until I walked in and they told me after I scanned my card.   I did 3 bike workouts and also did 3 run days.   On Saturday, I did a brick workout (two back-to-back workouts):  15.2 miles on the bike then a 4.4 mile run twice aroun...

  “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” Romans 12:1 (NLT) Why?   Julie asks me this all the time (her question is more about why I pay to do these things when you can swim, bike and run for free…)   Friends ask me why I’m doing this Ironman event and putting myself through around 14 hours of suffering and pain.   There’s not really a good answer.   I guess it’s easy though. WHY NOT?   And because I can. I like to be active and outdoors. I like to do hard things.   I’ve always been drawn to activities or events that others go “no way”.   Skydiving, SCUBA diving, hiking mountains, obstacle races, marathons, triathlons.   And now Ironman.   But I think the big reason as I really stop and think about it is because God has given me a body to move, to be a...

  “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.”— I Corinthians 9:24-25 (NLT) Episode ONE of my weekly training blog begins RIGHT NOW!   Full disclosure—I don’t journal, so this is all brand new to me!   Skim through the “good parts” or read as much as you want if you are interested--there will be way more information than you might care about, but my goal is to let you all into my training for the next year.   I plan to put out a new post every Sunday.   This post will include my training for the week, how my nutrition went (this will be a work in progress), and will be fully transparent on where I am.   I’ll be documenting my weight, time of workouts, mileage, calories in/out, how I felt for the week, and more—I know it will be an evolving blog as I get more comfortable...