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My Couch To Ironman History

I just recorded my first video blog for this site and will put it up as soon as I make a cool open and close that energizes, inspires, and/or makes me look like a total egomaniac.  In the meantime, here’s a little history on my couch to Ironman journey.

So, what’s my story?  I am a forty something young gentleman who, with the help of a certified Ironman, started running on January 23, 2012.  I’m sure we made some kind of bet, but the true reason was how I looked in a video last November (which I hope to find and post).  I looked like a fucking whale as I sat next to my buddy Roger and sang the University of Wisconsin anthem, “Varsity.”  We were absolutely rocked off our ass and waving our arms back and forth (feeling pretty cool I might add) acting like we were in college celebrating another Badger victory.  But when I saw the iPhone video I could not get over the fact that I had a beer gut and my face was swollen like I’d been sitting in a bar for the last 5 years, which I was.  I tried to downplay it, like it was the angle of the shot, but I made a serious mental note that day that I would not take my slobby ass lightly.

The start of my running was a “Couch to 5K” program that started with 60 second runs surrounded by 90 second walks.  I shit you not, those 60 seconds were like climbing Mount Helena to me.  I was winded like a bitch, but tried to play it cool because there were a bunch of women around me and, I’m not going to lie, that is motivation.

This went on and on and we slowly built to a 5K on St. Patrick’s Day which I ran in just under my goal of 28 minutes because my Ironman coach who ran with me lied the whole way.  “We’re way behind, gotta pick it up.”

This was me and the coach

So, I lumbered onward completing a 5 mile, 10k, 1/2 Marathon, a Sprint triathlon, numerous other 5ks, then an Olympic triathlon, which was nearly the end of my quest for iron.

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Ironman Wisconsin: Registration Day

Let me tell you, if Ironman Wisconsin is anything as stressful as “registration” for Ironman Wisconsin, I am in deep shit.

Registration opened the day after the race at noon and I was reading stories around the web that said it could sell out in as fast as 15 minutes.  There were five of us signing up and I was a wreck thinking that I might be the only one to not get in.  It didn’t help that my boss called an 11:00 am meeting out of the blue.

Like most bosses, he is a big fan of hearing himself talk and this strategy session had me glued on the clock.  I thought I was good, but he opened a can of worms at 11:47.  It wasn’t much of a stretch to act like I was sick and run out of that office at noon, because I was getting queasy.

His can of worms was flying right over my head, and at 11:59 I stood up and declared the meeting over.  He looked at me like I was crazy (and I probably was) and asked where I was going.  I said I had something to do and that the rest of them were more than qualified to finish the meeting.

It was a bold move and I’m sure there was probably enough subordination to get fired, or at least a red flag in my file, but I didn’t care.  I would have quit at that moment and, as it turns out, still might.

It’s not just the Ironman that has me thinking about walking from the corporate world, it’s what the quest stands for.  Getting to the point where I actually believe I can do a full Ironman is a major change in my thought patterns.  I am turning into a different person, and that person is me.