Why Do You TRI ????

So I was reading in the Tri Forum while I ate my tuna fish at lunch and came across this thread... Check it out:

Why Do You Tri??

So I thought I would do my own but also on my blog, since this is can be a very introspective exercise.

Why do I Tri???

1. Because I Can, otherwise why did you have legs and arms, what else are gonna do with them, we don't have to hunt for our food like our ancestors did ! And the second you can't swim, bike, or run you are gonna be wishing you had.
2. I used to be FAT
3. It gives me something other to do than work
4. I like to compete
5. I like to compete and never loose, this is why I love the individual aspect, the only person you have to loose to is yourself. The only way you loose is by quitting.
6. It keeps me healthy
7. It can hopefully inspire others to get into shape and become healthy.
8. If I didn't I would have to fill my spare time with something else and I don't know what that would be but it couldn't be more healthy than what I am doing now.
9. Because when I see a really FAT overweight un-healthy person, I think I never want to be like that and I am sure they don't either. If only they would have TRI'd"
10. I like the freedom, its something that only God can take away from me. I will always be able to swim, bike, and run. Unless someone steals my bike.
11. I like to eat.
12. I think it's cool how the human body can be trained to do anything
13. I like to push my mind to control my body, and what better way to do so then endure pain during a hard workout.
14. I love the feeling of butterflies before a race.
15. I love the feeling of accomplishment after a race.
16. Its better than just running.
17. Its cool
18. It makes people wonder how you do the workouts you do, but little do they realize that they could too if they only would TRI !
19. When I do an Ironman, I will have bragging rights for the rest of my life !
20. It's such a bad-ass sport.
21. It is possibly one of the only sports that requires you to be a very balanced athlete and rely only on your abilities.
22. Because, its not always your arms or legs that get you a 1st place, it's the stuff between your ears and in your chest. Its about having a strong heart and mind.
23. The bikes are really cool.
24. The girls can be really hot
25. Where else is pissing yourself acceptable
26. You have to have goals in life
27. The sport is as old as I am, it's so young that some of the best moments are still to come.
28. Because I get this excited, happy, and emotional feeling when I think about winning my age group at a race and qualifying to go to KONA
29. I love the people who do it with me, the friends I have met training, the enjoyment had with complete strangers at races. There is a connection that you have that can't be compared to anything less than a family.
30. Without Tri, I wouldn't be me, no matter what happens I will always want to be a part of it some way or another.

I could go on for forever about that. I welcome any comments to this, just reply back if you want.

Back to work..

Ironman Wisconsin

So this evening I looked into flights to fly to Chicago and then bus myself to Wisconsin to volunteer for the Ironman Wisconsin 2009 race. It looks as if I can get there pretty cheap and possibly use my airline miles that I have accumulated from traveling. I figure this is probably a great idea for 2 reasons. First I will get exposed to the excitement and hoop la that surrounds an Ironman event and get a chance to ride the entire about 60 miles of the bike course and run  good portion of the run course. This is a huge advantage for me to get mentally prepared for the race. The second reason this is a good idea is that there is almost a 100% chance I will reserve my spot for the race in 2009. 

Other than those thoughts, I am moving right now and have been doing a little too much during the evenings and haven't been able to get my workouts in. However carrying heavy stuff for 2 hours on monday and tuesday night is not that easy either. So it's not like I have been sitting around on the couch. Tomorrow, I am going to try out the run again in the morning. I had some pains from after the Half Ironman and it really was just sore and strained. It felt really good for a while, but I have not really ran since my last olympic distance tri on 7/13/08. I also PR that race by about 4 minutes even though I rode an extra 1.8 miles on the bike because I got somewhat lost. I finished in 2:18 and change. The ankle hurt bad in that race. I ran an easy 2 miles after my 45 mile bike ride last saturday and it felt good. So I will try it back out tomorrow for a super easy 5 miles. So all those days off, I just Iced and rested it and took some NSAIDS.  So we shall see how it feels. I can't stand not being able to run, but I know I need to just rest it. So if tomorrow goes good, I know I can get back to running, but if its sore, I will rest it some more and stick to swimming and cycling. 

I will update later on how everything goes.