Eying off the road ahead

Well in short I have (perhaps foolishly) set my sights on Ironman Cairns 2013...

This all came about in a way that will have most people a little confused (myself included)

I have always had a drive to be busy doing something, ask pretty much anyone who knows me and I'm sure they will agree that I have a problem sitting still. I thrive on a challenge and love nothing more than pushing myself towards something I want.

Competitive? Maybe just a little...

The path to here makes sense (somewhat) if you see the quick history....

It all really started with my first 12km City-to-Bay fun run a few years ago. It felt good to have something to train for, even though I had never run more than about 2km in one crack!
The event itself didn't go so well, with soreness (read: unfit) at the halfway point making it rough to finish... To top it off after saying goodbye to Aimee at the start line so we could run our own race, she managed to find a groove, slip past me and ultimately beat me over the line! This isn't over by the way!

From there I laid low for a while and spent time working in Melbourne and then Sydney before the Mens Health Urbanathlon was announced in Sydney. It sounded like a great challenge and in no time I had whipped a few guys together and had signed up!

Then some of my work colleagues put up the challenge to complete the Tough Mudder Melbourne and how could I resist!

We smashed the course (See here: Stuck In The Mudder Video) although unfortunately at the same time smashed my knees...
I finished with a badly strained Patella Ligament in the left knee and a strained ITB in the right... spelling the end to my Urbanathlon dreams...

So began recovery period... 2 weeks spent being able to hardly walk followed by repeated Physio appointments over many weeks, stretching and strengthening programs and all in all a pretty miserable experience...

Then I got the itch again. I looked at people running in their lunch break and had a strong desire to get back into it and push myself further and harder than before.

Enter the world of Triathlons.

It was just before the Tough Mudder event that I was able to go and support my lovely girlfriend while she competed in the Nissan Corporate Sprint Triathlon Series. I had never been to one of these events before (let alone competed in one) and it appealed to me more than I could have imagined! I wanted in. Big time.

So I set my sights on being back in form ready for an Olympic length Sydney triathlon!
1.5km swim / 40km bike / 10km run

Then I may have got a little carried away and after research I decided that I wanted to aim for the Elite Energy Olympic Series. 5 triathlons spread out over the Summer season up and down the NSW coast. Sounded magic.

Then I definitely got carried away and after hearing about some colleagues competing in a 70.3 Half Ironman in December. I loved the idea and thought I would set my sights to complete something like this next year after a season of triathlons...

Enter Cairns Ironman 2013.

If it was any earlier in the year I would have stuck to my original plan. Although the fact that it was in June made me stop and think... It was possible (perhaps) to complete the triathlon series, building up enough experience to attempt the impossible (to most people, including me). Complete an Iron length triathlon..

Just an FYI. Ironman = 3.8km swim / 180km bike / 42km run
Yes. After swimming for what would seem like forever and riding a bike for an eternity, you get to run a marathon...

So here I am. Starting to plan for what may just be the most intense and focused year of my life...

The next step is to start the planning, the training schedule, the nutrition plan, the equipment required and not to forget develop the mental toughness to endure 3 of the toughest events on the planet compressed into one painful day...