My Ironman 70.3 Journey

The idea for this journey started with two good friends of mine who came from Denmark to Nagoya to participate in the 2018 Ironman Centrair Chita Peninsula Japan. When one of my friends had finished his practice run, my daughter and I spoke with him, and my daughter commented that I could never do this competition. My friend, who has completed many Ironman competitions, said that I could do it. From then on, my mine was on whether or not I would put my mind to doing it, and once I commit, what it means as a life changing moment.

The start of the swim portion of the race.

This division is males from 40-44 years old. My friend is the guy right in the middle of the two observers in blue.

Yesterday I spoke with my good friend, and as a sidenote I mentioned how I had been realizing something is missing in my life, and that I needed a new goal to reach. I love my business and my hobby of LARP, but there is still something that I need to complete to prove to myself I can do whatever I want, if I put my mind to it.

One of my Danish friends is running (she is on the road and next to the orange flag), and her husband in the black cap cheering her on. She won her category and was even faster than one of the female professionals!

The race is in three sections, a 1.93 km swim, 90 km bike ride, and 21.09 km run. The total event must be completed in 8.5 hours or less. Elite athletes finish in 4 hours or less.

You see, I am 51 years old, and while I was very active in my youth to age 40, playing sports and being physically active, I had slowed down in the past few years. I have bad knees which seem to cause pain. When I was 41 years old, I had a mild stroke, and then a heart operation. Fortunately the operation was a success and I do not have issues now, and in fact my heart seems to be even better than before. I suffered from heart fibrillation, but the operation cured it.

What I need now is to dedicate myself to this goal, and stick to it. This is my journey.