500 Days to Coeur d'Alene Ironman and 241 days to Longhorn Ironman 70.3 - The Countdown begins...

I have decided to set a goal to do my first Ironman at the 2009 Coeur d'Alene Ironman on June 21, 2009, which is 500 days from today. Why so far out? Simple. I want to make certain that I am fully prepared and adequately trained, and with my work schedule constantly in limbo, this will give me plenty of time and offset those stretches where I may not be able to train as much as needed. If things were to open up for me and I could compete in another Ironman event sooner, I will leave that option open, but I refuse to pressure myself to do it before I am fully ready.

In the meantime, I have registered for the Longhorn Ironman 70.3 in Austin, Texas to be held on Sunday, October 5, 2008. I'm not going to say what my goal time is at this point since I am still a virgin to the sport, but I do have a time in the back of my mind that I believe is doable.

If my schedule remains flexible between now and June, I may also consider entering the Buffalo Springs Ironman 70.3 in Lubbock, Texas on June 29 (provided it's not sold out soon). With only about 4 months of training, my goal for that one would simply be to finish and get a taste of what the transitions are all about. Plus, being experienced with training and competing in the Texas heat, I can not imagine any type of great performance in late June in Lubbock where the temperature will almost assuredly be in the 90's.

On the short term, I'm going to run a half-marathon with my son in March (will be his third half), and I will target some sprint distance triathlons in the local area.