I hear the Sirens singing....tie me to the mast

Goodness...I am really having a love/hate relationship with triathlon as evidence by my last few posts. What disturbs me is that I know what I need to do to get better at the sport but it requires tons of hard work. On the other hand, I don't mind putting in the work as long as it is fun. Enter Ironman.

I have blogged about it before. The pull of 140.6 miles is tremendous and overwhelming. I have fallen victim to it before. I understand its calling and why it steamrolls masses of people each year.

Well Ironman season is upon us and guess who feels left out of the party. ME. This past week kicked off the season which IM CDA. It still amazes me that it was only 2 short years ago that I was out there peeing in my wetsuit at the fear of the race. Or maybe I was peeing to stay warm. Or maybe you just pee in wetsuits because it is fun to stand next to your friend Steve and pee on his foot without him knowing. But I digress.

Competing in an Ironman is fun. The distance and reward is tremendous. So I am sitting here trying to be a patient little triathlete who is struggling with motivation and goal setting issues. I know it sounds contradictory. But you can't half ass train for an Ironman. It lingers over your head. I sometimes wonder if I should sign up for one (cough Battleship to Battleship) and that would put be back on the right track. Give me a steady 5 hour ride and I get excited. I groan at the thought of 3 hours at certain thresholds.

As the season progresses and I follow friends and foes through their journey the calling will only amplify more and more. I will likely journey up to Louisville for a race and the desire to race will be there. The line to register the next will be even more tempting.

Even more so, I am itching to do another race overseas. Hearing the stories from friends returning from Brazil, Japan, etc only feed that desire even more. I wonder how I would feel to moderate train for an overseas IM and compete in anticipation of enjoying a vacation after the race.

So Ironman season is here. I hear the song it is singing. People need to sign up for shifts to babysit me and ensure I don't do something dumb.