Taking a Step Back

When I first starting blogging over a year ago, I did so to share my life.  I wanted to give others a view into my life.  I am a dedicated endurance athlete, who works a demanding 3rd shift job as a patrol officer, all while trying to raise 2 daughters, with a 3rd on the way!  I want to be completely honest with my posts.  I want people to know what I go through, how I do what I do.  How I balance work, family, kids, training, and my personal life.  I want to inspire others to chose a healthier lifestyle through some for of exercise and/or healthy eating.  With each of my posts I keep those goals in mind.  Now, I am sure most of you have read or at least heard about my "Operation Kona" post from a couple weeks ago.  It resulted in a wide range of thoughts and emotions from a variety of people.  Some people thought I was crazy, some thought it was motivating, while others thought quite the opposite.  In the middle of it all was me, the author.

I was 100% honest with my post, my feelings, and dreams.  I laid it out there for everyone to read.  Yes, it was extremely ambitious, but that's me - I get an idea in my head and I set out to achieve it.  As I said in the post, it may not be 100% realistic or obtainable, but it was my goal, it was my dream.  At the time of posting it, I was riding the heightened emotions from finishing my first Ironman.  Truth is, I never thought about what the cost and effect would be of setting out to actually qualify for Kona. I was putting myself and my dreams before what is truly important in life.  I was not being honest with myself, my wife, or my kids.  The truth is, I live in Wisconsin and work a very demanding 3rd shift job as a patrol officer, am a member of our County SWAT Team, which is an additional commitment outside of my regular work as a patrol officer.  I also decided 5 years ago, that I wanted to start a family, I wanted kids.  We have since added a 2nd and now have a 3rd on the way, which is due in mid-to-late March.  I am not like most Ironman Triathletes.  Truth is, many Ironman Triathletes are either single adults, retired parents, or successful business men and women who have both time and money to devote to the sport.  I am not at all pigeon-holing or being stereotypical, but it is the truth.  Yes, every year, many people who are far more busier than I and have more kids, with more commitments than I have.  But majority of those individual are one-time Ironman-ers.  They do it as a bucket-list item, a one-and-done Ironman.  There is nothing wrong with that at all.

I was heading down a road I really didn't want to go down.  My "Operation Kona Plan" would have had me loosing out on precious time with my kids.  I would not have been a part of their lives like I want to be.  I was completely ignorant to my family and the one's I love and their feelings and their wants and needs.  Truth is I was completely consumed in the world of Ironman Triathlon.  My priorities were completely out of whack.  It's sad that it took an ambitious post to realize it, but I'm glad I did.  This past year, I forced my wife, Sarah, and my two daughters, Maya and Delaney to make large, significant sacrifices.  I depleted our savings accounts to pay for races, gear, supplements, and nutrition for training and racing.  I was away for most of my free time training.  I missed family camping trips, 3 of them to be exact.  During out full week of vacation together, I spent 22+ hours during the week training.  I made Sarah live the life of a single parent, caring for 2 young and demanding children.  It was not easy for her at all.  When I made the declaration that I would spend the next 5 years of my life "devoted to qualifying for the Ironman World Championships," all Sarah could think is that the next 5 years of her life would be away from her husband with no help raising 3 kids.  And honestly, that's probably the truth. 

With all that being said, I am not giving up on my dream of making it to the Big Island of Hawaii for the Ironman World Championships.  I am simply putting it on the back burner for now to devote my time to something a little more meaningful - my family.  I am going to go back to racing half marathons, marathons, shorter triathlons (Sprint and Olympic distance), and a Half Ironman every now and again.  I still want to run a sub 3 hour marathon, become a stronger biker and continue coach and lead by example for those wanting to live a healthier more active lifestyle.  Someday, down the road, when my kids are older and more independent I may revisit my goal of securing a Kona Slot.  But for now, I am going to go back to racing shorter, less demanding races which do not require the extreme commitment and sacrifices that Ironman Triathlons do.  I will try to remain as competitive within my age group, especially now that I will be moving up to the 30-34 AG.  I also plan on remaining as dedicated and committed to being the best I can be, but at the same time keeping my life priorities in check and spending quality time with what is important in life...my family.  After all, I would much rather never race another triathlon or marathon again and have my wife and kids by my side, then cross the finish line at the Ironman World Championships and have no one there at the end to celebrate that moment with me.

Thanks to everyone who believed in me accomplishing my #1 goal, your love and support did not go unnoticed.  But at the same time, an even bigger thank you goes out to those who took the time to bring me back down to reality and remind me of what was truly important in life - you all know who you are!

Operation Kona

This past Saturday October 12th, 2013 was the 35th running of the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.  It is the dream of any ultra endurance triathlete.  It is the Super Bowl of triathlons, the Boston Marathon of triathlons.  It's the pinnacle of Ironman triathlons.  I don't need to sit here and explain my dream of racing the Ironman World Championships some day - it's probably pretty obvious, especially if you've been reading my blog.  I spent a good chunk of my Saturday glued to either my iPhone or our laptop following Ironman's coverage of the World Championships.  I knew a few people who were over there racing and there were a couple of famous people out there racing an Ironman for their first time.  Ex-NFL receiver, Hines Ward and Iron Chef Gordon Ramsey each trained all year for this years Ironman Kona.  I followed their race times on my phone and then later Saturday night I watched the live streaming of the race on our lap top.  I watched the last 1-2 hours of the race.  I was able to watch the top men cross the finish line looking so strong and fast.  Belgium's Frederik Van Lierde finished in 8:12:29.  About an hour later the top female finished.  Mirinda Carfrae, from Australia, finished with a new course record of 8:52:14.  It was inspirational and motivating just watching the athletes enduring the added challenges that The Big Island brings.  Obviously, you can imagine the hot temperatures that racing in Hawaii bring, but there are also challenging cross winds during the bike that come off the ocean.  During the run, you run right past a Natural Energy Lab which increase temperatures at a very undesirable time, right around mile 20 of the marathon.  Not only is it extremely challenging just getting to the Ironman World Championships, it's that much tougher just finishing the race.

Racing the Ironman in Kona has always been a pipe dream of mine, maybe even just a bucket list item.  If you have ever read my bucket list, you'll see that #1 and #7 pertain exactly to this goal.  But, since finishing Ironman Wisconsin about a month ago I have been dead set on getting to Kona.  Why?  First, there is the obvious draw - the race is in Hawaii, the most beautiful state in the US.  There is not a single soul that would turn down a week or two in The Aloha State.  Second, there is the awe of being considered one of the best triathletes in the world.  Lastly, its a new challenge - and extremely difficult challenge.  It will not be easy.  Practically improbable.  But, I am willing to do whatever it takes.  I have never been more determined to accomplish a goal.  For those who know me know how I get when I get a goal in my head.  The same thing happened when I made it known that I wanted to qualify to run the Boston Marathon.  I had just run my second marathon.  I ran the Green Bay Marathon in 2009 with a time of 3:29:03.  The weeks after the marathon I was riding the post marathon high and I began making statements of being able to qualify for the Boston Marathon - even though I still needed to take about 20 minutes off from my time.  I was determined to run a sub 3:10 marathon and qualify.  I did what was necessary and made it happen.  In 2010 I qualified with a 3:09 at the Green Bay Marathon and then a 3:03 a few months later at the Fox Cities Marathon.  Very similar to that story, I am just over a month past finishing my first Ironman and am still riding the emotional high from finishing.  I am making the statement right here, right now, that I WILL QUALIFY FOR KONA!

Is it realistic?  Maybe not, especially since I am now entering the prime age of triathletes.  I am no longer in the 25-29 age group, beginning next year I will be in the 30-34 age group.  When looking at data the 30-34 age group has some of the fastest qualifying times among all age groups.  The chart below shows average times in each age group of athletes that have qualified for the IM World Championships in each IM race.  If you look closely, I would basically need to run a 10 hour race at IMWI (one of the toughest courses) in order to put myself in a decent position to earn a elusive Kona Slot.

In case you forgot, I ran a 11:37:09 in the 2013 IMWI.  Yup, that means I need to shave off a minuscule 1:37:09.  Nothing to it!  Ha!  So, Matt, if it is so damn-near impossible, exactly how are you going to qualify for Kona?  On top of being in one of the most competitive age groups, only 1.8% of all entrants at IMWI are able to earn a Kona slot.  Yup, you read that right, less than 2% of every IM athlete get to say they are a World Championship Qualifier.  That ain't a lot....not a lot at all!  Plus, on top of all those stats saying that it would be damn near impossible just to qualify, the competition is always getting more fierce.  To think that I am the only one sitting here crunching numbers on what I need to do to qualify for Kona is just foolish.  There you have it, every stat I can find say it is highly improbable, if not impossible for a guy like me to straight up qualify for the IM World Championships - But, hey, if were easy, it wouldn't be so prestigious!

Well, let's take a step back and look at this goal realistically.  First, I realize, exactly, the toll training for IMWI took on Sarah.  I wrote all about the added stress I put on our family in "The Truth Behind the Training." - So there's no secret there.  Secondly, not only was the time away from the family hard on Sarah and I, but the financial commitment is often over looked.  For instance, check out this graphic on the right for a rough estimate on the costs of completing an Ironman.  So, what exactly is my plan to get to Kona?  Well, I'm glad you asked.  My plan is simple really.  First and foremost, I need to get Sarah's support.  Part of getting Sarah's support is her agreeing to me doing no more than 2 full Ironman races at one point or another.  Of the two IM races, one is Kona.  So, really she needs to agree to allow me to do one more IMWI - that's it.  I will not ask to do another IM race until I am retired from my job, I promise.  Once I get the stamp of approval, I will begin training and devoting my life to qualifying for the Ironman World Championships.  I will train within and around my life.  I will not fit my family and life around my training, but rather fit training around my family and life.  I will continue to run 1-2 marathons and 1-2 half Ironman traithlons in a season.  I will train my weaknesses and devote my training to turning my body into an efficient triathlon power house.  I know that my weakness is cycling.  It was exploited at IMWI.  Sure, I had a decent bike split of 5:50 (19.2 mph ave) but I worked too hard during the bike, causing my run to suffer.  I need to continue to increase my cycling fitness and grow that fitness much like I have done with my run fitness over the past 5-10 years.  I need to just maintain my swim form and technique over the year and I am sure my swim fitness will increase slightly over the years.  My run fitness is good where it is at, so I will just need to maintain my run fitness.  With some diligent, devoted cycling training, I feel I can do this, I can qualify for Kona.

I will continue to train until I feel as I am ready to run a 10:00 IM.  When looking at my splits from IMWI this past year (1:13//5:50//4:20) and comparing them to my projected splits (1:05//5:50//3:30) I figure that a 10 hour IM is a stretch, but obtainable.  If I am able to become a cycling powerhouse I figure I could put together a 10 hour IM with splits that break down like this: Swim: 1:05, Bike: 5:12 Run: 3:30, along with 10 minutes for transitions.  The projected swim and run splits are the same as what I was shooting for this past year and I still feel those were realistic, it's just my bike split did not match my fitness to allow me to run a 3:30 marathon.  In order to put up a 5:12 bike split, I need to average 21.5mph over the entire 112 miles.  Yup, that's flying!  Over the next 4-5 years (roughly) I will push the limits on my bike and ride more then I have in past years.  I will work in specific workouts such as tempo rides, sprints, and hill work.  I will also include long bricks and even try to do some long rides before marathons to increase my specific bike-to-run fitness.  Then, as soon as I feel I am ready and fit enough to do a 10 hour IM, I will register for IMWI and Operation Kona will be in full effect.  I will then train my ass off and devote that year to qualifying to Kona.  If everything goes well, I can secure a Kona slot and begin planning our trip to the Big Island the following year.  If it doesn't go my way and I don't earn a Kona slot.  I will step back and say I tried, I gave it my all and it wasn't meant to be.  Without questions, I would be crushed.  I am not saying I am a quitter, I hate that word, it's not in my dictionary.  I don't quit, I wouldn't ever give up.  But, I do not have the financial resources or the family dynamics that allow me to complete an IM each and every year until I qualify.  There is just no way for that to happen.  I need to be realistic and honest with myself.  If I were to fail at my qualifying attempt, I would simply rely on the slim chance of being selected in the annual lottery for a Kona slot.  These slots are offered to a very slim few each year.  As a rough estimate, only about 2% of entrants in the Kona Lottery get selected each year.

So there you have it - My extremely ambitious goal of qualifying for Kona.  All laid out in a few simple steps.  Now if only fulfilling my goal were as easy as planning it out.

Never, never, never give up!