THE JOURNEY TO IRONMAN CHAMPIONSHIP KONA

OMG, I am going to Kona!

It took me four years from the time I first expressed an interest in triathlon to actually start training. There was just so much to think about and so many excuses readily available for me to cling to;

·      "I don't know how to swim and all of the swim programs offered are for five-year-olds".

·      "My bike might as well have streamers on the handle-bars and clipping in scares the heck out of me"

·      and my very favorite: "I'm just not built for running."

I did some half-hearted searches and continued my committed relationship with the couch until I moved about ten minutes down the road from Playtri. I had no more excuses. I decided to give the "Get Fit" program a shot, and to my surprise I loved it!

Fast forward a year-and-a-half later and I'm training for the IronMan World Championships in Kona (Let's be clear here: I WON the slot! - recovering couch potatoes like me don't get that good that fast, even with amazing coaching!).

How did I end up so far from the couch you ask?

Well, a big part of it was luck, but a GINORMOUS part of it was having the support of amazing teammates and benefiting from outstanding coaching four days a week. I'll be honest when I first started group training, I was pretty wishy-washy about it. Netflix was singing it's alluring song and class started precariously close to dinner-time. After a few weeks though, I found myself swimming to the end of the pool without having a meltdown, I felt healthier, more confident and most importantly I began to build relationships with my teammates and my coaches. I was so impressed by their level of commitment and athleticism and I desperately wanted to keep up with them which was a huge motivator. Every class I received consistent and immediate feedback so that I started developing positive habits and a strong foundation to build upon. Training with my new friends became the highlight of my day and somewhere in the mix, this triathlon thing that I thought I would just try (no pun intended) became a lifestyle.

A little over a year later Mike Reilly calls out my name along with 39 other lucky ducks as the winners of the Kona 40 for 40 Program.

At this point I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, but NOT EVEN CLOSE to Kona ready! I was euphoric, I was determined and I was a little nauseous. 

I decided it was time to hire a personal coach!!

Stay tuned for next blog post as Ryan progresses toward this amazing IRONMAN goal.