As you may have heard, time and time again, I became a new dad last year. That has probably become quite apparent as you read my recent blogs. Not to beat the issue to death but having a baby completely rocks and it completely rocked my triathlon life. My last true long course race was in 2006 when I completed Ironman Wisconsin through the cold and the rain. For the 2007 season I chose to focus on short course and olympic distance racing which was a great break from the long stuff. I capped the season at the Lobsterman triathlon with a 2:16 finish on yet another cold and rainy day!
2008 saw me do only one race, a sprint distance just outside of Ithaca, NY. It was actually the Cayuga Lake triathlon which was home to the Sprint Distance National Championships that year. Needless to say I didn’t pay my proper dues in training and got my butt kicked come race day which was both humbling and motivating. After my butt kicking I decided to whip my butt into gear and focused on running for the next few months. The result? I ran a 1:28 half marathon at the Marine Corps 1/2 Marathon in Albany, NY in October. Later that fall I ran an 18:29 at a local 5K turkey trot on Thanksgiving morning. Both of my late season running races made me feel like a real athlete again. I put a strong effort into my training and despite not running over 10 miles at once during my training I was able to put in a couple of respectable times.
Enter 2009… My wife and I are talking about (and taking action on 
) making baby #2 which means that 2010 is pretty much out of the picture for racing since having a newborn and spending long hours in the pool, on my bike, and on the open road running doesn’t do much for my marriage. Back to 2009… my year of racing! I have lost some of my “baby weight” (about 10 lbs) and I am rearing to hit the race scene!
On Saturday I took my first big leap into the deep sea of racing and signed up for the Amica Ironman Rhode Island 70.3 to be held on July 12! I also plan to race some other events but this will be my mid season “A” race! Is it right to have an “A” race when I’ve barely raced in the last year? Anyway…it is a point to point race that will basically give me the grand tour of a state that I have never visited and if all goes well I will finish in the capital city of Providence, a town I have always wanted to experience.
Now for the hard, and most rewarding, part… the training! Stay tuned for periodic training updates (yes I know this is a review site but I can’t help it) and race reviews as I churn my way through the 2009 season. Did I mention that I jump into a new age group this year? Hello age group 30-34!
