It's Officially Official, gulp!

While checking my bank account today I noticed that my checks for the Coeur d'Alene Ironman entry fee had cleared, yikes!  So, it's officially official...I am going to train and complete (hopefully) an Ironman.   

How did this all start?, you ask...

I have been a "marathoner" for a few years now.  Sitting comfortably in the middle of the pack, never veering far from my 4:30 average finishing time (ahem, I did just have a 4:04 PR which I am very excited about!).  I find joy in traveling to new cities locally and internationally to explore the world and run marathons while doing so, never putting a lot of pressure on the race outcomes.  Marathoning has afforded me the opportunity to hang with my mom who has become my official cheerleader and the two of us have had some fun adventures together in these endeavors (ask about the pepper spray incident in London, whoa!).

I started participating in triathlons in the summer of 2007, putting a few sprints and Olympic distance events under my belt.  The summer of 2008 started off not so much with a bang, but more of a whimper, so I joined a local triathlon training group, ST Trainer, led by Stephen Taylor a local bad ass in order to ramp up my motivation.  (www.sttrainer.com....a little plug!)  The group was great and I was huffing and puffing the first few weeks trying to keep them in my sight!  Over time it led to a greater confidence in my running abilities and faster times.  A few triathlon PR's and a half marathon PR (many have asked...PR=Personal Record) had me pumped to run the 2008 Marine Corp Marathon.  And pumped I was, I ran a 15 minute PR and felt awesome!  I was on such a high I was searching for "what's next?!"  

Fast forward to breakfast the following week after a two hour spin class.  There I was still on a high a week after the marathon and hungry for another race and breakfast, of course!  My friends Ben and Sara (a super cute and fun couple I met through ST Trainer) had signed up for the Coeur d'Alene IM and were enthusiastically trying their best to talk me into it.  "NO WAY" I said..."you have to be crazy!" (which doesn't mean much as "crazy" accusations have been directed my way many a time, so I was breaking down and seriously considering it...damn).  After a run the next morning with Ben, Sara and Pete I was feeling great...one more text message from Sara gave me the final push and then I found myself at the computer signing up for the CDA IM...damn again!

Ben and Sara found me at a weak moment, a post-race high with no solid plans for a spring race.  I will either be cursing them or thanking them come June 21st! 

I plan on keeping my friends and family updated on my training with this "blogging" thing so check in and help keep me accountable in this adventure for the next 6 months!