Louisville et. al.

Not much to report. I think everyone knows what a brutal day it was. A really ho hum race for me and I can't really explain how disappointing this entire season was- embarrassing really. I trust God will use it for others. The positives were making new friends and acquaintances like Todd, Mel and the kids. Big shout out to Bree and E (Eileen). It was so great to meet new and wonderful people yet again!

I made SO MANY rookie mistakes out there. Days before I had adjusted my plan for the heat. For some reason I just couldn't follow it. Sometimes when you try to run a 3:15 you end up at 3:55 instead of planning on a 3:30 and running a 3:30. If so this would have been my most successful Ironman. However, I broke many cardinal rules of Ironman. We recently had an irondistance camp in which I shared a list of the 7 deadly sins of Ironman. If only I could heed my own advice! I had huge problems with 1,2,4, 6 and 7. Hey 5 of 7 isn't bad..... urgh!

7 Deadly Sins of Ironman

1. Gluttony: Don’t gorge yourself during the race or go paces you can’t hold (a glutton for punishment).

2. Envy: Don’t envy someone’s bike, body or race time/pace

3. Greed: Remember to SHARE the road with competitors, anything you can do to help someone else, and the glory of this accomplishment with friends and family!

4. Sloth: Don’t get lazy with nutrition, lack of concentration on pace, and your race plan in general!

5. Wrath: Don’t get mad at other competitors, race volunteers or yourself- it’s just wasted energy.

6. Lust: Don’t fall in love with the Ironman- it’s still just a race, it doesn't make you who you are it just provides a special quality to you life.

7. Pride: Check your pride at the door. Stay within yourself and your plan. No one else’s plans matter on that day – it’s YOURS take it!

Thanks to everyone who has supported me this season. It's been a crazy ride but something I wouldn't trade or ever forget. It's now time to spend more time with family, work on business and just "get a life".
SPONSORS YOU HAVE BEEN AWESOME!
Rome
Gear West
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
SCS
Hammer

Friends and family,
I can't express how much appreciation and love I have for you all! Micki and the girls, Kate Monster, Dan and Kris, Jer, Chris, Kevin and all of you (sorry I could never list them all) have made this year what I couldn't on the course. I love you all!

We'll see you out there!

Live Blog

There will be live Louisville race coverage on Kate Monster's blog:

www.ironkatemonster.blogspot.com

It's going to be hot so pray for safety and patience!

Getting Closer

The race is getting closer and closer. Ironically though I feel more and more at ease. Granted the forcast is getting more and more brutal. However I see it as just upping the ante. I hope as the race gets harder I get better!
My first family arrived today. I was so grateful to have had the time for myself this week but I also said a prayer as they pulled up about how grateful I am to have them here! They definitely give more energy thab they take.
Most posts this time are from my phone so I'll keep them short.
One day to go!
Blessings to you all!

Upon Arrival

I arrived in Louisville last night. It was the end to a very crazy day. However, it was wonderful to be greeted by friends who have become my second family this year. Thanks so much to Kate, Craig and Bob for taking care of this nervous, scatterd old coach. I've got nothing but mad love for my Tri Family!

FUN

"This is fun!". A quote from friend and elite amateur triathlete Chad Milner during today's Kingswood Off-Road Tri. It was REALLY great to be able to volunteer at a race, watch my wife rock in her first off-road race and see all the JOY on peoples' faces! What a wonderful reminder of what we are all out there for.

As Louisville approaches next weekend I've found myself very reflective about how I've gotten to this point. Right now triathlon is OK. Don't get me wrong, I'm VERY grateful for the opportunities I've had, not only this season, but my entire life. It doesn't stop the disappointment I feel. Not so much for the poor results (those hurt too) but the loss of happiness, fun and pure joy in the sport. I attribute it to a schedule TOO full, a life TOO busy and expectations TOO high. I'm very excited to make a change next year. It's not that I won't race. However, instead of arranging my life around triathlon I will arrange triathlon around my life. It's my hope that with the proper priorities the ability to compete hard without hesitation and the pure joy will return.

I will try to blog a bit more this week while at Ironman Louisville. I'm excited, feeling pretty good and hoping against all odds to pull out the best race of my life.

Nothing like the pure joy of girls and kittens!

God Bless you ALL

Belated Blog

Well where do we begin.

I have to say that I just haven't had the urge to blog AT ALL. It is my belief this is due to two reasons; 1. Ironman training just saps me, 2. Seeing some of the "nasty" side of blogging lately has really turned me off. Blogs seem to me can lead us to think we KNOW someone well just because we've read EVERY fact on them possible. It seems to lead to some understandings but also misunderstandings, blog fights and the like. FYI this is why I don't comment back to anyone or comment much on blogs. I like to see what some one's up to at times but that's it- sorta like a newspaper with no opinion page.

ANYHOOOO

Last week was my Dad's birthday. He is 75 years old! Wow that is OLD! The weekend before I took him to the Twins game. It was really fun to get some father/son time. As we age and have our own families it gets so hard to have quality time with our own parents. I'm very much a hometown boy who doesn't get to go home much so seeing my parents is my way to "come home". Dad and I got to the game early, got some pretty good upper deck tickets and just sat and enjoyed the atmosphere! The game was OK to watch but the Twins lost. However, Dad and I enjoyed some good eats, just hanging together and the HIGHLIGHT of the game - scoring free Twins hats at free Dairy Queen Hat Night! I don't think I've had more fun at a ballgame.

Now if you know my family we all know my Dad is great but certainly not perfect. I won't sit here and say Dad and I are best friends. I just have a lot of respect for him. He worked hard his whole life, was quietly supportive of everything I did and is just plain MY DAD. I respect him, as a man, for how he goes about things with honor and integrity. He's old school and I love it!

Happy Birthday Dad! I love you.

Diddle Diddle Dumpling your son John

Blessings

I'm now scrambling to get a quick entry in so my family can take me out to lunch- BLESSING #1!

The report goes as such:

What seems like a year ago (actually a little over a week) was the Racine/Class Reunion/Okoboji triathlon weekend. As you know we decided on skipping Racine 1/2 to focus on recovery. I had decided that doing the local tri near my home town might be fun and just add a spark to the year. I was excited with the probability of a win and getting to race with Kate Monster (also a good chance of a win). After taking a week off there was certainly some rust. The swim was harder than I thought but I kept up with the leaders and came out second. The bike felt AWFUL the first few miles but as I broke into the lead all of sudden I was ROLLING! With probably about 3 min. lead going into the last couple miles of the bike I was just cruising and thinking about how much rust I'd have to knock off the first miles of the run. Well, long story short, I missed the turn! I figured it out after going about 3 miles out of the way and then 3 miles back. I cashed it in but rode into the transition ready to get in a nice run. Luckily Kate had started 5 min. behind me so I wasn't far off of her coming into transition and was able to run in with her. She won in a fairly close race! It was a blessing to get to run in with and help her.I'm so proud of her. It was lot of pressure on her as the local favorite- she's one tough chick! In hindsight it was also good for me to not have pushed into run hard and saved my legs. Blessing #2.

The reunion was AWESOME! It was really neat to see how grown up all of my classmates have gotten. I was really able to lay some old demons to rest about growing up and going through all the issues we all have in high school. I'm really looking forward to our next reunion- hopefully not another 18 years. Blessing #3

This weeks training was AWESOME! I finally feel like my mojo has returned. It makes me extremely excited about doing another Ironman! We had our Wisconsin Ironman Camp this weekend and it was so inspiring to see all the athletes make realizations and get more and more confident in the upcoming finish of their big day! I had planned to do all the training with them but I had done a lot of good work during the week and, although hard, I stopped myself with the thought in my mind "didn't you just get out of a bad over training/racing 6 week slump!" . Hence the 112 miles turned into 30. WHAT A GREAT MOVE! The run the following day went really well and I feel ready to tackle more preparation! Blessing #4-????

I'm so blessed to have the opportunities I do. And FINALLY this season I'm realizing that!

Thank you to ALL OF YOU! You are all a blessing to me and each other. I pray you all feel as blessed as I do!