It's Game Time

In two days, Kona will be just another memory and chapter in our lives, which makes me tend to focus more on the journey it took to get to this magical and mysterious island nestled in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Every day over the past year (well let us be honest...last 5+ years) I've thought about Ironman Hawaii.  The race is the pinnacle of the sport and is the single event that continues to drive me towards perfection.  This will be my third time racing here on the big island and I have learned so much about not only the race, but about myself as I covered the 140.6 mile race through the barren lava fields.  I'm also in a different mind set this year thanks to coach Derick.  This year I've pushed myself to places I never thought were possible in training and while competing.  To put it in a simplistic way, I want this more than anything else right now and I'm hungry.  During the day tomorrow I know it's going to hurt and it's not only going to be physically tough, but also mentally tough but who are we kidding, this is what Ironman is all about.  Having the confidence to push through the pain for around nine hours is by far the difference one more year of experience makes.  There's always room for improvement as we all strive to go faster and faster.

At the beginning of the season (December 15th to be exact), I shared on my blog my goal which was to go top 10 in my age group tomorrow in Kona and the focused training for this very day began.  Have you ever tried to train 11 months straight for one race?  Let me tell you, it's not easy and can break you more times than not.  I knew after setting this lofty goal that it was not going to be easy to achieve, but when am I ever one to settle for easy?  The heartbeat of Kona is what made me tick day in and day out each and every day this year.  When I begin my day tomorrow, I know that I've done everything possible to make this goal come true.  I still remember the days when all I wanted to do was race a sub 10 hour Ironman and qualify for this race, but to now be looking at the 9 hour barrier and telling myself this is possible, is what it's all about. I'm here to race!

As always, I couldn't have gotten here without the amazing support back home.  From my family to my training partners to my triathlon team to my amazing wife, thank you for being supportive as I continue to work to be the best athlete I can be.  Now let's get this show on the road!