maiden blog post

Well after maybe a year and a half of being signed up for blogger and never posting anything, I have finally decided to make my initial, maiden blog post, prior to my maiden voyage to Hawaii for the Ford Ironman World Championship. I had previously considered posting some race reports and getting this thing off of the ground, but they never seemed significant enough to venture into this unknown world, of which I was uncertain whether I was either creative or interesting enough to inhabit. I am sure the creativity question will bear itself out in time; however I hope this big upcoming adventure in Hawaii may be sufficient for satisfying others’ interest.

The race now is 6 days out, and itself is just part of a much more profound trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. The entourage and I leave at 6am Wednesday morning for about 17.5 hours of travel before arriving in Kona Wednesday afternoon. My bike is already on its way, having been sent out on Friday and is now at a FedEx location in Memphis awaiting its flight over to HI tomorrow morning.

I think everything really started to sink in a little bit more once the bike was packed up in the bike box to start the journey. I haven’t really packed anything else, but how hard could it be? I’m only going to Hawaii, and the way I see it I’ll only need my racing gear, one pair of shorts and shirt, flipflops, and board shorts!

In reality it will be much more complicated than that, but I’ll spare you the gruesome and meticulous details. There will be plenty of time and future blog posts for that! Though as I previously alluded, I am still trying to come to terms with this trip and the magnitude of it, but with each passing day it is becoming more real and the excitement is building as well. I actually did a live radio interview with KDKA’s Rob Pratte this morning, detailing my training, the upcoming race, and my involvement with a great charity, Ballou Skies. While I must say that I was fairly nervous doing this, it wasn’t quite as nerve-wracking as I expected and actually pretty fun. Maybe this experience will help to prepare me for the circus that I have heard is Ironman week in Kona. Time will tell!

In any case, I will be posting along the way from Kona in the lead-up and following the big dance. I would like to thank my wonderful girlfriend Jocelyn, my family and friends, all of my training partners, and sponsors for helping me to get to where I am now, the doorstep of the biggest triathlon in the world. I couldn’t have done it without you and am forever thankful and grateful for your love, friendship, and support. However the best is still to come, and race-day and the biggest weekend of my life is less than a week away!