Time to start updating this blog!

I recently signed up to do Ironman Cozumel 2011, which will take place over Thanksgiving weekend, so I think it's now time that I actually do something with this blog.  I plan on updating it with a few items between now and then.  There will be some boring training and race results, but the focus is going to be as stated in the intro to the blog - to tell you how I am able to train for an Ironman despite everything else going on in my life.

So here is my first of many pointers:

Get buy in from your family, including, if necessary, choosing a "destination" Ironman. 

My wife Paige was incredibly supportive of my first Ironman (Coeur d'Alene 2009).  It was a big life goal for me and coincided with my 40th birthday, so she was completely on board with the long hours of training and intermediate races.  She was amazing.  She also thought it would be a one-time thing.  Maybe because I told her it would be.

Then, as some Ironman triathletes had warned me, I got to thinking "maybe I should do another one!".  Doing one was incredible - one of the top 4 or 5 achievements of my life, and simply crossing the finish line was awesome.  I still get goosebumps when I recall hearing "Matt Rodgers of Corte Madera, CA... You are an Ironman!"

That said, I had no idea what to expect that day, never having done anything close to that long of a race. Afterward, the competitor in me began thinking "I could go an hour faster, especially now that I know what it's like".  Instead of stopping after just one, I want to progress up the learning curve. 

So I spent most of 2010 focused on my running, and exploring timing and locations for another Ironman.  My wife was tentatively supportive, but made one thing clear:

"If you're going to do another Ironman, it better be in a sweet location, because this one is about me and a family vacation!"

Coeur d'Alene is a nice place to visit, and had the weather been better it would have been a delightful vacation, but for my second act I needed to up the ante.  So one day I said:
"How 'bout we spend Thankgiving week in Cozumel, Mexico next year, and I'll do an Ironman that Sunday?" 

Done.

So the moral of the story is, you'll probably get a free pass on the location of your first Ironman.   But if you're going to make it a periodic thing, start thinking about your family and their enjoyment.  My buddy Jason Hann will be doing Cozumel as his first, and his wife and daughters will be playing in the sand as we taper the last few days.  I invited my friend Matthew Sessions to join us in Cozumel, but his wife said "I prefer France - you can do Ironman France", and voila, he'll have a great family vacation this summer in the south of France.  The Recreational Ironman needs the support of his team, so he must see to the needs of that team.

Until next time...
-Matt