I knew going into Ironman Louisville this wasn’t going to be my only one. I want to experience this lifestyle of training for these types of distances. You eat, sleep, & train Ironman for over 7+ months of focused training. Plus you are doing some type of maintenance mileage the other 5 months. We also so other tune up races. Some of us do 70.3 events, 1/2 marathons, full marathons, and other shorter races. Sure we take some time off. I will take off a little bit of time in December and normally find myself taking more time off in March. This is a lifestyle you have to want. To do Ironman you can’t put your toes in the water. You have to jump into the deep end and totally immerse yourself.

I know from past experience it takes me a few distance events for me to be understand what I am doing. Doing 140.6 in a day is complicated and so many factors go into finishing in under 17 hours. It’s complicated because you are not only doing three different sports, but your burning an insane amount of calories. I believe I burned anywhere from 10,000 -12,000 calories the day of the event. You can’t possibly eat this much but you have to eat enough to survive.

Nutrition is what caused me to struggle out there. My legs were strong enough to do a 4 1/2 hour marathon. I need to spend the winter trying to understand the nutrition side of this sport. In other distances you may be able to get away with a lack of nutrition or eat minimally.

My next scheduled 140.6 event will be Ironman Chattanooga on September 28th, 2014. This event sold out in less than a minute. I was lucky enough to get in and will give it my all next year.

Why Chattanooga? I am one to peak at the end of September and October. I like the idea of doing a race that potentially will be much better weather conditions than Louisville. I prefer swims that are fresh water and this fits into what I am looking for. I am also interested in checking out Nashville after this event is over and plan to spend a few days there checking out the country music scene.

Ironman Texas? There is a chance I may end up doing Ironman Texas in May first though. I haven’t made up my mind yet and want to get through the fall before making any decisions on next spring. To train for an early season Ironman I would need to start serious training in early January. I would need to consider doing a marathon in February (I plan to do a 1/2). If I were lucky enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon next month and it didn’t sell out, meaning I could run it next April, then I am pretty sure I would sign up for IM Texas.

My next topic will be one I meant to write before I did my Ironman. It will be called “I Didn’t Get Here Alone..” This topic will be everyone I thanked and who inspired me to get to the start line.