My story, and why my goal is an IM

I'm fairly new around here, but I aim to be a member for a long time.  That's because, even though I'm just training for my first triathlon, a sprint distance, my end goal in mind is an Ironman.  To reach that goal, I know that I'm going to need help, some of which I hope to find here in way of encouragement, inspiration, knowledge, and even a little humor. 

I thought that I'd start by sharing my story.  I'm a 27 year old male, 5'7" at 206 pounds (down from 225-230 since last Thanksgiving), and completed my first 5k run race last month.  That tells you my general level of fitness.  What it doesn't tell you is who I am. 

Seven and a half months ago on September 24, 2009, my wife and I lost our 10 month old baby boy.  He was born with an extremely rare genetic condition, so rare that the doctors were only able to find eight documented cases in the world.  The entire time he was with us he was at the hospital; we never got to take him home.  He averaged over a surgery a month, more operations than a dozen normal people would have in a lifetime. 

He was a fighter, our little precious angel.  In his fifth month he had heart surgery, just one of his many surgeries.  After that he finally had enough energy to do something other than just try to survive.  It was after that when we first got to see him smile.

My son never should have made it past his first day of life, let alone make it past all obstacles to reach ten months old.  Every week, sometimes every day, the doctors thought that it might be his last.   It was only through the grace of God that we were fortunate to have those months with him.  During those ten months my son taught me what it means to be a father.

Now, after his death, I find myself at a crossroad.  My wife and I each deal with things differently.  For me, I need an outlet for my energy, a pursuit with a goal in mind, to help occupy my time.  Going from spending most of my time outside of work down at the hospital to then sitting at home was quite a change.  We joined the YMCA, and I started doing a spinning class, as well as running on the treadmill.  It was time when I could just be away, to let me mind pause, to reflect in my own world.  It was paradise, a safe harbor in a storm filled sea.

During this time, I started looking at triathlons.  I was already doing two of the three disciplines, and I thought that triathlons would be a way to balance my workouts.  I also thought that it would be harder than just training for a marathon, and that hardship was something that I welcomed, and even sought after.  I needed a challenge.  I needed to test myself, both physically and mentally.  I needed that goal.

It was during this time that I remembered once watching coverage of the Ironman championship.  I started doing some research about it, reading accounts of people who have finished the event, and watching Youtube videos about it.  The sheer insanity of it struck me.  At this point I had just completed my first 5k on a treadmill.  I hadn't run outside for years, I had only been on a bike in my spinning class, and the last time I was in a pool swimming laps was back in high school gym class.  To think that people would enter a race spanning 140.6 miles seemed crazy.  It was perfect.

To complete an Ironman will take me years of training and preparation.  My target goal is IMKY 2014.  It will be a journey that will tax both my body and my mind.  It will be the outward display of the inner trials that I have faced over the last year and a half.  I will race for myself, to show myself what I can accomplish, and I will race for my son, doing something that he never had a chance to do, and most people alive wouldn't even contemplate.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.  It helped me get my jumbled thoughts in order and written down.  Sharing it with others is just a side benefit.