The Story So Far...

For years my weapon of choice for fitness has been running, with Over 30 men's league soccer thrown in on Tuesdays to keep the boredom away.  It wasn't until a high school friend came to Atlanta on a business trip from Colorado that I decided to make the jump to triathlon.  After picking his brain about getting into the sport, I got even more confirmation from co-workers at the school where I had just started teaching.  Once I began talking to our school's Resource Officer and one of our PE teachers (who just happens to have the disease Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a form of muscular dystrophy) and listening to their stories of Ironman Florida did I decide that completing an Ironman just moved to the very top of my bucket list.  Over the past couple of years I have completed a few sprint and Olympic distance races as well as two half-Iron distance races.

Fast forward to July 2012.  I decided that the Ironman event I wanted to complete was the 2nd longest running Ironman event in North America, Ironman Lake Placid.  I chose this because my hometown is in upstate New York and it would allow for me to have a great support team for the event.  Knowing that IMLP sells out in minutes online, I took a trip to Lake Placid to volunteer and guarantee my entry into the 2013 event.  This involved a long day handing out nutrition at an aid station on the run course, followed by taking in all the craziness at the finish line until the midnight cutoff and finally sleeping in the back of my sister's Hyundai Tuscon in a parking lot so that I could be in line for registration at 5am. 

On February 5th of 2013 my goal of completing IMLP was put in serious jeopardy. In the final two minutes of an Over 30 Soccer playoff game, I planted a foot wrong while playing defense, heard a pop come from my right knee and dropped to the floor in a heap.  I knew at that moment that it was not good, and the thought that immediately popped into my mind was "oh crap, I just tore my ACL."  I was able to walk but I knew that I had to get it looked at ASAP.  The initial diagnosis of a torn ACL was confirmed by an MRI, and surgery was scheduled for March 5th.

Surgery was a success, and here is what my leg looks like for the next couple of weeks:

So why did I start this?  I needed a way to keep me motivated and focused on a goal that may be highly improbable.  The surgeon has doubts about my level of readiness by July 28th, but I have talked to two PTs that are willing to work with me to give it a shot.  I'm hoping to use this blog as a way to track my progress and log the exercises that are prescribed.  Hopefully, I will progress in such a way that completing this event will be an achievable goal.