From "triathlete" to "roadie"

What happens when the sport that has given you so much, stops giving you what you need? I've been asking myself this question over and over this past year. It all started when I injured my foot back in the fall of 2007. I successfully trained and finished the Whistle Stop Marathon in October. Two weeks later, when I was out for a three mile run, my foot "didn't feel right." A month earlier I had signed up for the 2008 Ironman Wisconsin triathlon. Knowing the preparation needed to complete a race like the Ironman, I quickly sought out medical help to help me diagnosis the foot injury. Everything looked like it would be healed up and ready to go just in time for my training to kick into high gear.

Fast forward 9 months and I'm still at a place where my foot hurts on a daily basis and the treatments I received haven't given me the relief needed to fully commit to the training needed to finish an Ironman. I was at a crossroad where in one direction would lead me to my second Ironman finish, but at what price? The other road would take away this possibility and force me to really figure out the root of this injury, get the proper treatment and "lick" this once and for all. By now I'm sure you can guess what road I took. Well, I should say that I sort of paved my own road. I'm not doing Ironman. I'm also not really doing that much to figure out this foot problem. What I've done is found a new sport that I've been thinking about trying for a while.

I've become a "roadie." No, not the kind that supports a band while on tour, but a road biker. It all started when I had this bright idea to build a new bike. Well, that idea is tabled for now. Instead I'm working on improving my "engine" or also known as my cardiovascular system this season and reward myself with a new bike for 2009. My first mission, sign up and complete my very first bike race. I picked the Blue Mounds Classic as my first race. One look at the elevation and some would think I've completely lost it. It's a valid argument but most of my family would say I lost it a long time ago. So, with a screw loose, I completed my first bike race and finished near the middle of the field. Not bad for a guy riding a bike built the same year I graduated from high school (if you do the math the bike is 12 years old).


I'm hooked and my next race is coming up on September 6th in Fort Atkinson. This one is more flat than the Blue Mounds Classic, so I'll be interested to see how I fair when "hammering on the flats." Until then, I'll be logging plenty of miles on my "old school" bike gearing up for September 6th. Oh yea...I couldn't do my first race without bringing my camera to document everything. Enjoy!