6:30:00

Something to shoot for, my friend...

Everyone talks about goals.  I believe in setting goals as well.  One of the things that I like about triathlons is that your goals could not be more simple.  Oftentimes, your goal may be nothing more than a set of numbers on the clock.  For me, 06:30 is more than just a heinous time to be awake in the morning.  It is my goal for my next race.

My next race will be my first of this year.  I call it "Oceanside" but its official name is Ironman California.

Even though the race takes place in Oceanside, California--only about 15 minutes from where I grew up--I first became aware of it two years ago.  I was driving down the freeway through Camp Pendleton when I got a text from my brother.  He was updating me on his progress in the race.  I hadn't even known he was racing!  And I really didn't know much about triathlons either since I had never done one.

I soon got another text from my brother and became intrigued.  What was this race and how did he have time to be sending me texts during the middle of it??

I decided to pull off the freeway when I got to Oceanside and track my brother down on the course.  By this time, he was on the final stretch--the run.  I called my parents who were on the way to see him finish and I decided to follow my brother during the run so that I could let my parents know where he was at on the half marathon when they got there.

Little did my brother know he would inspire me to follow in his footsteps...

I don't think I had actually run a race of any type in about a decade.  I was also dealing with a bum knee.  But fortunately, I had shorts on that day and so I shadowed my brother on the course with my cell phone in one hand and my blackberry in the other.

My brother finished and I was hooked.  I did my first triathlon about four months later and I did Oceanside half the next year.  Saturday will mark my second consecutive year doing the race.

The Training
Obviously, the first part of the event is the swim.  I really haven't swam a bunch over the past few months, but I think I've done enough to at least equal last year's time for the 1.2 mile swim.  The swim in Kona really did help my confidence.  I just wish that Oceanside Harbor were as warm and as beautiful as Kailua Bay!

Instead of 30 feet of visibility, Oceanside Harbor will offer about 3 inches.  And instead of beautiful sea turtles for swimming companions, I'll have to hope that the sea lions keep their distance.  And instead of warm, 80 degree water, I'll have to contend with water in the high 50s.  Other than that, the two swims are really about the same!

My ride

The next part is the bike--56 miles of it.  I got a few good rides in while I was in Hawaii, including a 20 miler and a 60 miler.  (Not to mention my flat tire!)  Then yesterday, I got a 40 miler in along a big chunk of the actual course in Camp Pendleton.  It was nice to be back on my own bike again!  I think that I have a chance to make up some time on the bike this year!

I felt a little self-conscious asking to have someone take a picture of me while I was biking in Hawaii, so I snapped these as I cruised along....

I love the white stone "graffiti" messages alongside the Queen K Hwy

Don't try this at home...

The last part is the run.  Last year, at about Mile 50 of the bike ride, I remember thinking that my legs didn't have a half marathon (13.1 miles) in them.  My longest run ever in the history of my life up to that point had been 10 miles when I was about 12 years old.  They probably didn't, but somehow I managed to keep going.    I feel like I'm stronger this year and I'm looking forward to improving on my run time from last year.

People always ask me, how do you find time to train.  The truth is, I don't.  But rather than worry, I have come to embrace it.  Before last year's race, I had never swam 1.2 miles--ever.  I had never biked 56 miles--ever.  And I had never done a half marathon.

I did a lot of training runs at midnight and even 2 a.m before last year's race.  Then in that race, I remember getting to about mile 9 of last year's run and coming to the realization that I was going to finish.  I actually got a little emotional because finishing to me was victory.  And it symbolized that I had come a long way in the past year.  I had gone from being a guy who had to watch his brother do the race--not thinking that I could do it own my own--to being able to finish my own race.

And Saturday, I get to race against last year's version of myself.  I'm definitely a year older, hopefully a year wiser, and I expect to be an even better version of myself.  That's the real challenge--to race against the clock and against last year's "me" and to beat both of them.

1.2 miles in the water.  56 miles on the bike.  13.1 miles on foot.

All in less than 6:30:00.

Here's to achieving our goals!