The next challenge

Earlier this year I finished my MBA degree. Suddenly I had a void where a clear goal had once been. For several months I adjusted to life without school, and while I was able to fill the time void easily I was not able to fill the "goal void" very easily. I am going to make a habit of writing about my journey to fulfill a new goal every bit as challenging as the last one. Although earning an advanced degree is mentally challenging, my next goal is both mentally and physically grueling. As I learn from my self-imposed challenge, I will write about what I learn along the way.

My new challenge came about after a reasonably hard mountain bike ride at Burchfield Park in Holt. Despite breaking my bike seat during the ride, it was a good one. My riding partner and I were resting after the ride while he smoked a cigarette. Between puffs, he casually suggested to me that we should complete an Ironman before we turn 40. This was exactly the kind of absurd challenge that I needed to fill the void left by my school program, and I was hardly about to let a dare such as this one go unanswered, especially when the fellow making the dare was smoking when he made it.

In case you are unfamiliar with an Ironman, it is a triathlon. Triathlons typically combine swimming, biking, and running. An Ironman is 2.5 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and is capped off with 26.2 miles of running. There is a 17 hour time limit to complete all three legs. There is a very real possibility that I will not meet this goal, which, of course is what makes a goal great!