Swim Smart, Ride Strong, Run Tough.

    Swim smart, Ride strong, Run tough. That is the plan. That is what I am training towards. I had an interesting thought just last night, the realization that if I wanted to, after a week or two to taper, I could very likely do a half-Ironman right now, if I chose to. The run would be a bit rugged, but the swim and bike I could do today. I think that is amazing. Now I train to double that distance. Which I also find amazing. Amazing, intimidating, inspiring, nerve wracking. I am looking at the cutoff times for each leg, and hoping I can manage the times: 2-1/2 hours for a 5K swim, that is about the equivalent of 44 laps an hour, I can do that. 138 mile bike, in about 8-1/2 hours, that is about 16.5 mph, I will have to push just a little for that. 25K run in 3 hours or less, I should be able to do that. This will be tough, no doubt about it. It will likely take me the full 15 hours to complete the course. Yeah, this makes me a little nervous. It will all come down to gutting it out, finding out just how tough I am. Swim smart, Ride strong, Run tough. Holy gods, what am I getting myself into? Only one way to find out.