The lottery and some thoughts

October 1.... The lottery for Kona opens today. I am most definitely going to sign up. Why, you ask?? Because there's always a chance that YOU will be one of the lottery winners. What happens if I am selected? Maybe I can end up on that NBC documentary about the Ironman in Hawaii. Maybe I'll get to Kona when I'm 27, and maybe I'll be 67, who knows... Why spend the almost $100 every year to enter in a lottery where the odds of winning are miniscule at best? I suppose only a triathlete knows - no matter how much you try to explain to everyone else why you do it - it's only you that knows. Why do ironmans at all? Why train for years on end to put yourself through that much suffering? Why not stick to shorter distances that don't require as much training? Again, I suppose it's only you that knows - those that live with you get a pretty good idea over the course of 6 months of structured training as well. It's funny how I've never even done an ironman, and it's like I'm already addicted. I haven't even done one, and I want to do them all. One of my friends told me last night, "let's just focus on the first one." Very true. I don't know if I have ever been more focused on a single goal as I am on this race in Florida. Do me a favor, take five minutes and watch this short video on youtube - it gives me chills everytime I watch it - it's from the 2003 NBC documentary on Kona - it was also the 25th anniversary of the race:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EokseUskyDI

That being said, another 2:30 running, 1:00 swim on Saturday, and 5:00 riding on Sunday. Let's get that done. I'll let you know how that goes after I'm done. Take it easy all - thanks for reading....