I signed up for Ironman Texas 2012 this past weekend. Knowing that I had a college friend living in Houston and I had a free airline ticket that was expiring the next week, I decided to go to Houston to volunteer and watch the inaugural Ironman Texas. I was curious to see how hot and humid it was going to be. I had a great time at the race watching all the athletes experience the race. I heard great comments from the athletes at the venue and then read much more on the internet - all positive about the course. So, Sunday morning I woke up and decided to go sign up for Ironman Texas 2012. Knowing that we had friends in Houston I thought it would be fun for my wife and kids to hang out with people they knew rather than standing around a course for 10-12 hours waiting for me to finish. So, it would be a better experience for them if they had someone there to entertain them during the long day.
The irony of it is that I am still recovering from a bike crash I experienced on April 30, 2011. From the crash I suffered lots of road rash on my knees, elbow, shoulder, hands, ankle, etc... and fractured ribs. It has been 3 weeks now and my skin has healed quicker than I expected! However, I have been having a very hard time running and swimming. I have been able to ride my stationary bike for 30-45 minutes at a time but with little effort. I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping because of the ribs. Since the crash I have become an expert volunteer - as I have not been able to participate in any local races due to a injured hamstring early on and then the bike crash. So, I knew heading into IMTX that my volunteer skills would be as good as anyones! And I was right - I got to work the crowd control at the bike dismount for 4 hours. Had a great time doing it! If you have never volunteered at an Ironman event, or any triathlon for that matter, I highly recommend doing it. While being at my post I noticed two local guys participating - one of them, Grant Harrell, was wearing ONE gear. I didn't even know he was racing, but there he was having a great day to this point. I was later able to see him on the run and yell encouragement his way. Then I was able to see him cross the finish line in sub 10 hour time, making him a Kona Qualifier! Needless to say, I was inspired! So the day I signed up I decided this was the day that I swanted to start working towards my third IM, so I went for a 60 minute run to test my ribs and to experience the heat and humidity Houston had to offer.
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