Well, Cal.E. got into the catnip again. You may have realized that when she posted her blog multiple times last night. That was the third time this week, so her dad sent her to rehab. I am d.c. scot, and I will be taking over her blog for the length of her stay. I do not know if that will be one day, one week, one month. I will fill in for her as long as she is in rehab, though.
Since I do not have Cal.E’s perspective on animals and humans, (but then, who does?) I will provide some excerpts from some of my books. The first one is called “Beyond the Thirteenth Mile; The Iron Man Chronicles.” It has yet to be released. I will provide excerpts from this book until Cal.E. recovers. (You can also read up to the end of chapter three of my new novel “Precision; The Original Magruder Mystery on Amazon.com by typing in the full title of the book, including the subtitle. Look on the right-hand side of the webpage for the excerpt.)
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This is a true, first-person perspective on training for an IronMan distance triathlon. The first excerpt is the Preface, the Introduction, and the Prologue. I will provide excerpts from this book as long as Cal.E. is ill. I hope you enjoy it until Cal.E. is feeling better.
If you do enjoy excerpts from either or both of these books, let me know by leaving a comment on my manager's Facebook page. You can also send Cal.E. wishes for a speedy recovery by doing the same since my manager is her dad.
PREFACE
The journal entries at the beginning of each chapter and dispersed throughout the last chapter are thoughts that I had at different times during the race. They were later entered into my journal that I kept for four years while training for an Ironman Distance Triathlon.
I chose the first name “Jedidiah” for myself, (the name that God had originally picked out for King Solomon) because the literal translation of the name is “blessed of God.” That is truly how I felt as I did the research to write this book. I hope that you enjoy a first-person (true) perspective on training for and competing in an Iron Man distance triathlon.
d.c.scot
INTRODUCTION
Every year, over four million triathletes compete in their chosen sport. There are
varying distances, from the sprint, which usually does not involve distances that overexert
the competitors, to the Olympic distance triathlon, which is more challenging for the novice, there are triathlons that do not tax the “weekend warrior” to the extreme.
However, there are more challenging distances for the more dedicated triathlete. The
one-half Ironman distance triathlon is extremely challenging. But the ultimate goal, for
those who are elite triathletes (or simply dedicated enough), is to vie for the honor of
competing in the World Championship Ironman distance triathlon: The Hawaiian Iron Man.
There are eighteen hundred slots in the original Iron Man distance triathlon. About ten
percent of these slots are set aside for professional triathletes. The rest are determined by qualifying events.
Many of the qualifiers, as well as non-qualifying (for Hawaii) Ironman distance triathlons, are open to the general public, if the competitors register for the event before all the slots are taken. Even this aspect of the sport is highly competitive.
This novella-length book is a true-life account of the author’s first attempt at completing an Ironman distance triathlon (after losing more than forty pounds and 20% of his body fat). The Iron Man distance triathlon that the author chose in which to compete was a non-qualifying one (for Hawaii). This made it easier for the author to secure a slot. The fact that the triathlon was planned just six weeks after the terrorists’ attack on the twin towers in New York City influenced many of the triathletes who signed up for the Central Florida Iron Man distance triathlon to decide not to attempt this course in the year that this book was completed.
In this book, the author attempted to juxtapose his training against real-life events. The author chose to make this a novella-length book so that people with little free time (such as other triathletes who work at full-time jobs) would have time to both read and enjoy it.
The book is written from a first-person perspective. It details the author’s training as well as events in his personal life. It is loosely based on a journal that the author kept while training for four years to attempt this race. The author’s belief is that non-triathletes will enjoy reading this book as much as the dedicated men and women who devote their spare time to the sport.
PROLOGUE
When a competitor undertakes running a marathon, every step s/he takes beyond the thirteenth mile burns body fat and muscle tissue. Somewhere between the twentieth and twenty-third mile, the competitor’s physical reserves are completely exhausted, no matter how hard s/he trains for this grueling physical test of endurance. All that s/he is left with are the competitor’s mental capabilities and his/her determination for the last, exhausting three to six miles of the run.
When a competitor competes in an Iron Man distance triathlon, the marathon is the last thing the competitor does, after swimming two-point-four miles in the open water, then cycling 112 miles over hot, hilly terrain. The challenge is to do the whole event in less than 17 hours.
My goal, after starting my training at the age of 35, is to go that distance.
My name is Jedidiah Harper, and what follows is my chronicle of events leading up to my attempt to do my first full IronMan distance triathlon. (This account is loosely based on a journal that I kept that chronicled my training in hopes of completing this, the most grueling of events, the ultimate test of endurance, mental toughness, and strategizing. The chronicle of events is true; only the names have been changed.)
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