It is now very real, IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta

Yes, this is real (02/05/2017)

Who do I have to thank for what the above picture says?  That one person is my wife, Merrill. She has been so supportive of what I am doing since I began this crazy idea of competing in a half-IRONMAN by or shortly after my 49th birthday and competing in an  IRONMAN by or shortly after my 50th birthday. She may think I am crazy, but that is nothing new. I believe almost daily she says, "You are so weird!"

My beautiful wife, Merrill.

The other three I need to thank:
G, M1 and M2

As you can tell in the top picture, I have signed up for my A-race, IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta. Sadly, notification that you have signed up is not as flashy as when you register for the Marine Corps Marathon. For those who don't know, that means I will be swimming 1.2 miles DOWNstream (yay) in the Savannah River, riding my bike for 52 miles in and around the Augusta area and South Carolina (whatever bike it is, current HARO DoublePeak mountain bike or a road or triathlon bike) and finally running 13.1 miles through the historic streets of Augusta. Sounds like a fun day, doesn't it? It does to me. Ok, maybe not fun, but exactly what I want to do.

The first group of people I notified were the wonderful doctors at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Clinic. Drs. Mitch Geffner and Mimi Kim, who have always been supportive, were both very happy. That is saying it mildly.

The first part of my journey is now reality. The motivation is real, not imagined. Hello Kitty and I will be swimming, biking and running a lot in the next eight-months. Coordinating electrolyte, CAH meds and fueling will also need to be fine-tuned. Of course, for me the most basic goal is to finish, but I do really want to be more than that and be "competitive".

So, as I told the doctors, "Let's all hang on for the wild ride that will be the next 8-months!"

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