The beginning of this blog

I have created this blog with multiple intentions.  The first is to openly inform anyone interested about what it has taken to train and prepare for an Ironman race and other races, and to continue to do so for events in the future.  The second is to let people know that fit and athletic people have issues reaching, maintaining, and progressing when it comes to fitness goals just the same as an individual just starting out.  The third is to venture into the possibility to eventually becoming a sponsored athlete.  My final goal is to hopefully help motivate people in any way possible.  My perception of what is possible to achieve has been progressed drastically over the past ten years; it’s never too late to get started on anything, and no person or any dream is ever a lost cause.

My first marathon in 2012 came out of left field.  I lost 20’ish pounds over the course of the year from running; it was just a gym activity to become more fit; I ran three times a week for 45 minutes.  At a barbeque in August of 2012 I was talking to a girl I had never met and she discussed hoping to one day run a marathon.  My brain started churning, “Yeeeah, a marathon, that’s a good idea.”  Later that weekend I set out on a run, this was my test.  I had concluded that if I could run ten miles and feel pretty solid when I was done I would register for the Portland Marathon.  I ran my ten miles, felt like a beast, and registered for the marathon when I got home.  I only had six weeks to train, so that’s what I did.  I picked up a training guide from a friend’s sister and used the last six week section as a rough guide to where I should be.

The day the marathon came I really had no idea what to expect.  My mp3 player had an assortment of specific tempo music to keep my cadence through the whole race.  When I finished the marathon I felt like a king.  I had succeeded at a crazy goal with far too little time to properly prepare.  The “crazy goal” is pretty important to my story; in hind sight I don’t consider it crazy, but I certainly did when I registered for the race.  Crazy goals are the best ones.  You will never succeed at that crazy goal, turn to look back at it and think, “maaan, that was sure stupid.” 

So at this point in life I have one month (to the day) left before my Ironman race.  I intend to write about my initial training, the investments required both financially and of time, and my feelings and changing thoughts towards the race.  I hope that people have a genuine interest in the road travelled.  It’s not so much about what I’ve accomplished to this point, but about what others can pick up from such a trek and possibly reopen past “crazy” goals.

If people have any specific questions or interests feel free to email me justin.sunnarborg@gmail.com I will post about anything related to life and training, so don’t hesitate to be curious.

And in all honesty I would love if you would let others know about this blog.  I’m hoping to update very frequently at the front end since I’ve got a fair amount of past time to cover.