What a fun time in Dallas!  It was great to finally meet everyone from Team Ireland 2008! What an incredible group of people! We all had lots of time to get to know each other and share stories. I was truly honored to race with all of them! I found a few new “hero’s” on the trip! Everyone on the team completed the race and for several of them it was there first race ever! How awesome is that! My race went OK.  I was able to complete my swim asthma free which I was very happy about! I had a problem with my blood sugar levels and a touch of the flu during the bike and run which caused me to dehydrate as I could not keep water down.  I finished in 3:38 which was about an hour slower than I was hoping for, but I was happy to cross the finish line.  I’ve taken a couple weeks off training, but plan to get started back up this weekend.  I have also decided to continue on spreading the word about Shad’s and other team members amazing stories.  I will also be a part of Team Ireland 2009 and hopefully beyond.

Just a quick thank you to everyone for your generous support!  With your help I have been able to reach and surpass my goal of raising $5000! Thanks also to those of you have have passed along words of encouragement as I have been training and preparing for my races!  Your generosity will help make it possible for other health challenged individuals to improve their health and hopefully go after their dreams as I have.  I have one more race down in Dallas this Sunday.  I’ll keep everyone posted on how things turn out.

Things did not go as planned in my race. My experience was short but memorable! Ironman had to be one of the biggest thrills of my life!  Words can’t describe the feeling and intensity of 2400+ people in the water all taking off at the blast of a cannon!!  To be a part of that was truly special! My family described the scene as looking like a huge pod of dolphins in the ocean.  I would describe it more like thousands of piranha attacking a school of fish!  There were lots of bodies thumping each other. About 15 - 20 minutes into the race I had a bad asthma attack.  I am really allergic to the lake water here.  The asthma really slowed my pace down to a crawl (or back stroke as it was).  By the end of the first lap I knew I wasn’t going to make the cut-off, but I wasn’t going to let it ruin MY day!  I’ve trained too hard and gone through too much to give up!  The race volunteer following me in a kayak asked me if I wanted to quit and my response was “when my times up you can pull me out of the water”!  I found out later he reIayed information to shore that I was having an asthma attack but was in “good spirits and had no intentions of quitting”.  I swam my last lap just enjoying the day, thinking about what I’ve accomplished and how far I’ve come!  It was the most relaxing swim I’ve ever had and the fastest 1.2 miles I’ve ever swam.  It was also the first time I had ever swam the 2.4 mile distance!  I was thrilled to have been able to push myself through the asthma and disappointment and finish my swim.  I got out of the water in 2:35, just fifteen minute past the cut-off time, so I know I can make the time in my next Ironman.   Best of all, a volunteer brought my wife and daughters out in a boat to cheer me on the last 200 yards!  When I reached the shore there were still about 100 people there cheering for me.  It was really cool!!  While I am somewhat disappointed, I have no regrets.  Even the best trained athletes encounter unexpected obstacles that end their day early.  I look at myself as fortunate to have been one of the lucky people to have the opportunity to experience the event first hand, especially with the health challenges I face daily.  Thanks again to everyone who sent words of encouragement to me before the race!   I am looking forward to blowing them away in Dallas next month!!   My next Ironman will be 2010!  Two more years of training will make a huge difference.

Well, it’s three days until Ironman Wisconsin!  I am definitely ready for  the event to get started!  I’ve had an incredible array of emotional experiences the past few week ranging from ” what did I get myself into” to “I’m prepared and will be happy no matter what the day brings”.  And as Shad reminded me, I’m not racing against anyone, I’m doing this for me, so there is nothing to be nervous about.   My training over the past 10 days definitely has put me in a good comfort zone.  My swimming has improved, even with my allergic reactions to the lake water and my running and biking are smooth and at a quicker pace than I expected.   Today I am putting all my gear together to see what I still need for race day.  It’s amazing how much stuff you need with you!  I’m glad I started this today. Today I hope to spend time down at the Ironman site checking things out and enjoying the atmosphere. Tomorrow I get my participant packet and take part in the Gatorade Swim.  For the last 10 months as I’ve trained, I have visualized and dreamed about how I will feel crossing the finish line and hearing “Steve Varsos you’re an Ironman”!  I can only hope it’s as incredible a feeling as I’ve imagined! I’ll let you know how things go on Sunday.

Crunch time is here! I’m 19 days away from competing in my first Ironman event!  I’m getting nervous!  Training has gone well, but it’s been hard fighting through the the added challenges - 2 back injuries injuries, unexpected heart trouble and now bad allergic reactions, including a bacterial infection, from the lake water here! Most of the lakes have been closed off and on much of the summer with blue/green algae, e-coli, etc which has limited my time swimming in lake conditions.  Even when I can swim in the lakes I get bad sinus problems for a day or two afterwards, but I just keep pushing forward. I wish I could have the 3 months of missed training time from the injuries back.   I know I am probably more ready for the event then I give myself credit for, but like I said I’m nervous!  All I can do is stay positive and push myself to do the best I can, but I’ll be verrrry disappointed if I don’t complete the race.  I am definitely ready for Dallas!  I’m really excited about meeting the rest of Team Ireland 2008 and having the opportunity to race with them and share experiences!

On June 15th I completed my first Olympic Distance Triathlon as part of a Relay Team!  I did the cycling and run portion.  I actually swan the sprint distance, 1/3 mile, during the race prior to my team mate swimming his leg of the Olympic distance relay. I wasn’t swimming the Olympic distance yet, but I figured swimming the sprint distance would be good practice.  What an experience!  The cycling portion was over part of the Wisconsin Ironman route.  It was a grueling bike ride!! Mostly steep hills, 20 mile an hour head winds and no chance to use your momentum going down one hill to get up the next one - but I got through it!  I’ll have my work cut out for me in September. My time was 4:13:10.  Not fast by any means but for my first Triathlon on this course, which many experienced triathletes later told me was incredibly challenging for them, I am very happy with the results. 

This past Sunday, May 25th, I had my first experince running in a marathon. I ran in the Madison Marathon here in Wisconsin.  I had planned on doing the full marathon, but settled on a half marathon after a back injury limited my running the past three months.  It was an incredible experience!  I was very excited to finally be able to put on my Team Ireland running shirt and shorts and go out and represent such an incredible foundation!  I wore them with pride and hopefully showed a lot of people anything is possible when you put your mind to it!  I had no idea how the race would turn out, but I knew I wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t finish it.  I ended up completing the 13.1 miles in 2:58:20, which was just off the 13:15 pace I had hoped to run!  The best part was that I able to run the entire 13.1 miles and was still able to finish strong and feel like I could keep going!  I can’t wait for the next event!

It’s hard to believe it’s been 6 months since I’ve actually posted in my journal!  I apologize to those of you who have been checking in.   Training is going strong, though I must admit that I have thought about hanging it up on more than one occassion.  Over the past 6 months I’ve had two back injuries which has made training very difficult at times.  I’ve been able to push through however and I’m back to 100% again.  Due to the back injury I was only able to run sparingly during March and April. I’ve only been back to a regular running schedule for about 3 1/2 weeks.  Cycling is my strongest event and that is going great!  I’m riding 0ver 60 miles now and averaging about 17 miles an hour.  Swimming has also impoved greatly.  I think I’m finally over the hump!  I start open water swimming this weekend.  I plan to do my first mini triathlon in 3 weeks.  I let everyone know how it turns out.

Training has Started!

Well I just finished off my first 8 days of training! I had hoped to make daily entries about my training, but considering everything that has gone on with my family the past 8 days,  I’m just thrilled that I managed to complete all my workouts!  I’ll try harder to keep everyone up to date on my journal.  Swimming will definitely be my biggest challenge, but I knew that would be the case.  

11/24/07 

I was excited that I was able to complete my  6.0 mile run last Saturday in an hour and twenty minutes. I haven’t tried running that distance for a long time. I kept my average heart rate at 131 bpm. 

11/25/07

This afternoon I did a 70 minute bike ride and 20 minute run.  My legs were pretty tired after the workout.   

 11/27/07

Tonight I did a 2 mile run as fast as I could.  I completed the  run in 22:13. I was a bit winded when I finished.  Tomorrow I’m back in the pool again working on my technique.  I’ll let you know how it goes!    

Thanks for taking the time to checkout my web page!  I’ll keep you posted on my experiences, training, and races in this journal.

Let me start by saying I am very excited and honored to be a part of Team Ireland 2008!  I met Shad Ireland about a month ago when he was speaking in Madison, WI.  I will never forget that day!  I was truly inspired by his story!  Shad gave me the motivation I needed to get off the couch and pursue my dream of competing in an Ironman event.  I am now training to compete in Ironman Wisconsin 2008 and in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon World Championships in Dallas, TX .  I have a lot of work (or should I say workouts) ahead of me, but with the support of my family, friends and Team Ireland I know my dream of hearing “Steve Varsos you are an Ironman” will be reached!  

“NO LIMITATIONS – ONLY INSPIRATION”