End of a decade

2009 draws to a close with a year of limited athletic accomplishment as work took precedence over training. The redesign and rebranding of the U-M English website and alumni newsletter involved long hours and lots of hard work, and though triathlon had to take a backseat over the summer, ultimately the finished products were a success and so well received that I earned a Spotlight Award from U-M's College of Literature, Science and the Arts for my efforts. Nice to find some measure of accomplishment when a finish line isn't available...

I still managed to sneak in some runs and swims though. Highlights included my first running in the Boston Marathon (really an experience right up there with the Hawaii Ironman) and a trip to Miami for the Miami Man Half-Ironman (swim | bike | run) where I was able to catch and ultimately cross the finish line together with my mother (doing the short course and her first olympic distance triathlon). I also kept my streak alive for consecutive participation in the Detroit half/full marathon, the Turkey Trot, and the usual St. Patty's Day run. And finally, for a change of pace, I also attended several triathlons as support crew for my mom and her running buddies who took on various tri-distances all the way up to the Steelhead Half-Ironman. It was nice to be able to finally return the favor after so many of my own races.

It's been a heck of a decade—from my first meager attempts at the marathon distance in 2002 and IM Wisconsin in 2003 to racing in Boston and championship events in Clearwater and Hawaii—lots of personal firsts and personal bests accomplished. Can't wait for 2010 (and the next decade) which will start with a return trip to Boston, and hopefully, not only a return to long-course triathlon racing but also many more new challenges/experiences to come!

Anthony (finally) qualifies for Boston!

Not much to report as 2008 draws to a close. This year I finally did take some time away from racing the long-distance/Ironman triathlons and just got back to training just for fun. Still a bunch of swimming, biking, and running, but I pretty much cut my training volume in half...and even enjoyed an occasional beer! Only two races this year: the Crim (which I ran with some friends), and the Detroit Marathon.

Detroit has become a tradition for me and my family, and this year was my only long race. I hadn't run a stand alone marathon in several years, so it was nice to finally see how I've progressed since the last one. I wasn't fully trained for Detroit, which turns out might have been a good thing, as I ran my fastest marathon to date and just managed to qualify for the Boston Marathon with a 3:15:20 (see race details here). Cut it pretty close, but I'm planning on taking my slot and competing in April 2009. I might even try training for this one...

Anthony selected to compete at the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona.

After deciding to take some time away from triathlon and shift my training focus towards an attempt at qualifying for the Boston Marathon in 2007, I entered the Hawaii Ironman Lottery more out of habit than truly wishful thinking ... and wouldn't you know it, after four years I'm in! I'll be attempting to document my journey towards the starting line here.

I've recently been interviewed about my participation in the Hawaii Ironman. Links to these articles are below:
Ironman.com
Ann Arbor News
Also Check out:
mBlog

Anthony completes 2006 season by competing in Ironman 70.3 World Championship Triathlon

After a long season, I capped off 2006 with a personal best of 4:53 at the Ironman 70.3 World Championship triathlon in Clearwater, Florida. Despite various injuries preventing me from swimming and proper run training, I still managed a PB on a hot and fast course. Great opportunity to race and very happy to have been able to participate in this inaugural event. Looking forward to some downtime and a full recovery for some lingering injuries.

I qualified to compete at the Steelhead Ironman 70.3 in St. Joseph, Michigan, where my sister also completed her first attempt at the half-ironman distance.