If you’ve been tuning into this blog over time, you know that the past couple of years, while fantastic in many ways, have been a disappointment on the competitive front.  A broken ankle in 2010 (during a 14er hike with the family) and then a fractured fibula during a 70.3 Tri (first race of the season) resulted in two years without the pleasure of racing.  But hope springs eternal, and over the past 2 months, I’ve been gradually increasing my training to the higher volume levels.  And today, I officially registered for Ironman St. George, which will take place in Utah in May of 2012.  For those of you who may not be familiar with triathlon distances, this is one of the longer events, consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and then a 26.2 mile (marathon) run.  The training, for obvious reasons, can become all-consuming and I’m extremely fortunate to have the full support of our entire family.  In fact, they’re each holding me accountable to a new approach to training (compared with previous Ironman events) as I prepare for what I hope to be an incredible day in May.  Over the past two years, I’ve continued to study, research, and try things out.  So I’m going into this 6 month block of training with some new strategies that also bring a certain amount of enhanced optimism.  But more than anything, I’m thankful to be healthy and to have the opportunity to pursue this journey.  For most of you, this portion of the blog will likely be of little interest.  But I’m hoping that for a few of you, sharing some of the details of the training, nutrition, rest and supplementary pursuits will be of benefit for a few of you who are in the midst of your own adventures.