A decade of goals, a decade of dreams
Ever since I crossed the finish line of my first IronMan in 2018, I confirmed I had caught a bug. A confirmation of a feeling that started sometime in 2017 as I was training for my first half IronMan. The urge to constantly seek out opportunities to push myself physically, mentally, and intellectually has been the most valuable attribute I have gained over the last two years. Each year, I commit to completing a major physical and intellectual goal, each one building on the last.
This new calling drove me to chart out a course for the next 10 years, a decade of goals, from 30-40. These are goals that are meant to improve my resiliency and reset my own personal baseline of what is possible. The list below maps out the physical goals I will be aiming to conquer, a list of firsts. As with my previous firsts in 2017 and 2018, I will use these opportunities to fundraise and add to the already $5000 in total funds raised for Veteran-based non profits from my first half- and full IronMans.
The successful completion of this list of firsts will depend on a lot of yet unforeseen factors such as future job assignments, but it offers a framework and an always moving goal-line. They are generally structured to allow me to move closer to being a competitive triathlete for the IronMan World Championships in Kona. There are quicker ways to built up towards being Kona competitive (i.e. focus on IronMan structures races exclusively), but the approach below allows me to enjoy the many rewards of adventurous Ultra events while building a solid foundation for a strong 140.6 performance.
Although I have a list of intellectual goals I would like to achieve in the next ten years, the order in which they will occur will fall into place closer to the year itself, and are thus not yet listed below.
2017 – 1st Half IronMan triathlon fundraising for Folds of Honor
EMT certified
2018 – 1st IronMan triathlon (Santa Rosa) fundraising for The Soldiers Project
Instrument Rating (IFR) complete
2019 – 1st 50 Mile run (Old Cascadia 50 Miler) fundraising for Kat Portillo
Master’s degree in Flight Test Engineering
2020 – 1st 100 Mile trail run (AC100)
2021 – 1st Ultraman triathlon: 3 days and 6.2 mile swim, 263mile bike ride, and 52.mile run
2022 – 1st 20 mile Catalina-Mainland swim
2023 – 1st 500 Mile bike: Silver State 508
2024 – 1st Race Across America (RAAM)
2025 – 1st 200 Mile “run” (race to be determined)
2026 - 1st Badwater 135
2027 – 1st Kona IronMan World Championships
2028 – 1st Epic5: 5 IronMans, 5 days
