The beautiful New Zealand countryside

I was going to write here about how it happened that we ended up doing Ironman New Zealand.. then I realized I couldn't actually remember how it came about. Then I remembered I posted about it! Hurray, blogging!

People have told me, "You know, Amy, you can actually just go and vacation somewhere without doing some sort of athletic event.." to which I reply, "Why would I want to do that?" Honestly, this has become a lifestyle for me and Matt, and it's one we love and have no plans to stop. So combining a fantastic vacation to a place I've always wanted to go with an Ironman? Perfect for us.

Some background, for those who either don't know me or don't know Ironman. An Ironman-distance triathlon is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a marathon (26.2 mile run) back to back. You start at 7am and must cross the finish line by midnight of that same day. This would be my fourth Ironman. If you'd like to read my previous Ironman race reports, Coeur d'Alene 2007 is here and Lake Placid 2008 is here and Coeur d'Alene 2010 is here. I do not write short race reports. I will not be offended if you find them too long to be enjoyable and don't read them or this one.

Click here to begin..