Craziness, thanks and what's next?

Well, it's over a week since the big dance and time I guess to think of other things and the first of those things is this blog.
Lets face it, it's not a big blog. There are people out there whos musings get read by thousands and thousands of people. Thankfully mine doesn't because I wouldn't know what the hell to write that would keep them amused. It's on it's 3rd incarnation and was mostly set up so that my family could see what I'm up to from their homes 200miles away and so that I could look back at what I've done. I'm not a big blog reader, I just don't have time, in fact I'm not a big reader at all. My job means that I can listen to masses of podcasts instead, but you really wouldn't want to hear my voice any more than is necessary so be grateful for the blog ;-). This will be my 63rd posting and as of now I've had just over 5,200 viewings (there's a counter at the bottom) which works out at 82 per post. I can probably write off 30 views per post as my gf, mother and sister click regularly to check for updates and I check for comments, so really there are less than 50 people who are daft enough to read this muck and that's before you take off the people who click my Twitter or Daily Mile posts and then close the page before the end of the first paragraph. I don't mind that, it's not a business tool, there are no ad's at the side for you to click, it's just a bit of fun.
Knowing all this you can imagine my shock when I find that somebody has written about ME(!!!) on THEIR BLOG!!! So to Heather I must say thank you, but you really need to get out more ;-). I'd love to say I'd send hundreds of followers that way, but it's not going to happen. If you stumble across this rubbish though give her a click and you'll see how a blog should really be written. It's bright, fun and put together much better than this old dross.

On the right hand side of this page there is a little list of links. These are all people who in one way or another have helped me out on my way to Kona. Please click on them and check them out. Obviously some of them are local to me so if you happen to live thousands of miles away then you won't be able to have a massage off the lovely Maria, still give it a click though. The very least I can do is try to give their websites a bit of traffic :-)
Of course the list of thanks should go out much further than those lists. There are so many people who've helped me on the way, from family and friends who encourage and put up with my training in equal measure as well as helping me out considerably with the financial side of things (Ironman is a sport for rich bankers, not lorry drivers). Also, strange as it may seem, all the folks who've wished me well and encouraged me on Twitter and Daily Mile need thanks. When the going gets tough and my notoriously weak mental attitude goes into quit mode it's quite often the thought of how I'm going to explain myself to everyone that keeps me moving forwards. Knowing the people they are I'd actually never hear a bad word, but the thought puts extra pressure on and sometimes that's exactly what my lazy ass needs.

So what's next? If I'm honest, I haven't got a clue. I'm pretty determined that this will be my last Ironman (for a few years at least)........ but, it almost seems like a waste of the new bike and there is still the annual temptation of Ironman Florida registration. I'll no doubt watch the race online and get very drawn to it, if I can get through November 7th without doing anything stupid (registering for 2011) then I'll know more.

I quite fancy doing a few Ultra-Marathons. It means I can possibly sneak in a holiday/race trip abroad without having all the hassle and expense of taking the bike. I'll probably leave it until the New Year before I start thinking about the possibility of things like that though. We'll see.

My official pics have come through from Kona. They cost me a bloody fortune so I'm going to post them everywhere I can. Including on here ;-)