Florida Ironman Powers Unite

Finally got to sit and chat with Trimama and her Kahuna-esque husband. Having met the Kahuna personally I can vouch for it.

Mistress, Mighty Mo and I met them for dinner at a swank Brewery and Eatery on their way to watch some football at relatives.

Trimama is very funny, engaging and can down a beer and talk football with aplomb.

I mostly spoke with TriDaddy since Mightly Mo was hogging all the Trimama time with his dinosaur imitiations, and he is a really great guy. I didn't know he was running the half as well, must have missed that post somewhere. Anyway we got along great.

So now I have met one, two, three, four actual Triathlete Alliance Bloggers and an assorted cast of characters mentioned about online and I am truly blessed. I had no idea that putting myself out into the Blogesphere a little over a year ago, by just commenting on Tri-Geek Dreams, that I would have been so touched by those others that took a chance and spoke up like me.

This is a great world.

Trimama brought something up at dinner that really resonated with me. I sit at my terminal and I post up my training and my thoughts towards Ironman. I connect online with dozens of bloggers going to or supporting Florida Ironman. No one from my area, that I have a personal, physical connection with is going there to be with me.

Meeting Trimama and TriDaddy tonight made realize one thing. A big thing. Even though a great big group of us are going to Florida, most of us will have never met. We made commitments to each other and personal and financial sacrifices with our families based on a ethernet relationships. Meeting them tonight crystalized this point- I won't be there alone.

Ironman Florida has been counting down on my site for over 200 days. My commitment started the day I paid the entry fee. The connection of relationship started at dinner tonight with the clinking of fresh pints of ale.

And we will eat again, Trimama and I, on November 5, 2006, toasting margaritas and saluting our success and to the success of all our other Florida bound Ironmen and maidens.

And numbing the pain of the M-Dot tattoos we got hours earlier.

Cheers.