Time to get back to work

 I just realized that I completely dropped the ball on keeping this blog updated.  On August 21 of this year I along with two of my close friends completed the first and likely only Ironhorseman 140.6 mile triathlon.  Canada never opened their border so our back up plan became the primary plan.  It truly was an incredible experience that I got to share with family and friends and had the most incredible surprise waiting for me at the finish.  After running down the street in the rain and embracing Lori and Jordan at the end of a long day I had one more thing waiting……a video message that Lori had arranged from Mike Reilly, the voice of Ironman.  He uttered the words I had worked so hard to hear, Jonathan Schwartz, You are an Ironman!!!!

The only thing that can possibly top that will be to hear those words on July 24, 2022 on the 5 year anniversary of my second brain surgery live and in person in Lake Placid.  That’s right, I’m going to do this again, but this time officially with the crowds and the energy that only an Ironman Race can deliver.

This one will be different, different rules around my training due to a diagnosis in October of cluster headaches.  The two big rule changes, low HR training the entire time, not that big a deal since 140.6 miles is an endurance event not a sprint.  The bigger change that will take some experimentation is the change to a low carb high fat ketogenic diet.  The adjustment to less than 50g carbs a day has not been that difficult, but learning to fuel myself  for 140.6 miles will be a little bit more difficult.  No gels and high carb snacks that generally provide fuel, this time I will be learning to use fat stores in my body to get me through a long day.

No one ever said it would be easy, if it was then everyone would do it.  I have been challenged at every turn since this journey started on December 11,2012 and with an incredible support system from doctors who understand my drive, to friends and teammates who train with me to my coach who guides me and most importantly to Lori and Jordan, my Why, this will be a team journey and I promise to do a better job documenting this incredible journey.

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