By John RittenhouseGoing by the calendar, there are 163 days between today and Oct. 16.As the result of a recent development, Luverne’s Preston Ver Meer is operating under the premise that there are only 163 days remaining to train for what will be a daunting physical challenge, which will take place on that date next fall.On the basis of being selected during a lottery drawing staged on April 15, Ver Meer has been invited to compete in the 36th Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.The event, billed as one of the world’s stiffest physical challenges a person can be subjected to, will begin at 7 a.m. (Kona time). The triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run, and it attracts world-class athletes from more than 50 countries.Ver Meer doesn’t consider himself to be a top-notch athlete at the age of 59, but he’ll have to train like he is one now. It will take a lot of hard work, but Ver Meer is looking forward to the challenge of getting into the type of physical condition he’ll need to complete the 140-plus mile course."Actually, I had a goal qualifying for this race when I was 60," Ver Meer admitted. "I wasn’t planning on it (qualifying for the event), but now I have to be ready for it by October instead of next year."Ver Meer already has beaten the odds just to be invited to the race.Most of the up to 2,000 athletes who will compete at the 2004 ITWC had to earn their invitations by placing in the Top 3 during the many different qualifying triathlons staged throughout the world. Ver Meer, in essence, had his name picked out of a hat for his right to race.As the event gained popularity over the years, race officials implemented a lottery system that gives amateur athletes a slim shot at being selected to join the field of competitors. Under the lottery system, 150 athletes from the United States citizens, and 50 international slots are up for grabs.Ver Meer and good friend and training partner Dave Duffy decided to roll the dice and enter their names into the lottery for a $35 fee last February, and fate fell in the favor of Ver Meer when his name was chosen among more than 4,000 entries."Dave called me that day (April 15) and asked me if we won the lottery," Ver Meer recalled. "I had forgotten about it, but I pulled up the Web site on my computer and searched through the names of the winners. When I came across my name, I got pretty excited."Luck smiled on Ver Meer on the day of the lottery, but he wasn’t feeling so lucky on a cool November day back in 1987.During a deer-hunting trip near Canby, Ver Meer suddenly found himself experiencing a shortness of breath that scared him enough to seek an assessment from a cardiologist at Sioux Valley Hospital."I knew something wasn’t right," Ver Meer admitted.His assumption was correct, and a heart attack was the verdict.Upon further testing, Ver Meer learned that the main artery to his heart was 95 percent clogged, and two other blood vessels were equally plugged.Ver Meer’s cardiologist said an angioplasty would clear his clogged blood vessels for a couple of years, but it would take the commitment of giving up tobacco and alcohol on the patient’s part to extend his life beyond two years."I was 41 years old at the time, and I basically abused my body for all 41 of those years," he said. "My problem was that I believed what the Marlboro and Hamm’s Beer men were telling me back then. I decided that I didn’t want to die, so I quit smoking and drinking and started exercising."Ver Meer’s comeback from heart trouble was a deliberate one.It started with walks from his Hills home that were measured by the lengths in between telephone poles, and developed into longer walks and, eventually, jogging.Now Ver Meer is a regular at the Rock County Community Pool and Fitness Center, where a lot of his training for the Ironman competition will take place."My training schedule will change from week to week," Ver Meer said. "Last week I trained for about 10 hours, and I want to get it up to 20 hours each week by the end of the summer. The schedule for myself now is to run between 30 and 40 miles, bike up to 150 to 200 miles and swim five to six miles each week."Ver Meer needs to work hard now, because winning the lottery doesn’t mean an instant entry into the field at the Kona competition.Race officials need proof that Ver Meer can complete at least one-half of the Ironman triathlon prior to Aug. 31, and he hopes to meet the criteria at the Wisconsin Dells Tin Man Triathlon in Baraboa, Wis., June 19.Ver Meer will need to complete a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run that day."June 19 will be a big day for me," he said. "You have to prove that you can complete one-half of a triathlon before they’ll let you race in Kona. Right now I think I’ll be able to do it. I’m a little scared, but I’m confident at the same time."Should Ver Meer pass the test in Wisconsin, his training plan should help him gain confidence heading into the October challenge.Having completed two full marathons (the Twin Cities Marathon twice and Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth once), the running portion of the Ironman competition doesn’t seem to intimidate Ver Meer.The biking and swimming portions of the events are unknowns for Ver Meer at this point.He recently underwent surgery to repair rotary cuff damage in his shoulder, so Ver Meer’s swimming training has been limited.The bike race, after the swim, could be equally challenging if crosswinds reach 60 miles per hour as can be the case in Kona.Ver Meer, however, said he completed RAGBRAI (The Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bike Race Across Iowa) last summer, which gives him a good base to build on."The only thing I can control about this right now is my training," Ver Meer admits. "They call this a race, but it really is an endurance race. It’s a mental game. It does take physical ability, without a doubt, but it’s a mental game as well. As long as I take care of my part in the area of training, which is what I really enjoy doing, it should all work out in the end."At this point, finishing the race in Kona is Ver Meer’s goal.In order to do that, Ver Meer will need to complete the 2.4-mile ocean swim in less than 2:20, and finish the 112-mile bike race before 10:30 of the triathlon have elapsed. All athletes have a 17-hour time limit to complete the entire course."All I want to do is to finish the race standing up in less than 17 hours. I would like to think I could finish it between 14 and 15 hours, but that will be determined by the different elements."Considering what he has overcome since 1987 to get to this point, it wouldn’t be wise to think Ver Meer will not complete the race in Hawaii."All I know is that I couldn’t swim one lap at the Rock County Pool 17 years ago, and now we’re sitting here talking about this (the ITWC). I’ve been watching the race on TV for the past 15-20 years, and I thought it would be a great challenge to get healthy enough to compete in it. I often ask myself, what is perfect health? I think if I can go to Hawaii and to the Ironman, I can’t be too far off from being totally healthy."