Time to "Step Up"?

I've been racing in local triathlons for about a year and a half now, with my first full season just completed. So far I've only raced in the shorter Sprint and Olympic events. I was never interested in the really short ones, which are called something like "Super Sprints" or Try-a-Tri's". Now I'm thinking of increasing my distances next year, adding a "Half Iron".

What's the source of my motivation? Well it could always be that whole mid-life crisis thing, but I don't think so. I think what's making me want to "step up" is the other triathlon blogs I've been reading. In particular Iron Wil and XT4's reports of their recent Ironman Wisconsin races. The race took place on an unexpectedly cold and rainy day and a lot of racers, including Iron Wil, DNF'ed (Did Not Finish) because of hypothermia. XT4 fought his way through to the finish, at least partly because of the intense support of his extended family. I'm in awe of them both...

So I have to ask myself - can I do it? I'm getting more interested in knowing the answer to that. Yes, I know that each time roughly 2,000 people of varying abilities line up for the start and that the great majority of them finish. But what about me?

Stay tuned.