Luke Nelson wakes up before sunrise almost every morning to continue what most would consider a ritual of insanity.

The 30-year-old has been doing it most his adult life, pushing his body to its limits. Just one week of the daybreak discipline adds up to 300 miles of biking, 40 miles of running, six miles of swimming.

Through the years, Nelson’s workouts have taken him past Wisconsin dairies, through Panamanian jungles and up Japan’s mountains. That road finally brings the Yokosuka MWR Navy Fitness Program coordinator to the starting line of his lifetime goal — the 32nd Ironman World Triathlon Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

One could say Nelson made it to the race on Hawaii’s Big Island by completing the 2008 Ironman Japan course in a time fast enough to qualify him for Saturday’s championship. Nelson would argue, however, that reaching the Big Island is the end of a 12-year quest marked with broken bones, food poisoning and evading jellyfish.

But long before running, there was farming. Raising soybeans and cattle on his parents’ farm in Minnesota, Nelson said, he had plenty of interest in sports but too many chores to participate in most of them. As one of nine children, he understood that when classmates were swinging aluminum at red-stitched fastballs, "it was planting season," and when the action moved to the gridiron, "it was time to harvest." Nelson said he was content playing basketball when the soil was frozen.

Nelson graduated from high school in 1996 and joined the Navy, where he met people who would shape him into an athlete. While attending aviation technical school in Millington, Tenn., Nelson battled boredom by running around Navy Lake, a scenic six-mile loop.

During a tour at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., Nelson met Jeff Tomaszewski. During a temporary deployment to Central America, the duo faced a crossroads in their leisurely pursuits.

"When we got to Panama we were really close to buying a distilling kit and putting our energy into make home brew," Nelson recalled with a grin. "Instead, we ran twice a day and trained for our second triathlon."

That race was sponsored by John Collins, a retired Navy officer who, Nelson said, "had a lot of cool stories and neat experiences, but he didn’t brag about himself." It wasn’t until later that Nelson realized Collins was the person who coined the term "Ironman." Nelson left the Navy in 2000, but he kept in touch with Tomaszewski.

Nelson’s post-Navy life began in Minneapolis, where he took a year off from competing, married his high school sweetheart, Erica, and settled down to a 9-to-5 job.

Meanwhile, Tomaszewski completed his first Ironman, inspiring Nelson to train again.

After six months of preparation, Nelson completed Ironman Wisconsin, finishing the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and marathon run in 10 hours, 42 minutes. Of 1,600 triathletes, he finished in the top 7 percent.

"Finishing my first Ironman was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before," Nelson recounted. "Six months of training and then running a punishing race — everything culminates in that one event. From that moment on, I was hooked."

At the 2004 Ironman Wisconsin, Nelson cut 20 minutes from the previous year’s finish. The next year, he and Tomaszewski raced the flat Ironman Florida course, which Nelson smoked in a blazing 9 hours, 46 minutes. He won a lottery to compete in Ironman New York in Lake Placid in 2006, but he was plagued by food poisoning.

The training has been both physically and emotionally grueling. Bike wrecks have left him bloodied, with broken limbs, and he’s had to dodge jellyfish during open-water swims. He’s been discouraged by races where he narrowly missed qualifying for Hawaii. But the bottom line, he says, is "I really enjoy training."

The friendly rivalry between Nelson and his old Navy pal pushed him to new gains. Even during races with more than 1,000 competitors, Nelson said, "I’ll look over, and Jeff will be right there." And though Nelson half-jokingly brags that his friend has "never beaten me to head-to-head," it was Tomaszewski who became the first to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii.

Nelson returned to Navy life in 2004. This time it was Erica who joined the ranks, as a dentist. Erica received orders to Yokosuka Naval Hospital in January 2007 — a match made in heaven for her triathlete hubby.

Nelson believes Kanagawa Prefecture’s hilly terrain aided him in qualifying for the world championship. He said he’s also developed good friendships with the Japanese. Each morning, he passes many smiling faces as he bikes or runs past the Japanese in their small fishing villages. And when he competed in Ironman Japan 2007, Nelson made fast friends with the Achida family who hosted him during his weekend stay.

At this year’s Ironman Japan, the family’s youngest boy, 5-year-old Jin, crossed the finish line with Nelson, whose time of 9 hours, 34 minutes qualified him for Hawaii.

Nelson left Wednesday for the championship in Hawaii. Erica will be there, along with family and friends, to support Nelson. And of course, Tomaszewski, racing in his third championship, also will be there to provide that extra push.

Nelson said he hardly expects to finish in the top 10 percent.

"Kona is the Super Bowl of triathlons," he said. "And it’s definitely the stiffest competition and the toughest Ironman course there is. Many spend a lifetime just to make the pilgrimage to Kona, and there are thousands who work hard but never make it. I’ll just be happy to cross the finish line. And truthfully, I am grateful just to be going."