from a fabulous blog that I’ve just stumbled upon…

so true, and applicable to pretty much everything in life…

And so the caffeine and sugar withdrawals begin! It’s kind of scary when you realize how reliant you are on the diet soda and sugar fix on a daily basis. I’ve slid down the hill big time the last few months with sugar cravings, so I knew that it would be a pretty big shock to the system, but dang! I’m just going to keep drinking water and know that it will go away.

It’s going well though, I’m on the wagon and it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. My serious challenge is going to come in planning and making sure that I am prepared in a pinch. I’m working on finding new recipes and a list of quick things that I can munch on when I’m starving. Thank god for blogs, I’ve found a bunch things to try.

The next two weeks will be the real test – work is going to be bananas next week, and I’m also going to be packing up my apartment to move and then go out of town. So right now, my goal is to make it to November 8th and stay on the wagon.

I read a little from the Crossfit Endurance website the other day, because I really like CF, but part of me misses my bikes and runs (if we’re being honest here, I don’t miss the swims). I’m excited to get stronger and leaner from the challenge, and then see if I can work some of the CF Endurance workouts into my schedule. I’m contemplating a spring Oly…I mean, I can’t stay away TOO long

So, drumroll please……

I took all of the comments received, put them in a spreadsheet and gave them each a random number between 1-24. (Since no one mentioned posting to their blog, I gave each person one entry). Then, I asked my friend Sarah to pick a number between 1 and 24. She chose 21. So..the lucky winner?

Amanda!

Amanda, I’ll be giving your contact information to CSN and they should follow-up with a gift certificate code for you!

Congrats and enjoy!

I have to interrupt this Ironman recap to tell you about the very first giveaway on Chasing Iron!

CSN Stores contacted me and asked if I’d be interested in giving away a $50 Gift Certificate to use at any of their 200 online stores where you can find everything from dinnerware to dog beds to workout equipment!

I started clicking around and it’s dangerous, I’m warning you now..ahem..free shipping…

So…please leave me a comment telling me you want to be entered in the giveaway and I will randomly choose a winner on Friday, August 13th (cause I’m all about something GOOD on a bad luck day!) You can blog about this giveaway to receive an extra entry, just remember to tell me how many entries you should get in your comment if you also posted to your blog.

This contest is open to US and Canadian readers only, sorry, CSN only ships to these two countries!

Good Luck!

I used to wonder why bloggers would disappear right after a big event. I mean, isn’t that the best part? To come back and tell the world what an amazing time you had, and share every last detail? I suppose I underestimated how much I would need to just disconnect and take care of the things I had been avoiding over the past 6+ months. It seems as though many things were just hanging by a thread, so I’ve spent the last few weeks catching up.

And, of course, thinking about my next blog.

I want to post about CdA from start to finish, and so I imagine there will be several posts to sum up an incredible week in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. But this one? It’s to tell you that I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. I may need a little revamp to inspire more posting, but that’s just the 7 year-old girl inside of me wanting a fresh, clean ‘notebook’ for the new school year.

You don’t realize how many people are watching in the wings and cheering for you until you come home and check your phone after Ironman and see 120+ emails waiting to be answered. I have never felt so incredibly loved and supported in my entire life. And I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

And this I know for sure…

I am 99% satisfied with my day in Idaho. What I have learned from this entire experience by far surpasses what I could have ever expected it to bring. I may be floundering a bit in terms of deciding what is next, but all that is Ironman pretty much changed me forever. And I’m working on that story so I can share it with all of you.

I started writing this as I sat on a plane to Salt Lake City and finished it sitting on a patio overlooking Coeur d’Alene.

It was just under a year ago that some friends mentioned that they were signing up for Coeur d’Alene. Just the hint at registering gave me butterflies and then there was that nagging thought that maybe it was time.

CdA was the first Ironman that I saw on TV and the beautiful scenery took my breath away. I mean, I grew up in Florida for the most part. I haven’t spent much time in that part of the country and it looked incredible. I remember laying in bed after that, watching a YouTube video of the Ironman World Championship promo and thinking that it was absolutely crazy. That there was no way I’d ever attempt the distance and at the same time, somewhere inside, vowing to go the distance.

I’d finished Florida Challenge in 2008, and was working on getting back to running after injury. I was still training with my coach and had just completed my first GAPS ride. I remember talking to my coach at dinner and asking her to give me her blessing on signing up. I wanted her to tell me if it was time, because I thought it could be…but then, it’s Ironman and I wanted a second opinion She gave me two thumbs up..and so, it began.

The training has been difficult. No lie. Ironman happens in the midst of life..and life is never predictable. But I committed to my training and got the workouts in. Not all of them..because, well, I’m human and I can only do so much. But there is a lot of money in the Ironman bank and I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. I got those long weekend workouts done and saw myself accomplish things that I never thought possible. In the last month or two, things have gotten even more crazy with work and life stuff, so I haven’t had the opportunity to post much. But to get you up to speed, here’s a recap of the last week and a half.

I met with my coach last Monday and we talked about my race plan. She gave me her thoughts and advice and we worked through my expected race times. Getting the feedback from her that she knew I was ready was icing on the cake. I had some worries about missed workouts and life craziness, and she assured me it would be fine. That I would be fine. I left feeling like I was ready to manage the remaining tasks before heading off to Idaho and that just because I felt like I was missing something didn’t mean I actually was. It’s funny when you start to think that you’re overlooking something because you aren’t stressing about it. Maybe for once, it doesn’t have to be over complicated?

I managed to get my bike off to Tri Bike Transport that next day, along with a ginormous duffel bag filled with bike gear and other odds and ends. This left me with the job of getting work organized to be out of town, final prep for Oliver’s care while I’m gone and to get the rest of my things all packed up. I made lots of checklists, put my suitcase and tri bag on the floor and tossed in everything I might possibly want for a week’s worth of activities, and one insanely long race The next few days seemed to fly by…and before I knew it, it was time to get the dog all packed up and then focus on my own stuff.

I finished packing everything but the kitchen sink (and dirty dishes), and got everything I might possibly need printed out and packed in my carry-on..and settled in for one last night in my own bed. Then this morning, I headed to the airport with my very best friend. To go to Coeur d’Alene. To race Ironman Coeur d’Alene. Is this really happening? I’m dreaming right? Just going to watch friends race?

We checked in for our 8:20 AM flight and dropped my bag off, then headed to our gate. Boarded the plane easily and settled in for a quick flight to O’Hare, then to Spokane. Then the captain came over the loud speaker and told us that we were grounded due to weather in Chicago, and that he’d update us in an hour. Um. ok. 45 minutes later, we were cleared to take off. As we headed down the runway, the plane slowed down. Captain on the overhead, we’ve been grounded again. Joy! It’s ok, we still have time to catch our Chicago connection. Two hours later..not so much. I called United on my cell phone and managed to get re-booked on a 4:30PM Delta flight. I think this was the best ninja move of the day, because we likely got the last seats. We checked in with United, then got our tickets with Delta and had lunch. Watched some tv on the laptop and made our way to Salt Lake. I tried to take it in stride, and so eventually, we connected through Salt Lake and arrived in Spokane at 8:45 PM. By the time we made it to our condo in CdA, we’d been traveling for 20 hours. It was a long day, and not the way that I planned it. But that’s the way things go and if I’ve learned anything over the past 6 months, you have to just roll with it. Things will work out in the end. And they did..

So, here we are….can you believe it? I’ve been mulling over this post for the last week or two, but time seems to have been crunched, especially this week. It’s Murphy’s Law that things will get crazy in life and especially work, when you have to get out of town. But maybe that’s better, because I didn’t want to rush through these last few posts. I want to get my thoughts into words, and posted to this blog so that you guys know what’s on my mind going into the last few days of race prep.

Everyone has a different reason for Ironman. Mine was a little about wanting to train to go the distance. But really, it was so much more. This sport has done so much more for me than I could have ever imagined. It changed me, pushed me and helped me see what I could become. Not only in my athletic endeavors..but in so many other areas. Ironman gave me the courage to believe that my life could be very different, that if I really believed in myself and what I wanted, I could take a tremendous leap. And that as difficult as it might be, training would be my net. A soft, but gritty place to land.

I’m a completely different person, and never in my life have I ever felt like I am exactly where I should be. Right in this moment. Sitting on a patio, looking over a beautiful lake, and thinking about my reasons for Ironman.

And knowing that I’m doing it for me. And that’s all that really matters. But knowing beyond me, I have countless family members and friends who believe in me. And I will carry each of you with me on those 140.6 miles.

And because it gives me chills, I’m re-posting this…because he said it more eloquently than I.

When bobbing around the water, waiting for the world to turn, with the music blaring and the crowds gathering and the mass of swimcaps all around – we are each of us a tiny universe. With a story, a purpose. We each of us have somebody up there who’s breath won’t return until they see us safely out of the water. We each answer to something other than ourselves in answering why we are here. It is never a simple thing. And when you toe that line, in the instant before you step into the water to Take Your Mark, you are their ambassador. You represent everybody who believed, or doubted. Who showed up because of, or in spite of. You cross for everybody who hasn’t crossed yet, who will one day, and who never would. And you can either pull that weight, or let it pull you.

Because if you know not suffering, or anger, or defeat; if you’ve never felt like you are more than who you are; if you’ve never asked yourself what you are truly made of – what absolutes live inside you, and resolved to discover what…well then, of course you’d never be interested in the first place. It is a thing we all have in common out there – a determination, a requirement, to be Who We Are Instead.

Yes, it is. It is that big of a deal. It is that hard. It really is. That’s sort of the point.

The rest are just details. The rest figures itself out. There’s never a “good time”. It’s never going to ideally suit your universe. You’ll never think to yourself, “Geez, you know what I’m in the mood for? Madness.” It will always be hard, you will always have to work to find the balance, it will never make sense to everybody, often not even yourself. And that, too, is part of the journey, and part of the forging. If you have to talk yourself into it, then wait until your time comes. Until you’re drawn in. Until the current takes you. But if you’re just making excuses…well then. Life is short. Get in already.

125 miles….The day I saw the workout on my schedule, I realized that I’d made it. I’d made it through some tough workouts and it was time to go the distance, literally and figuratively. I’d ridden 100 miles in a century ride the Saturday before Memorial Day and it had been a wonderful ride. One of my fastest century rides yet, with minimal stops. It was great training for CdA…the ride had lasted somewhere around 6:45 ride time, with 20 minutes of stops. I left that day feeling ready to tackle the following Saturday’s 125 miles, and decided that I wanted to find some friends to join me for the last long ride. So I sent an email out to several buddies, including Wes and Murtha. To my delight, I got a bunch of responses and lined up friends to ride with me. The plan was 4 loops at Silk Sheets, at a little over 31 miles apiece. It’s a nice rolling course, and lends itself to some up and down riding, but nothing too strenuous.
I arrived that morning and got ready to roll at 7AM. My fellow CdA buddy Wendy planned on riding the first 3 loops with me, and Wes was joining us for the first 2. My good friend Bill also came along for the first 2 loops, and friend Amy joined in for loop 2. We set out at a nice z2 pace, and things felt really comfortable.

The first 62 miles seemed to fly by, and I kept the mantra of 10 miles at a time. It makes it easier to break up a long ride like that by thinking of it in manageable chunks. I sipped Infinit and water, and felt really strong.

When we stopped to drop Wes off and start the 3^rd loop, Andy and his friend Dan pulled in to join us. It was awesome seeing fresh faces, and we set out for miles 62-93. I’d decided that I wanted to stop at a little grocery for a coke, and man, it hit the spot. It was getting hotter out, and I always need a pick me up around mile 70. The frozen snickers in my bento box, plus that coke, seemed to do the job. I felt a little tired as we finished up that 3^rd lap, but was proud of completing 93 miles and very happy to only have 1 loop left.

My best friend Holly joined me at this point (girl’s got some guts to join me at mile 93) and she seemed to know exactly what I needed. We stopped for a second coke at 103, and continued on. I mixed up the last loop a bit and went a different way, and that really seemed to help. Before I knew it, it was time to turn around and head back to the ‘barn’. I think I rode that last mile faster than any previous…I was ready to be done

Getting off my bike and realizing that I had just ridden further than ever before made me incredibly proud. It was a long time coming, and putting that last bit of long distance training in the Ironman bank was a feeling that I won’t ever forget.

So…big thanks to all of my friends who provided me with motivation, inspiration and energy on that day. Thanks Wendy, Bill, Amy, Wes, Murtha, Dan and Holly. You guys ROCK!

I watched Endurance Nation’s 4 Keys DVD the other day while riding my trainer. One of the tips that I’ve gotten about Ironman over and over again is that it’s all mental. Your body can do amazing things and with the training that I have under my belt, race day is all about execution. But at some point, your brain will try to talk you out of it because your body feels fatigue. The idea is to have your ‘one thing’ clearly spelled out before you step onto the beach and hit the water. I’ve been contemplating my ‘one thing’ the last few weeks. Especially during my long training over Memorial Day weekend.

I had a century ride on Saturday. 100 miles. I’d done it before, and I was doing it again. To be honest, I was dreading the ride…these long rides start to get tough and I’d had a 4 hour ride that turned into 2 the previous weekend…so my mojo was lacking. But the area that I was riding in was beautiful! I got up at 4:30 and left at 5 to make the 2 hour drive to the ride start in Hartwell, GA. I had a couple fellow CdA racer friends that were riding, and that made it so much more enjoyable. I ended up riding with friend Wendy, and the miles seemed to click by pretty easily. The ride wasn’t super hilly, which was a welcome change. When we hit mile 50, I started to think that it just might be a good day . There was a low point between 70-80, which always happens for me, but we buckled down and got it done. I got off the bike feeling really pumped up…yay, the mojo was back! I had a 30 minute run-off, and then I headed home..just missing the rain.

Sunday was a 4500m swim. This was my last long swim (I’d done 5000 a few weekends ago). Got to swim outside, which made it really nice. Spent the rest of the day hanging out with friends and hitting a local festival.

Monday was my last long run. 3 hours. And 2 hours into it, I was done. But thankfully, my good friend Fish pushed me to get the last hour in and ran it with me. Seriously? There have been moments that I have had complete and utter lack of motivation and my friends have drug me through it. I’m so grateful for that. I understand what people mean now when they say that there is an army of people behind an Ironman. It’s true. It’s been a rough 5 months, in many many ways and I’m in the home stretch. And I couldn’t have done it without all of my friends and family who understood that my training came first…that I would miss special events and spending time with them….who got that this is just something I had to follow through with. I’ve been training for endurance events for over 3 years…it’s time that I woke up on Saturday morning to breakfast..walked the dog…took a short run. All of that will come. But first? First I have to decide what my ‘one thing’ is and make sure that I’ve rehearsed it so that I’m ready on race day.

Some of you might remember that I bought a ring to wear for my half iron training. “Believe. I can 70.3″. I’ve worn it the last 5 months and I’m ready to make the step up. To have something that I can look at on Iron-day to remind me what all of this work and sacrifice was for. So I’m looking for a short mantra. Something that sums up this journey of self discovery. The gigantic leap that I took to change my life, to prove to myself that I was more than I ever thought I was, to realize that I had more courage than I ever thought to learn who I am and give myself the life I deserve.

As much as I wanted to document Iron-training on my blog over the past 6 months, it just didn’t happen. Life has been crazy and the blog, well, it’s been here when I needed it. But you guys? You are all awesome, I really appreciate the support in comments, email and on Facebook.

I have several posts brewing, and I know that I’ll have a little more time come taper to put them all out here…but right now I’m working on my Rev3 Race Report. Yee-Haw!

24 days til go time!

I came. I saw. I raced.

It had been since October of 2008 since I raced a half ironman. Needless to say, I was a little nervous about what race day would bring. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

On the Friday before the race, I took a half day and drove to Knoxville with Oliver in tow.

My parents live about 30 minutes from Knox, so I had a place to stay and I got to see them. Unfortunately, my grandfather was in the hospital that weekend, so things were hectic. I felt badly that I had this crazy race to do and couldn’t spend more time with him, but I did get to visit him on Saturday (and my aunt came in to town to help out so that my parents could sherpa the race). Hooray for awesome family!!

So, I got in on Friday and knocked out a 1.5 hour trainer ride, then we had dinner and hit the sack. Had a bunch of things to do on Saturday and wanted to get it done so I could relax before the race.

Woke up on Saturday and headed over to race registration. We got there as they were setting up, and I didn’t have to wait to get my packet.

Grabbed my shirt (which ended up being for the Olympic…doh!) and poked around the expo for a bit, and then we went to the race briefing. Got some good details about construction on the course and general info.

After the briefing, I headed over to the practice swim.

Got to see Wes and Andy, who were awesome enough to wait for me while I struggled into my wetsuit. I always forget how tough it is when it’s been in the closet for awhile. Finally got suited up and we swam for a bit from the swim finish towards the swim start. Felt pretty good and I got the requisite 30 minutes in that my coach put on the schedule.

Got out of the water and couldn’t get my wetsuit off. Ugh! A couple nice people on the dock tried to help, and eventually we got the zipper down. Turns out one of the teeth was bent, but my dad was able to get it working. Momentary panic, but all turned out well!

After the swim, we headed over to transition to get things squared away.

I racked my bike (loved the transition boxes with our names on them) and then I was all done!

It had gotten pretty late in the day, so we headed to lunch at Calhouns and then drove the bike course. It didn’t seem too hilly in the car, which was a relief! We stopped at the hospital to see my grandpa and then headed back to the house for dinner. I got all of my stuff ready and then headed to bed.

Here’s a little SBR shot

Early wakeup call on Sunday! 4:30ish, I think? My parents drove me down to transition to check in, and I arrived with no wait for bodymarking. Rockstar! I love being early, it gives me time to do my thang and if I run into issues, time to get them all worked out.

This picture is really really blurry…but I love it for some reason..so it might make you seasick, but I’m putting it here. I was just so excited to get bodymarked.

Found my spot and got to work setting up. It had been a year since I’ve raced a tri, so I wanted to work through everything in my head as I set up. Got things ready to go and spent some time chatting with my Tri Club teammate, Vicki. Also got to find Wes and chat for a bit. I scoped the pros out and then we headed over to the swim start. Didn’t spend much time there before it was time to get in with our women’s half rev wave. Pretty small wave of women!

Shot of pro setup from Rev3 Site -

We got into the water from the dock and had about 5 minutes to tread water to the start line. I started in the back because that’s where I feel most comfortable, and I wanted to practice a bit for IM. When the gun sounded, I put my face in the water and immediately took it right back out. I had SO much adrenaline that I just couldn’t breathe. I regrouped and had to tread water for a bit and take some deep breaths. I was just sooo excited that I had to take a minute and then I was off and feeling fine. A very nice kayaker asked if I was ok and I just nodded and laughed and told him I was overexcited.

We had to swim against the current for a bit before we turned around and headed back the way we came, then continued on to the swim finish. The swim seemed to take a little longer than normal, but I exited the water (by dragging myself onto the dock with some helping hands) and ran up the dock ramp, through the boathouse to the timing mat.

Shot from practice swim of swim exit -

Here’s a shot of the pros on the swim course -

Swim finish is the blue arch far in the picture

1.2 Mile swim: 46:31 (previous half – 49:31) eh. I could have done better, but it was all about rehearsing for IM and I feel better knowing that if I can get past the initial adrenaline, I’ll be fine.

T1 involved a change in tops since it was race rehearsal, so I knew it might take a bit longer.

T1 Time: 6:36 (previous half – 6:25). I took my time here and wasn’t on point. Going to try to be more methodical at IM because I have a full change and I don’t want anything longer than 10 minutes.

I mounted the bike and tried to focus on the plan that my coach had outlined for me. Z2 for the first half of the race. This was really hard. Everyone was blowing by and I felt awesome. But hey, it’s going to feel like that at CdA, so I need to be ready to stay in the box and focus on my own plan. This was a pretty technical bike course, all things considered, so I had to pay special attention to in town traffic, plus some construction zones and bumpy roads/blind curves. A few miles into the race, I was headed out and saw a racer coming back towards me (finishing the Oly course). He was coming downhill, and I heard him yell, but couldn’t figure out why. Turned around to see him flip over a car that had pulled out from a side street. I thought quickly about turning around, but realized that it might be better to continue on and find someone who could call an ambulance. Turned out that it was DC Rainmaker and he was ok, and continued his race. Thank god, it was a terrifying moment. Ray, so glad you are ok!

I continued on as we headed out of town and into the country. It was definitely a rolling course, but after coming off of rides in the GAPS and Cashiers, anything feels better than those climbs! I was having some pretty serious back pain though, and was anxious to get off the bike. Nutrition-wise, the Infinit treated me well and I felt pretty good. I was happy to hit the turnaround, and although I was supposed to pick it up to Z3/Z4 for the second half of the bike, I just couldn’t go much faster…my back was killing me. I just hung in and man, I was happy to come down the hill and see transition on the left. Took my feet out of the shoes at the end of the bike because I can run faster in my socks.

Screenshot – I’m buying this one!

56 Mile Bike: 3:42:13 for 15.12 MPH (previous half 3:54:40)

T2 Time: 5:46 (previous half 8:00). I took my sweet time. I put a dry fit run shirt on to test things out for CdA, and swapped out my cycling insoles into my running shoes. Also stopped for a potty break.

It had warmed up and was pretty sunny when I headed out for the run. I felt pretty good though, and was set up with a bottle to run with and a gel for every hour. The first part of the run course has you going out on the bike course and then you make a right turn, go up a hill and down some steps to get to the greenway. It was a really nice run course, very shady and not too hilly. There weren’t any spectators, but it reminded me a lot of the Chattanooga Oly and it makes it easy to get in your zone and just focus on running. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel on the run and my plan was that if I felt bad, I’d do a 4/1 walk interval. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good and just worked on staying in z2 as much as I could. I didn’t really need the intervals, and I just plugged away at the miles. I was very happy to get to the turnaround though! We turned around on the greenway, headed back the way we came and then once we got to transition, instead of turning in and heading towards the finish, we had to run further down the road to another turnaround. I saw Wes at this point and he gave me a little cheer and told me to go get it, that this was part of the path to Iron. As I came back down the hill, he gave me a quick hug. It was a really nice pick me up to see a friendly face! I headed past transition, and down the path towards the finish area. One more turn off, up a steep hill and back down, before I could head to the finish line.

13.1 Mile Run: 2:57:33 for 13:33 avg. pace per mile (previous half 3:15:43). I stayed in Z2, low z3 for most of this run. I am incredibly proud of myself for this. In fact, I’d venture to say it’s the best run leg of a tri I’ve ever done. I just felt really good off the bike, and that’s a big step for me. I did get a little anxious the last 2 miles and I was ready to be done..hence the last two miles at 11:55 pace.

Total Race Time: 7:38:40 (previous half 8:13:43). Half Ironman PR by 35 Minutes.

For a first time race, Rev3 really was phenomenal. There weren’t a lot of people racing the half, so the course was pretty quiet, especially in the back. But everything really felt first class, the whole way. From the warmup swim, to the expo being organized (well, I got the wrong race tshirt, but I’ve emailed them and am hoping to get a Half Rev shirt to replace the Olympic one that I got), to having enough of everything on the course. I also loved the transition boxes with my own name label…very cool! I took mine with me when I picked my stuff up from transition after the race. The finish line was pretty dead when I came in, but since I finished after 7 hours and most people raced the Oly, it didn’t surprise me. I still got a great reception and was happy to be done I’ve also heard that the Rev3 folks have addressed safety concerns on the course, which is really important.

Since I hadn’t raced a half since 2008, I was anxious to see how it would go. I left Knoxville feeling incredibly happy and proud of myself for the improvements I’ve made. I feel more ready to tackle CdA and am grateful for the support from family and friends during this race. Yee-haw!

I’m going to add some more pictures later, but I didn’t want to delay this race report any longer. I’m ready to start talking about Ironman..since it’s, oh, 10 days out!! So get ready for another long post because I have some thoughts to share as I get ready to head to CdA. I also want to recap an awesome overdistance ride that I had 2 weeks ago…with some fabulous help from my bud Wes.