ACK! Only 4.5 months left!!!

I noticed this morning that it is April 28th. APRIL!! Almost May!!! ACK!!!!

Ironman is only 4.5 months away!!!! Last time I paid attention I still had 6 months to train. Where did the time go!?!?!






Distance is starting to get up there. I've done 2 60-mile rides and a couple 12-13 mile runs. This weekend brings more of the same.

I still have confidence that I will finish. I know I'm stubborn enough. I just worry about the time cutoffs. Will I be fast enough??? Yesterday's riding buddy reminded me that I need to stay positivie and keep telling myself that I am fast enough. I am great at climbing hills. I swim like a fish.

The power of positive thinking right??

The tests of life are not meant to break you, but to make you. Or so says Norman Vincent Peale. Well this test known as Ironman is going to do just that!


Stay tuned for the full Kansas (Half) Marathon race report.

100 yards in 1:25... Twice!!!

I am totally stoked about my swim this morning! Not only did I get in a decent distance (2675 yds), I did it swimming some of the fastest times I've ever clocked!

Granted, I was drafting off of Tim, but that's totally race-legal and I kept up! At the end of the work out, they called out broken 250s: 100 fast, 50 slow, 50 fast, 50 slow. Tim and I did our own version of that - killed the 100 at a 1:25 pace, swam 50 really easy, then 50 at a decent pace. I was sucking air but we got ready to do it again, and we swam the second 100 at a 1:25 pace again!

I'm exhausted now but what a way to start the day! I'm still flying high from it! Maybe all that extra time in the pool is starting to pay off...

"Making Peace"

I hate swimming. I hate riding on the trainer instead of outdoors. I hate that I have to run inside in the pool instead of outside with my pup. I hate stretching, and I hate that I have to go to acupuncture appointments 3x a week. I hate, I hate, I hate...

And yet I love training, I love triathlon, and I love that I'm working toward the daunting goal of being an Ironman. I love hurting just as much as I hate it. Weird, right? It sounds insane, unless you read Bree Wee's blog entry "Making Peace" - My Blog - Hawaii.

"There is a new level of appreciation for sport... it was the fact that it hurts so good when you are done and the only way to get that feeling is to go bravely to that place and get it...literally it was like I had to walk to the door of pain, knock on it, and make a peace offering that it wins."

I'm still very much in the learning process of "making peace" with the workouts and circumstances I hate. But, I now have a better understand of what drives me to do the things I hate. I can start making peace with the part of me that is willing to go to any length, to the highest level of pain, to the lowest point of exhaustion, in order to experience the satisfaction that can only come through those sacrifices.

Call me crazy if you want. But I will get to feel satisfaction that only the people who work hard enough, often enough, and earn it can feel. I can handle that.

Eat at Ingredient!

Print out this image and take it to Ingredient for breakfast, lunch or dinner and a portion will go to my Ironman fundraiser!

Grr!!!!

Well today has been frustrating to say the least.

During my run this morning, it took forever to get warmed up. But once I did, the strides felt great. It was a 2 mile warmup, then 4x200 strides, with hops in the off-200. Then a mile cool-down. But that's not the frustrating part...

Work. Had a great lunch with one of my favorite donors. That's not it either...

After work, I wanted to head home, grab my bike and get to the downtown airport to do my Big Gear Reps. But on my way, I remembered that my bike was at Derick's house, not mine. Grr. Oh ya, I don't have a key because he got locked out last week and I gave him mine. Grr. So I had to go to his friend's house to get a spare key. Grr. I drove all the way across town to Derick's to realize the key was for the back door, where I couldn't get because of the big trash barrel full of dirt was in the way of the gate. Grr. So I was obviously not meant to ride today. Grr!

Today is one of the week's only good weather days. And I really wanted to get outside to ride. Grr. So I settled for taking the dogs to the park for a walk. Just not as good.

Ah. Oh well. Hopefully my bike will get here soon and I can get my workout in on the trainer since the sun will be down. And if not, I'm sure I can find a cold beverage to enjoy.

Weekend Workouts

Well I had a weekend of great workouts! I'm starting to feel more confident in myself as the distances grow.

Saturday morning, I was out at the Olathe Marathon (well, half marathon since it was rescheduled) for Girls on the Run. We had a booth and gave out cocoa and information on the program and my fundraiser. But we FROZE!! Who knew that an April race would be so cold and windy!?

So knowing how cold I was, we decided to ride inside at Leahy Chiropracitc. Three hours later it was gorgeous outside! What is up with that!? My knee started to hurt towards the end of my ride, but Meagan adjusted it for me. And then kept hurting! So I couldn't do the brick that I was supposed to. I spent the night foam rolling and icing so I could get up to run in the morning.

Which is what I did. Pete and I ran to my brother's house where I switched out dogs and took Gage the rest of the way home. As we got closer to the house, the sleet started picking up and it really doesn't feel good when it hits you in the face. So I dropped off Bomper and headed to the gym for the final 4 (miles, that is). Meagan met me there and it was nice to have company for the hardest part of the run. I was able to pick it up towards the end, when I really felt DONE. That definitely added to my confidence. My last mile as right at 9:00!

Another good week of training is coming up!!

Nothin' Like Starting Training With A Bang!

When people tell you Ironman training is different from anything else you've attempted , they're not kidding! Whether its the volume, the magnitude, or the minimal wiggle room it leaves in the rest of your life schedule, Ironman is a beast all unto itself.

Take my first day of training. I've been wishing for and anticipating that day for SIX months... and then I ended up working from 6:30am-9:30pm. I know, right? Then the choice becomes, do I go to gym at 10pm and get the workout in, or do I postpone one more day? My butt was in the water a little before 10 experiencing my first water run because, really, there is no other choice if you want to be an Ironman. You do the training or you don't cross the finish line - end of story.

For that, I'm proud of myself. Well, I'm also proud that I dragged myself back out of bed the next morning at 5:30 to swim :) Training isn't just about volume, though. It's making myself get off the bike right at 30 minutes, instead of pushing the workout to 45 like I wanted. It's going to yoga tonight when I'd rather go home and nap after a long work week. And it's maintaining a positive attitude when I think about how minimal a 10 minute water run is compared to 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles of monster bike hills, and the 26.2 miles of a marathon I've never run.

Ironman is accomplishment, but getting through the training that comes before the race will be, I think, the biggest accomplisment of all. Bring on the training!

TGIF!

I've had a big week of training for Ironman Wisconsin. I ran 5 and 6 miles during the week, biked a really hilly 23 mile ride (including a near death experience where I was going 43 mph!) and just yesterday I swam 3500 yds (more than 2 miles!). This weekend I'll ride 50 miles and run 10 miles. Training is really gearing up, and I'm getting more and more excited to be an Ironman!

If you didn't hear, I was also on the local Fox news last week, talking about my experience with domestic violence. You can see the story here: http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-domestic-violence-battle-32609,0,5962772.story My experience in that relationship is one of the main reasons I've come to support Girls on the Run. I see the program as prevention to domestic violence, teaching girls self-esteem and healthy lifestyles - including healthy relationships.

I hope you'll join me in supporting this amazing organization.

You can read more about my efforts and learn how you can help by visiting this website.

http://www.girlsontherunkc.com/AGirlsGottaTri/tabid/102/Default.aspx

Or, you can skip the explanation and just make a donation!!

http://januscharitychallenge.kintera.org/wi09/trishod