Well…. It has been 6 weeks and each week I thought about
updating this, but was either too tired or out training and so here I am
finally back…….
Last time I was on here I was about to celebrate a birthday
and June was about to come to an end – I had a fun time out to dinner with
friends and then woke up a year older, likely with another wrinkle and more
grey hair, but young enough to take on the Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon in
Colorado as a training day that morning when I woke up (oh boy have times
changed when this is now a training day)
Had a great day in Loveland – ran a better pace on my run
than normal and finished overall in 02:48:56, I will never be the best,
but when I get better than ‘myself’ from the day before, I am happy!!! There are
days I am still shocked that at 30 years old (a long time ago.. haha) I could
barely swim (okay I sucked let’s be real) and didn’t run a mile without some
level of pain or whining. Today I am only proving to myself that you don’t have
to be 20 or even very in shape to do this, you just have to put your mind to it
and believe in yourself. There are still days I need to keep my mind in check,
but it IS DOABLE!!
JULY 2012 - A new
month – one of chaffing & a new found love of Aquaphor!!
Well July was a trying month – did my
longest training days ever in my life.. had several weekends of 6-7 hour work
out days and LOTS of chaffing, which normally you don’t even know until you get
into the shower, the water hits it & you scream like a baby!! I also
managed to keep my butt on a bike for 100.16 miles one day too (oh yes I
counted that .16 – ha). This was something that I have never done (came VERY
close a few years ago and only once, but this one took the cake)… yes my ass
hurt big time when done and I preferred standing, however that was even a
challenge with my sore legs, but NO CHAFFING – thank you Aquaphor!!! One week
in July I did almost 18 hours of training and with work and life that week I
thought ‘what the hell did I sign up for’ – but I kept moving forward, which is
what I also hope to do on race day – NEVER GIVE UP was in my mind and HTFU (let’s
be real) and thoughts of those I admire most that aren’t healthy enough to get
out there with me and therefore I am blessed to do in their honor!!
On July 29th (the day
after I rode that 100 miles) I went with friends and teammates and did the Rocky
Mountain Triathlon in Silverthorne. Swimming at 9000ft. elevation was definitely
an eye opener…I couldn’t breathe and boy was I slow, got through the bike, not
so fast, legs were tired from the day before, but then on the run, I was
SHOCKED.. had my fastest run to date and did it at altitude, I thank the cooler
temps for sure!! Fun weekend but exhausting!!!!
The entire month of July proved to
be trying and I wondered a lot of times if I could do this, but I am still here
& sharing this with you and hope to make everyone proud in 22 days when I
make it through the hardest day of my life both physically & mentally!!!
OH WAIT --- before I leave July - I met Craig Alexander (IronMan WORLD Champion) AND won a new pair of Newtons from him that night (well he said my name & hearing it with that accent was a great win in itself)
RACE MONTH HAS ARRIVED – HOLY SHIT J
11 months ago I registered for
IronMan Canada, which will take place on August 26th 2012 – I paced
for an hour before hitting submit on my computer, I might have gotten sick and
my nerves were shot and that was simply registering. I have had my struggles
over the 11 months with life, school, work, traveling internationally which
interfered with training and simply believing in myself. There were days I
wanted to just give up, but I didn’t. June was truly the FIRST full month of
training (due to so much work travel) where the IM was the focus and if I didn’t
have a coach who was also one of my greatest friends & believes in me &
support of others, I may have walked away thinking that wasn’t enough! Well
here I am, so close and about to start tapering until race day. So I am as
ready as I am going to be.
I may not be fast, I may not be the
visual athlete people may think, but if I believe in myself and keep moving forward,
I am DETERMINED to get to that finish line before midnight (which is the 17
hour cutoff) – Keep your fingers & toes crossed and positive thoughts that
day!!!! I have decided not to give myself a time and be disappointed if I don’t
hit it. This is huge to even attempt for me, and if I can swim the 2.4 miles
that morning, follow it with 112 miles on the bike and then jump off and run a
full marathon, all I care about is crossing the finish line and not giving up
without any pressure of time.. as long as I actually get a time (which means
being done by midnight)
Tomorrow I will take a short mental
break & go watch my precious goddaughter and her amazing sister compete in
IronKids in Boulder, CO in the 3-5year old age group.. ADORABLE.. I am going to
make them signs and go support them – I can’t wait!!!!
THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS………………(okay who
the hell am I kidding it started in August of last year) but now reality hit me
and this shit is getting close J
