The Highlights

I have been super busy, but here are the highlights...
I have been training, just not like The Plan says I should be training.
I turned 40, officially.
We got the backer board down and a few tiles. Might take til spring at this rate.
Our refrigerator is in the den, next to the Christmas Tree.
We had a wonderful Christmas at home and two more at my in-laws.
I have eaten like it might be my last day to see food, every day.
I have gained 8 pounds since Ironman.
I signed myself and Ronnie up for Tom King.
I turned over a new leaf today. I am watching what I eat again and following The Plan.

What Matters

Today is the first day of training for New Orleans 70.3. The Plan called for a 50 minute run and a 4750 yard swim.
So my plan was to get up early before Ronnie left for golf to get the run in then take the kids with me to the pool for the swim once it opened.
BUT....today is Bryce's 10th birthday.
I got up and ran this morning before Ronnie left. When the kids woke up Bryce wanted Cracker Barrel for breakfast. So I got cleaned up an we went out to eat. They both picked out some Webkinz then we went to Wal-mart to return a duplicate gift. We got home and adopted the new pets, worked on the new Lego sets and were just having birthday fun. I could not make myself drag the kids to the pool to hang out for a couple of hours while I did a 4750 yard swim on Bryce's birthday.
Now it is too late and I have missed the very first swim but I don't feel the least bit guilty. My son is having a wonderful birthday and that is what really matters.
Now it is time to go out for birthday dinner, again.

The Weekend

I am glad I am not famous. After a weekend of gluttony the pregnancy rumors would be flying. I would be the one on the cover of the rags with an arrow pointing at my belly and "experts" claiming that I am at least 3 month pregnant.
I started the weekend out being good. I did a 10 mile run early Friday morning then went to toning/cardio class. I ate a smart breakfast and lunch. But Friday night I had popcorn (a veggie) and wine (a fruit) for dinner and brownies for dessert. They were diet brownies but I ate too many.
Feeling guilty Saturday I went for a 5 mile run. Then we went to Demos' where I ate my weight in bread. And as if that were not bad enough, we went out for ice cream afterward.
Sunday I spent the day making cookies and candy with my kids. And we all know you can't make it without eating it. I gave most of it away to neighbors but I still managed to have a major tummy ache but the end of the day.
So this morning I got up at 4 to pay for my sins. I ran my usual 6 mile loop and then did the ab ripper DVD. I swore to be good today. But one look at the candy and I was a goner. Got another belly ache.
The madness must end or I will be looking like a pig at The Pig.

The Newspaper and Text Messages

This was in our local paper this week:

I have been getting all sorts of calls and catching major grief over the short ride I did. Everyone wants to know why it took me so long.

Thursday evening Ronnie got out his manual for his cell phone. He said he was tired all the text messages he gets and how hard it is to reply. He can't figure out how to get the word function to work and has to use the ABC mode. He spent a while trying to figure it out then told me he had a better idea. Friday morning I get this picture message from him:

How's that for text messaging????

a run, a ride, AND a swim

That's right...I am no longer just a runner.
Monday evening was just ANOTHER 6 mile run. But then last night I got my wheels changed out and put some time in on the trainer while watching TV. Sure it was slow, but it was time spent in the saddle.
Then this morning, I went to toning class and then went to the pool. I did 500 swim, 500 drills with fins, 500 pull, and 250 swim. It felt really good to be in the water again.

November Numbers

I can't believe it is the end of November already.
I got my workouts all logged and I am not impressed with my numbers.
Swim 2.4
bike 112
Thankfully Ironman counted in November, otherwise these numbers would be big fat ZEROS.
Run 98.41
Ab Ripper DVD 5 times
Wednesday morning toning 3 times
Friday Toning/cardio 3 times

I started today's run thinking I would do 10 miles, but 3 things changed my mind.
1. I realized that marathon training doesn't start until mid-January. Still plenty of time to work up to 13 miles
2. My ipod died at 5 miles
3. I had to go to the bathroom
So I ran 6 miles and called it good.

Also, I need to welcome my hubby to the blogosphere. I am going to provide the link to his new blog but when you go there remember he tends to stretch the truth or bend it to fit his needs. That said, you can give him some love here.

The Rut

I get in a rut when I am without a training program. Usually it is either run 6 miles, ride 20 miles, or swim 1 mile. But this rut is worse then usual. I still can't swim, waiting on the tat to heal. It is too cold to ride outside and I know I will be getting plenty of trainer time starting Dec 14th. So I just can't make myself do that. Heck my race wheels are still on my bike.
So that leaves running 6 miles. And that is that I have been doing. In the cold early mornings, I bundle up in my cold gear and fleece and run my 6 mile loop. No speed, no tempo, no hill repeats, just an easy 6 mile run.
I have also been attending toning class on Wednesday mornings at 5:30 and Friday mornings at 8:00. So I guess I am getting a little variety.
This mornings toning class was extra intense due to tomorrow being Thanksgiving. I think it was totally unfair since I won't be pigging out on Turkey and all the fixins. Ronnie has to work on Friday so we aren't going to his family's house. I am not cooking for the 4 of us since my kids won't eat all the "stuff". So we are going to make a big pot of spaghetti and work on our floors. I am also getting up and going to the rec center for the Thanksgiving day run, where I will run 6 miles.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Ironman Florida Video

Watch for me in the yellow at the end.

More Planning

Today I got my room booked for New Orleans. So while I was at it, I also booked a room for Augusta. The host hotel was already sold out so I got a room a little less then a mile away. I haven't signed up for the race yet, hangin' on to my money as long as possible.
2009 is shaping up to be a great season.
In the mean time I am still just piddlin' around. Yesterday I did ab ripper again and today I went to a class at the rec center. It was a combination of cardio and toning. It was fun and I think I will go back at least on the Fridays I am off for the next month. It is still hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea that I am done after an hour. I am feeling like such a slacker.

What's Next?

The scabs on my neck from my wetsuit are almost gone.

Looks like I am only going to lose two toenails.

I got the tat.

I have done three nice slow 6 mile runs, ab ripper 3 times and an hour of toning class.
So now it is time to address the question I have been asked dozens of times since I crossed the finsh line in Florida.
What's next???
Last night I registered for this:

It was filling up and training is suppose to start next week. Time to commit. Guess I better get on BT and get the plan now.
I have also booked a room in Cincinnati for this:I have not registered for the race yet but will before the price increase. Running it with David. We haven't discussed goals yet, BQ or just a fun run???. I am going to use the FIRST program again so training won't start for it until mid January. It will be a blending of training programs, worked for the Country Music Marathon and Rock'nRollman so should this time too.
David and I are also going to run Tom King again on March 14th.
So there it is, my plan for the first half of '09. Well the big races anyway, haven't even looked at any of the shorter stuff.

Tom King half marathon March 14
New Orleans 70.3 April 5
Flying Pig marathon May 3

Ironman Florida '08 - My Story

I wish I could make this report as entaining as Ronnie’s account but I am not the smart a$$ that he is. So here is my account of what happened.
I slept pretty good Friday night. I woke up a few time but always fell right back to sleep. That is until 3:30. That time there was no more sleeping. I did stay in bed for about an hour hoping for just a few more minutes of sleep but never got any.
So at about 4:30 I got up. I fixed myself a cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter by the light from the microwave. I got dressed and headed out, leaving my family sleeping. I got to the elevator and as soon as it opened and I saw the girl standing there with her special needs bags I realized mine were still in the condo. I went back to the room and quietly grabbed my bags. Back to the elevators this time with everything. We were on the 18th floor and I had to stop several times to let people on.
I dropped off special needs bags and easily found someone to body mark me. I got to be 39 again since there is no age up rule for Ironman. Does that mean I get another party in December when I turn 40 again???
Once body marked, I went into transition and loaded my bike down with pb&j, pretzels and Nuun. Then I just sat on the curb and relaxed. I couldn't believe I wasn't nervous. I was more nervous last year when I was just there as a volunteer.

I walked over to make sure I knew where my T1 bag was and on the way back I saw Lana and JT. A little later I saw Holly who had volunteered again this year to get a back stage pass. I talked with Lana and Holly for a bit then Ronnie called to let me know that he and the kids had come down. I found them and got lots of hugs and kisses from the kids. I was so glad I had decided to have them come along.
We hung out and I just tried to stay warm. Finally it was time to surrender my morning clothes and shoes to Ronnie and make my way to the beach.
The Swim
The music was blasting and Mike Reilly was asking who wanted to become an Ironman. The crowd cheered and the excitement was tangible
The pros went out at 6:50 and 10 minutes later the gun sounded for us age groupers.
I walked/jogged out into the water with the mass of people. I started in the middle more to the left. I started swimming but kept my head out of water. It was crazy. I knew it was going to be but until you actually do a mass start with that many people you can’t really understand just how crazy it is. The first loop was the worst. I took an elbow to the chin, got kicked in the chest, had my zipper pull pulled loose so it kept getting wrapped around my neck, got pulled under, swam over...At the first turn it was total chaos. I came to a complete stop just trying to get around the buoy. I must have looked bad because I had a girl tell me she couldn’t help me there was just too many people. I didn’t need or want help, just some space to swim. The rest of the first loop was more of the same. I made it to shallow water and stood up. Leg cramp. I walked it off and made it to the beach. I saw the clock and it said forty something. I smiled from ear to ear, I was right on track. Then I saw Holly and yelled to her. She got my picture. I grabbed some water to rinse my mouth and hit the water for lap two. It was then that I realized that the clock might have been still set for the pros. Could I have just done that first loop in thirty something??? No way. Second loop was a lot less of a full contact swim. I had more space and could relax and focus more on form. Up until this point I had been breathing every other stoke on my left. I tried to bilateral breath and discovered my wetsuit must have been rubbing because it really hurt to turn my head right. So I stuck to the left breathing and finished the swim. I exited the water and saw 1:15:xx on the clock. I made my way to the strippers with a huge smile on my face. I knew then that I had just had the best swim of my life. I had a great girl remove my wetsuit, tell me congratulations on a great swim and point me towards T1.
2.4 mile swim 1:15:26
T1
I had to pee. Actually I had to pee before the race even started but the lines were just too long and I figured I would go in the water. I never did so by the time I made it to transition I was about to explode. I had to find my own bag (something I wasn’t really expecting). It took me a minute to find it even though I thought I knew where it was pre race. I found it then I ran straight to the port-a-potty. Bladder empty, I started toward the tent but noticed it was crowded so just decided to change right there. I dumped my bag on the ground and grabbed what I wanted and stuffed the rest back in the bag. I saw Holly again while I was doing all this. I told her to tell Ronnie I made it out of the water early if she saw him. She said she would. congratulated me on a great swim, and sent me off for my bike. I ran down the rows as people were shouting my number trying to find my bike. I yelled row two and they got it just as I reached it. I took it from the volunteer and was out of T1.
T1 time 7:05:40.
The Bike
There was quite the crowd trying to get out on the bike course at the same time and we had to walk our bikes for a ways until it thinned out enough to mount and ride. I got on my bike right where the kids had written with chalk the night before. I wasn’t expecting to see Ronnie and the kids since I had told them it would be an hour and a half to two hours for my swim. But there they were, right there to cheer me on. The bike was off to a good start. But then about 5 miles into the ride, my Nuun tablets fell out of my pocket. The girl behind me yells, “Looks like you lost your Nuun.” It was too crowded to even think about stopping for it so I decided I would just have to go with Gatorade for the day.
It was a little cool and I was wondering if I should have grabbed my arm warmers but the sun was out it didn’t take long to warm up. After about 10 miles I had to pee. The port-a-potties at the next couple aid stations had lines so I skipped them. I saw a white truck somewhere around 20 miles and thought “That’s looks like the Flash”. traffic slowed due to the aid station. I grabbed a Gatorade and rode past the truck just as Holly spotted me and yelled. It was great to see them out there. I rode on past and then had them pass me a few more times. By mile 40 aid station I couldn’t hold it any longer so had to stop and wait in the port-a-potty line. I wasn’t on my bike 2 miles when I had to pee AGAIN. I stopped at the potties at special needs then again to pick up my bag to get my additional pb&j’s. 50 miles down and I was still feeling great. My bib number started flapping and I discovered that at the last potty stop I had lost a snap on my race belt. So I had to tuck my number into my shorts.
There was some rough road and I thought it was the part I had been warned about, but then I hit the out and back and discovered what real rough road feels like. I was still feeling great and excited with how my ride was going, I was doing much better then I thought I could. I had to make TWO MORE potty stops and then told myself I was holding it until T2.
The last 10 miles seemed like the longest of the whole ride. I caught up with Lana and told her she was having an awesome race. I rolled into T2 with the biggest smile and pumping my fists in the air. The crowd was cheering and that made me even more excited. I handed my bike off to a volunteer and ran into T2.
112 mile bike 5:57:29
T2
I helped the volunteer find my bag then I hit the port-a-potty. I ran to the tent asking for a safety pin for my race belt. I had the best two girls help me. They dumped my bag and held up each item asking me if I needed it. I got the stuff I needed, had someone apply some more sun screen, got the safety pin and jogged out of T2.
T2 time 3:55
The Run
I was way ahead of schedule so I didn’t expect to see Ronnie and the kids so I didn’t even look for them. Jill saw me and shouted. The crowd was great, they were loud and very motivating. After the first two miles I started to pay for the lost Nuun. The Gatorade was not sitting well in my stomach. I had to GO. I got to the mile 3 aid station potties, waited in line, then NOTHING. I figure I was OK then. But as soon as I started running it felt like I as going to poop my pants. So I walked. I stopped at several more port-a-potties and had the same results. Lana caught me after the turn around. I ran with her until the next aid station where I made yet another stop. Finally I gave up on the potty stops and just walked. I made it to half way turn around and got hugs from my kids. That made me feel better but I still couldn’t run for long. I was walking fast. I even had a guy tell me he wished he could walk that fast. I knew by this point I had a sub 15 in the bag so I was lacking motivation to run. Finally at mile 21 I made one last potty stop. I decided I wasn’t leaving that pot until I went. Finally!!! I felt so much better after that and actually jogged most of those last 5 miles, it was a slow jog but faster then walking.
I made it to the chute and got to stay to the right. I saw Ronnie, the kids and Jill all yelling like crazy. Then I heard Mike Reilly say “Michele Emerson from south Missouri....”I looked up at the booth confused. I am not from Missouri. But I crossed the line and became an Ironman anyway. Flash was there and got my picture. The catcher asked me how I was and told him “Fantastic!!!”.
I collected my medal, shirt, and hat, got my picture taken, and then left the finishers area.
Flash took me to Holly and Mrs. Flash. I talked with them for a few minutes then went looking for Ronnie and the kids.
I was so excited to see them.
We walked back to the condo so I could shower. Then we walked down to Hammer Head Fred’s because I wanted a cheeseburger. I was moving slow and had to keep yelling at Ronnie to wait up.
After my burger, fries, and beer, we went back to watch the rest of the racers come in. Bryce fell asleep with his head in my lap so Ronnie took him back to the room and Casey and I stayed with Lana and JT to watch the final finishers cross the line.
It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.
I am still on cloud nine. I can’t believe I did it. it is over. I not only got the sub 15 I wanted, I got a sub 13!!!
final time 12:40:55

Guest Blogger

I haven't had time to do a race report yet so I am going to allow Ronnie to give a recap of the weekend from his perspective. He typed these up as a series of emails that he sent out to our friends and family. One of them suggested that I post them here. So here they are, Ronnie's take on Ironman Florida '08.

THURSDAY MORNING

We arrived yesterday about 6:00pm at Panama City Beach for the Iron Man event on Saturday (that's about a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run). Upon arrival the scene was laughable. Skinny people everywhere, running, walking, and biking, Hell, there were more bikes on the road than cars. I had to be extra careful not to run over someones bike because I knew that if I smash their bike and they can't compete Sat. they will kick my ass, even with broken bones and mangled body.

We went to dinner last night at Hammer Head Fred's. Again nothing but skinny people and everyone wearing polyester pull overs and warm up pants. I too was dressed this way and Michele became aggravated when the waiter assumed that I also was a competitor so she straighten him out. Stranger than anything, no one was drinking, except me of course. I wanted to yell "LOOSEN UP YOUR DRAW STRINGS AND HAVE A BEER YOU UPTIGHT SONS OF BITCHES". Finally, after about 30 minutes listening to chatter from surrounding tables about the fat content of a burger, the effects of alcohol on dehydration, and their training routine for the next couple of days, a fat couple waddled in. This couple had to wander if they had accidentally planned a vacation to a city that's hosting a bulimic convention.

It's Thursday morning and about 48 degrees and I stepped out on the 18th floor balcony, look out to the sea, and what do I see? Whales? Dolphins? Sharks? No to all of these. What I did see was a group swim had gathered on the beach. Some had already begun their trek out to a buoy that must have been about a mile out. I could see little knuckleheads bobbing in the water, arms swinging overhead and feet splashing. Turns out that Michele was one of those knuckleheads. She returned to the room complaining of freezing, but not because the water was cold but because the sand was cold.

Gotta go we are about to go to breakfast. I don't thing there will be skinny people at the IHOP. They don't have shredded wheat and granola.




THURSDAY AFTERNOON,

We just returned from the ironman expo. Lot's of skinny people, polyester, spandex, and people wearing any brand of sports sunglasses on the market. I also had on my Bolle sunglasses to fit in with the click. I'm also wearing a tee shirt that she got from the McMinnville Triathlon and people are treating me like one of the participants. This is aggravating the hell out of Michele and she's calling me a "poser". We ran into Lana, one of our friends that is also in the ironman, and she thinks I'm disgusting too. I'm not lying to anyone and if I'm asked I'll tell them I'm not a participant, but Michele doesn't hesitate to set everyone straight. They've got all kinds of Ironman apparel at the expo. If anyone wants something let me know. Then you can look like an Ironman too. After all it's more fun to look like an Ironman than to be one. They have given them a silver wrist band and now I need to figure out how to get one of those.




THURSDAY EVENING,

IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO POLYESTER DON'T COME TO PANAMA BEACH CITY!!!!!!!

Today Michele and I discussed the plan for me and the kids on Ironman day and how we can cheer her on to the finish. I'm THINKING we are there at the start at 7:00, then a couple of hours later after breakfast to cheer for her on the bike ride, and then we would give it some time time while we did the beach, Ripley's Believe It Or Not, then lunch. and then we would head over to the finish line to cheer her on as she and all the others painfully and mercifully cross the finish line.

BOY WAS I WRONG. I had not done the numbers or really thought about how long this would take. She doesn't expect to finish until 10:00. That's 10:00PM. It's going to take her about 15 hours. I don't thing I've ever done anything for 15 hours. Let me think. Sex? I wish. Sleep? Couldn't do it. Watch TV? No way. Drink? I'd fall asleep so still couldn't do it. Drive a car? I'd fall asleep again. I guess the only thing I would want to do for 15 hours straight is sex, but I don't think Michele would be into that sort of Ironman. Damn just my luck.

Dinner tonight went well. We ate at Dirty Dick's Crab House and the smell of polyester was in the air. No one asked me about the Ironman so Michele was in a better mood. I think they might be on to me because I'm still drinking and I think at this point it's a big no-no. Something about dehydration. I think we got a lecture in P.T. school on that one but I've always thought fluid is fluid. Who can trust the water today anyway. I do have a story if someone does ask. The story goes------ I've done so many that I just have fun when I do them now. I did one back in '78 in San Antonio that we had to cross the Rio Grande the Mexican authorities began to arrest the participants because they didn't have visas. We were all pissed because we had to spend half the day in a Mexican jail. I can't wait until tomorrow.


FRIDAY,

It's the day before the big race. Well it's not really a race except for the few participants that are good enough to be at the front. For the rest it's an event. A sadistic event but never the less an event. I decided I would join in the workouts today so I did a 4 mile run. Kind of neat because all of the runners were just in a get loose mode so they were running real slow and easy. This made me feel like a track star. Usually when I run I'm the slow one so lots of runners pass me, but not today. I just flew past these skinny, exercise addicts. Many of them asked me where I was from, so I had to slow down chat for a minute, then as I would speed up they would wish me luck tomorrow. I'm not sure if they think I'm participating or they know that I'll be dragging 2 kids around for 15 hours to cheer for their mom. We were all getting off the elevator and just before the door shut one of the women wished me luck. Michele was pissed that she didn't have time to straighten her out.

I really can't believe that these people are doing anything today knowing what's coming tomorrow. They all are so competitive. Even on a slow day like today they are dressed in their fancy high priced polyester shirts and spandex shorts. This stuff is not cheap. Well it can be but they don't have Walmart Starter brand like me. Many of them run or ride in packs. They have this intense look and I could tell that it was all they could do to continue at a slow pace. Imagine how pissed they were at me for speeding past them.

We met Jill, a lady that Michele had met previously at another event, and her, her husband, and another couple are here to cheer. The kids and I will probably hang with them tomorrow. She has a great idea for us to drink 140 beers. That's 1 beer for every mile they swim, ride, and bike. So if you don't hear from me tomorrow that means we accomplished that feat. I'll be taking lots of pics tomorrow and I'll especially be looking for participants in extreme distress. They should be plentiful and not difficult to find.




SUNDAY MORNING


Michele finished and in a lot better time than she thought she would----12 hours, 40 minutes, 55 seconds.

That thing was crazy. There were about 2500 participants and about 1200 first timers. That means there were over 1000 people that were dumb enough to do that more than once. The most incredible to me was a 76 year old man did it. You would think a 76 year old would have better since. He must have Alzheimer's and had no clue what he was doing. Also incredible to me was there were some fat people in it----3 I think, and 1 brother. We stayed until almost midnight and those were the fun ones to watch. People staggering across the finish line as the crowd cheered, rang cow bells, blew party horns, and the announcer proclaimed "YOU ARE AN IRONMAN" in an attempt to inspire them. After 140.6 miles some were uninspired. No one crawled or puked, damn it, but it was fun to watch as long as I had a beer to drink.

Speaking of beer, Jill's idea of our group drinking one beer for every mile was a failure. We didn't earn our ironman. Me being the team player that I am held up my end, I even went above and beyond my duties and tried to make up for some of those not pulling their weight. We failed so there won't be an MVP but if there was I think I earned it. Obviously attempting to team drink 140 beers has a worse effect on the body than 140 miles. Michele's up running around feeling chipper, and I'm hungover, drinking coffee, queasy stomach, and head pounding. She's thinking about things we can do today, and I'm only thinking about puking. She's on a successful high and feeling good about herself, and I'm afraid to leave the condo because I might be recognized buy someone I ridiculed.



MONDAY EVENING


The participants had an awards ceremony last night that Michele went to because they were going to receive a DVD of the event. She could tell that it was going to last a long time so she left and we went to dinner and then back to the ceremony. Now, I'll do my best to describe the scene. The ceremony was letting out just as we were pulling up to the conference hall, and the participants were leaving through the front door right in front of us. Remember the day before all of these folks had swam, biked, and ran 140.6 miles, and now they have sat in a hard back folding chair for 2 hours. I don't think we actually have to do the Ironman to image the pain and stiffness these folks were now experiencing. This looked like the scene in "The Night of the Living Dead" when all of the zombies were walking together. Stiff legs, shuffle steps, no trunk rotation leaning side to side so they could bring their legs forward, their arms just hung to their sides with no movement. Hell, I was afraid it was going scare the kids. I sure scared me.


I woke up this morning about 3:00 AM to go pee and Michele was standing at the bathroom door. She looked kind of green and said, "I don't feel good". She stepped out of the bathroom for me to do my thing and I know you can guess what happened next. She bust through the door while I'm in mid stream, hand over mouth, HURRY UP I'VE GOT TO THROW UP!!! Now as many of you know this is almost an impossible task, but when Charlie and his friends are about to get puked on I had to man up in a hurry. She spent the next few hours with stuff coming out of both ends. Damn doesn't the Ironman sound like fun. I can't wait until next year.

Race Eve

We have had another great day. The weather here is perfect.
I finally got my gear bags packed. I had stuff everywhere. I sure hope I remembered everything. Or at least didn't forget anything important. I checked them and my bike around 1:30.

I found my assigned bike rack. It is in row 2. Guess two is my number for this race, hope it is a lucky one.
After leaving all my stuff behind, we walked around a little then went out to a late lunch/early dinner at Olive Garden. We made a stop at Target for some more water and the liquor store for Bloody Mary stuff for Sunday morning. Back at the room I took a nap on the patio in the sun and Ronnie took the kids out for ice cream.

I am fully rested and carb loaded now and the roads are covered in chalk.

Here

We're here!!
I did the pratice swim in the gulf this morning at 7. The water was perfect. I am PRAYING that it is just like that Saturday morning.
I have picked up my packet and the kids had a great time making signs for me. They made one big one that will be placed on the run course and each made a small one to hold while they cheer.




Our room is great. I love staying right here. It is worth the $$$ (and it is a lot)!!
I am still just SUPER excited, no nerves at all.

Ready or Not Here I Come

It's time. Tomorrow I am heading down to Florida with the family.
I am excited. I am not letting myself be nervous. I have done the training and I WILL finish this journey by crossing that finish line before midnight Saturday. No ifs, and, or buts about it.
The bags are not quite packed but I am working on it.
The kids have finished all the school work they will miss while gone. That was almost as hard as training for Ironman.
I am rested and ready.
Tomorrow I will do a 20 minute ride in the COLD before heading out. And Thursday I will do an open water swim in the gulf. That's it. Nothing else.
Time to pack, I have stalled long enough.
Next post will be from Florida.

What's Left

One week from today I will be at Panama City Beach. And in ten days I will toe the line. I have 3 swims, 3 rides, and 2 runs left to do. I have followed my plan with a few missed workouts. I have had to shift things a bit but got it done. I am feeling good, ready. I have learned a lot about myself this year. I have pushed my body harder then ever and it has responded. I have trained with my friends and I have trained alone. My husband and kids have put up with my crazy schedule and supported me the whole time. I can't wait to give them all big sweaty hugs at the finish line.

It's real now. I got my race number. I have started gathering things, making piles of stuff that I need to take. Friends are wishing me luck in case they don't see me before the race. I even got a card in the mail today from my dentist wishing me Good Luck. How nice was that?!?

It's almost time to become an Ironman.

I Got My Race Number

That's right, Ironman race numbers have been assigned. I am number 2322! Love it. Kids should be able to remember it.

It has been a VERY busy week.
Monday I got up at 4am so that I could run an hour of hill repeats (10 x jail hill) and swim 2500 yard continuous. I had to drag myself through the whole thing but I got it done. I was so tired at work that I wanted to crawl under my desk and take a nap. After work it was a mad rush to get kids from place to place. So by the time I got the kids to bed, I was right behind them.
Tuesday morning I got up at 5:00. Since Ronnie was leaving town early Wednesday morning I needed to get Wednesday's workout done on Tuesday. So I went to the Rec Center for a 3600 yard swim. I made it 1400 yards before I called it quits. I was so tired and I felt like I was going to throw up in the pool. I went home and got cleaned up so that I could go to my doctors appointment and work. Kids dentist appointments took up the entire afternoon and exhausted me even more. So I never got around to the 50 minute bike or 35 minute run. But I got some sleep.
Wednesday I was feeling much better. I went to my dentist appointment then did a 31.25 mile ride and 3.25 mile run. After getting the kids it was more rushing from place to place.
Thursday was a scheduled rest day and I enjoyed every second of it. I did feel a little guilty about Tuesday's missed workouts but not guilty enough to make them up. I didn't have time anyway since I had to work and was single. Thursday afternoon was just Sylvans so not as rushed.
Today I was off work. I had to get in today's scheduled 2 hour ride and tomorrow's 3600 yard swim. I got up at 6 and did the Ab Ripper DVD. I took the kids to school and went to the Rec Center to swim. I swam 150 yards and then remembered that I was suppose to be at the doctors for blood work. I jumped out of the pool, got dressed, and rushed to the doctor. Got there 10 minutes early and the place was still locked. It just happened to be right by the early voting so I went and voted. Back at the doctor's office, I got my blood drawn then went back to the pool. I got the swim done and made plans with Lana to meet up for the ride. I went home changed and rode to Lana's. We rode the longest loop I did Saturday when I did my long ride. It was great to have company. The ride flew by. 37.4 miles in 2:05. She really makes me push myself harder then I do riding alone.
So tomorrow I have a 50 minute run that I will do while the kids are at Sylvans making up Tuesdays class.
I am on the home stretch now, only 2 weeks til I toe the line.

Taper is not going to be as easy as I thought

Some stuff I forgot to mention about yesterdays ride:
I rode my race wheels. After all the trouble I had getting the tube changed, I figured I better ride them a few times before Florida and make sure they are good to go. They were fine, no issues.
I also wore the shirt and shorts I was thinking about for race day. I have worn the shorts before but the top is new and I wanted to give it a test run. No chaffing. So I guess that top is a go.
The shorts do ride low and the top is a little on the short side. So I had this area in the small of my back exposed all day. It got FRIED!!!! Note to self, don't forget to sunscreen back.
I ate
-1.5 pb&j sandwiches made with sugar free jelly and PB2
-1 small box of raisins
-16 fig newtons
-snack size ziploc bag of pretzel sticks
-80 oz of Nuun water

Last night I made lasagna and garlic bread and played Wii til 11:30. Man do I suck, I was dead last in EVERY game we played.
Then this morning I got up early and rode 20.68 miles in 1:16. It was beautiful out and I really enjoyed the ride.
I thought with taper starting this week would be an easy week. But I have two doctor appointments, a dentist appointment for me and another for the kids, 5 hours at Sylvan, gymnatic, boy scouts, church youth group, and Ronnie is going on a golf trip. I also have to try to find some time to work. My workouts are going to have to be shifted around again.

In the Books

I am still on a high from a great workout today so I will keep this short.

Yesterday I did a Sloooooow 30 minute run and got in 3.08 miles before hitting the pool. The swim way long and also slow. 4500 yards in 1:45:51. Now in my defence, there was 1000 yards of kick in there and I am the worlds worse kicker. I usually just drag my legs behind like dead stumps.

On to today. I had a 6 hour ride on tap. I got up at 6:30, but was dragging and didn't get rolling until 7:45. The plan said to ride hills. So I decided to do 3 loops. That way I could ride the Noah Road hill 3 times and get in some rollers in between. I can't believe how great I felt today. The first loop I did the long route and made it home to refuel at 39 miles. I made a quick potty stop and refilled my bottles and started loop two. My sponge fell out right away and I had to do a u turn to go back and get it. I think I have only had that thing for two or three rides. That areo bottle is going to get expensive. I took a different route after climbing THE HILL. Made it back home at 72 miles. Quick potty stop and bottle refill and off for final loop. I tried to make excuse as to why I didn't NEED to climb that hill again but I sucked it up and made the third climb at mile 90. I took yet another route home and finally didn't have an dog encounters. Made it home in 6:03 with a total of 103.65 miles. I changed shoes and did a 2 mile run off. Plan didn't call for it but I was feeling good and wanted to prove to myself that I could run after 100 miles on the bike. I ran 2 miles in 17:27. Where did that come from??? I am thinking it was the pretzels I ate on the final stretch home. They were so good. Magic pretzels??? I am taking those suckers to Florida!!!
Total for week:
swim 11,800 yards
bike 149.01
run 18.93
16 hours total
BRING ON TAPER!!!!!

Numbers

Race Numbers will be assigned Thursday!! I am hoping for a super cool number. But nothing will ever be as cool as Bigun's 1234 he had for Cd'A08.

Starving

Today was a rest day so I can't even blame a hard workout for the fact that I have been a bottomless pit today. Now I just feel like a fat slob.
Otherwise it has been a good week.
It is fall break so the kids are home. Therefore I had to swap Tuesday and Wednesday workouts. I was off on Tuesday but had to work Wednesday and today.
So Tuesday I did a 65 minute 3300 yards swim, 30 minute 8 mile bike, and a 50 minute 5.58 mile run before Ronnie left for work. Then I took the kids to the dentist, not so good there. Then back to Sylvan for the results of the testing they took on Monday. Turns out Bryce is dyslexic. Poor kid. Color blind, near sided, and now dyslexic. Casey's results followed some of the same patterns as Bryce and she is slightly dyslexic. So 4 days a week we will be going to Tullahoma for reading lessons.
Wednesday morning it was pouring rain when the alarm went off so I reset it and went right back to sleep. The kids had their first sessions at Sylvan Wednesday afternoon so I decided that would be a good time to get in my one hour run that I missed. I dropped them off then took off running. Turns out it wasn't the best of neighborhoods. I had a drunk guy in a wheelchair and two guys walking down the street yell at me as I ran past. So I ran extra fast. Then I got to a nice country road and slowed to a more comfortable pace. I turned around after 30 minutes. I was not looking forward to running in that neighborhood again. This time I just had some kids yell "Run Forrest, run" at me. When I waved they yelled "don't wave at me". I made it back to Sylvans in 59:30 and called that good with 6.51 miles. I was suppose to do some strength training too but never got around to it.
Today was a rest day and like I said I have been starving all day. I ate a good breakfast but by 9:00 I was ready for lunch. I ate my salad about 9:30 because I couldn't wait any longer. Then about 11:30 I ate my tomato chowder. By 1:00 I was ready to eat my arm off. When I got home just after 3, I ate everything not nailed down.
I am glad I have two good training days coming up to burn off some of these calories.

Final Push

Well this is it...the final week of training before taper.
Saturday was an hour easy bike followed by 4000 yard swim. It was beautiful out and super hard to make myself go inside to the pool. I got there about 2:30 and there was another birthday party going on. I hate swimming during open swim time anyway but add in a party and it is awful. Saturday I had kids playing in the lap lanes. Never mind they had the whole rest of the pool, they still wanted to play in the lane I was swimming in. I ran into a kid once while doing kick on my back. Then they got the idea that it would be fun to splash me. So every time I got to that end of the pool they would start splashing. They also moved my Ziploc bag with my workout in it to the next lane.
Sunday was another easy 1 hour bike this time followed by a 15 minute run. I got chased by several dogs on the bike. I am so sick of dogs and I am a dog lover.
Today was 1:20 on the trainer followed by a 4000 yard swim. No dogs and no kids today!!! Both workouts were uneventful, just the way I like them.

Last week I noticed my race wheels needed air. I overinflated the rear tire and pow it exploded. I tried to change the tube but it was taking too long so I just put it aside. So yesterday I decided I need to get it changed. I could NOT get the tire back on the wheel. I was ready to throw the stupid thing out the window. When Ronnie got home, I asked him to give it a shot while I went and rode. When I got back he had the tire on. Today I tried to inflate it. No luck. I got out the instructions and discovered I was suppose to put plumbers tape on the stem. So I took the tire off again. Ronnie came home just as the wheel was about to go out the window. He showed me how he did it. After much effort and a scratch in the zipp decal, I was finally able to get the tire on. I got it inflated but it isn't acting right. I am going to put the race wheels on for a ride soon to make sure it holds air and doesn't give me any problems. Sure don't want to wait until race day to discover I have problems.

18 Before Sunrise

I got the kids to bed a few minutes after 8 last night. Then after their usual stalling, I got them asleep and I went to bed myself. Thanks to the 2 glass of wine I had enjoyed, I was able to go right to sleep. At a little before 1:00am I woke up to pee. I had just gotten back in bed and was drifting back off to sleep when I heard the beep beep that signals the opening of a door at my house. I bolted straight up and looked at the control panel in our room. The light was red, meaning a door was open. I starting shaking Ronnie telling him someone opened a door. He was a little confused and it took him a minute, but he finally got up and went to investigate. He gave the back door a shove then went a gave the garage door a shove. That time I heard the beep beep again and the light turned to green. He came back to bed and told me I imagined the whole thing, that no door was open. I told him the light changed from red to green and it beeped. He got back in bed and fell right back to sleep. I, on the other hand, slept very fitfully for the next two hours.
My alarm went off at 3 and I got up to do my long run. I was still feeling skittish from the whole alarm deal and running in the dark alone had little appeal. So I decided to just run my 6 mile loop of the 5 neighborhoods by my house 3 times. This would make it so that I was never much more then a mile from home at any given time. The first loop I was jumpy. I couldn't believe how many cars were out at that time of the morning. Just before my 5 mile mark there was this truck and I guess he was wondering what I was up to cause he slowed down then stopped. I didn't know what he was up to either. I ran past him then he took off again. On loop two, around mile 10, I had a bulldog run up to me. It was dark, his owner was calling him, and I didn't want to get attacked so I stopped. He sniffed me and I petted him. He gave me his approval and I continued my run. Thankfully, loop 3 was uneventful. I finished the 18 miles before the sun came up and I felt really good the whole time with an average pace of 9:15. That's it my last long run. Only 4 weeks to go.

Today is also the last day of the first 9 weeks. My kids are one forth of the way finished with the school year. Next week is fall break. It will be extra challenging to get all my workouts in with kids home. I might have to do some shifting around. I am only working 2 days but one of those has long swim that there is no way I can get done and be at work on time. So shifting I will do, but the time will be put in, too close now to cut workouts short.

Ramblings

I don't have the time or energy to put together cohesive thoughts these days. So here is a list of randomness.

Training is still on track
Tuesday 1:10 bike followed by 45 minute run
Wednesday 3000 yard swim, followed by 1 hour bike and 40 minute run
Thursday rest day

We are having wonderful training weather. I was off work both Tuesday and Wednesday so got to do the workouts outside in the sunshine. Yesterday's ride was cool enough that I wore long sleeves.

Despite the beautiful weather my heart has not really been in the workouts. I am still just doing the time.

I am alternating between excitement and fear about Ironman. Reading other people's post about their training has me questioning my plan. I am not putting in any where near the time/mileage that other people are putting in. Will it be enough?

I am feeling really bad about Halloween this year. The race requires me to be in Florida Halloween night. We have decided to make it a family trip. I have waffled on this. I hate pulling the kids out of school. They are going to miss their class parties and the pumpkin painting contest. They will miss trick or treating. But I want them there to cheer for me. I want them there when I cross that finish line. So we are taking costumes and hope to find a way to let them trick or treat in Florida.

Turning 40 is more then just a number when you go in for your annual exam. I got poked in all new places.

While at the doctor, I complained to her about my inability to lose weight despite the amount of exercise I do and a very good diet. She decided I need some blood work done and hormone testing. I had already eaten that morning so had to go back for the blood work Wednesday morning.

Hormone testing requires spitting in a test tube first thing in the morning. It took me an hour this morning to spit enough to get that stupid tube full.

I am working on my 2009 plan. Flying Pig is May 3rd. Training will start Dec 15. I am still thinking about the 70.3 in New Orleans on April 5. The problem I am having is that the kids will be on Spring Break and I won't be home on Monday. I have no one to keep them that day while Ronnie goes to work. But if I can get it figured out, training will start Nov 17. Also on the radar for 09 is Vegas marathon in Dec and Atomic Man Half Iron in Sept.

Whirlwind

It has been crazy busy around here but here is a run down of what I have been doing.

Thursday was suppose to be a rest day but with the trip to Memphis over the weekend I knew I would not be able to swim. So I got up early, only to discover I had a major headache. I set out on my run and almost bagged it after a mile. Somehow I managed to finish all 45 minutes of it, but the swim wasn't going to happen. I got back in bed and hoped the headache would be gone before I had to go to work.

Friday I had a five and a half hour ride. Made it 95.25 miles. No foot pain this time thanks to my new shoes. But I forgot the Chamois Butt'r, ouch!!!!

Saturday I recovered, hung with friends and went to a wedding. Ronnie really wanted me to skip the race Sunday morning and after much nagging I finally agreed. So we got on the road for home early Sunday morning. Once home I had to get in my 1:30 easy ride. I made it 1:25 and was not in the mood for a lap or two of the hood so called it good enough. I was also suppose to do strength training. Never happened.

This morning I got up at 3:50 and ran for an hour then went to the rec center for my 4000 yard swim. I was swimming really slowly and ran out of time and motivation. I made it 2200 yards. When i got home, I checked on my son. Yesterday his throat was hurting and he had no voice. He still sounded bad and said his throat was still hurting. So I kept him home today. I think he is on the road to recovery and will be returning to school tomorrow. Now I just gotta pray his sister doesn't get it, or me!!!!

Marking Time

I have been slacking.
Sunday the Plan called for an hour and a half "recovery" ride. But the kids and I went to M'boro after church and did some shopping and hanging out. We got home about 5 and I decided Mexican food and beer were a much better way to recover.
Monday The Plan called for a 30 minute run and a 2900 yard swim. I did both but with little enthusiasm. It was just marking time. Quantity not quality.
Today was an hour twenty "anything goes" ride followed by a 20 minute run. I listened to #14 of Tacboy n Bigun podcast and did the Pedaling Strength DVD. Well, kinda. I didn't push the big gears and sucked at the recovery spins. More just putting in the time, no quality. The run wasn't much better. I shuffled two loops around the hood.
I guess I should just be happy that I haven't snoozed myself out of these workouts and did something. But I am in need of a good quality workout, something to give me a boost. Tomorrow I am getting up early to swim but have decided to leave work early so that I can do the required one hour ride out on the road. Maybe some time out in the sunshine will give me the quality I need.

End of Another Week

I was the loser at the pool swimming laps while all the cool kids were at football parties watching the game. I had to wait for hubby to get home from golf. then I hit the pool for 3300 yard, it sucked. I was so slow. there was a b-day party going on and I just wanted out of there.
I really thought about skipping the bike altogether. 45 minutes of easy spinning. Did I really need it???? i had two bottles of wine chilling in the fridge.
I did the ride. 47 minutes. 12.68 miles.

Totals for the week:
swim 8400 yards
bike 148.72 miles
run 28.56

Four Days of Forty

My training plan has always dealt with time and not distance for the bike and the run. Swim it gives a distance and a time. This week it threw me a curve. The four 2 hour bikes I had scheduled were all suppose to be 40 miles.
WHAT?!?!?!?!
I don't ride 40 miles on a 2 hour training ride!
So my four days of forty was suppose to start Sunday. But I had that race.
Day one - 27.3 miles in 1:33:09. I got neither the time or the distance. Not off to a good start. But the run was only suppose to be 30 minutes and I got in 50:59.
Day two - I got up at 3:00 am. Rode my trainer for 2 hours. 28.09 miles. Got the time but not the distance. Then I went to the pool and did my require 2000 yards. Plan said it should take 40 minutes, took me 44:05.
Day three - I got up at 3:00 am again. I had decided that I had a better shot at getting 40 miles in two hours on the rode vs the trainer. So I put a light on my bike and rode 40 one mile loops of my neighborhood. It was dark and my light isn't very good, I was scared to get out on a real road. Still no dice. 40 miles in 2:35. I ran 4.1 miles in 40 minutes after the run.
Day four - I had the day off so got to sleep in and do the ride after taking the kids to school. 40 miles in 2:22. I had to do 4 loops of my neighborhood at the end to get to 40 miles. Then I ran 3.23 miles in 30 minutes. Next, I was suppose to swim 2300 yards in 30 minutes but I only got in 2100 yards in 48:05 before I got kicked out because they were closing.
So my "Four Days of Forty" didn't go as planned. I am short some bike miles, short some swim yards, and over on my run time. But tomorrow is a rest day and I am going to enjoy every second of it, well except for that going to work part.

Music City Race Report

I noticed the wind on my drive up to Nashville but didn't think that much about it at the time.

I got to the race site and got in line to pick up my packet. That is when I noticed the chop in the water. "WOW that looks tough", I thought to myself. Water temp was too high for wetsuits too. Then I noticed the flags, they were all standing straight out and blowing like crazy.

I got my stuff and did all the pre race stuff(set up transition, body marking...) then made my way to the beach. The RD had decided to shorten the swim and make it optional due to how rough the water was. If you chose to just do the duathlon, there was only going to be an award a overall prize.

The race started with wave 1 being the Collegiate Racers. Wave 2 was All Relay Teams, Aquabike & PC Racers. And wave 3 was Male Age 50+. I was in wave 4, Females 40+. As I was entering the water they cautioned us again and said they were already pulling people out of the water. I fought the chop and made it to the start buoy just as they said go. I tried to swim freestyle but the waves were just too much for me. I ended up doing breast stroke. I kept my eye on the double orange buoy that marked the turn. Then the buoy was gone. I kept swimming and swimming. I finally made it to a white buoy that the orange buoys had been tired to before they BLEW AWAY!! I made the turn and headed for the yellow triangle buoy. People were hanging on buoys as I swam by. I felt like a cork bobbing along. I tried freestyle a couple more times but always gave up and did breast stroke. I made the final turn to the beach. I could tell something was wrong. There were too many people standing on the beach. I hit shore and found out they had stopped the race after wave 6, Females Age 30-34 went in. I stopped my watch. I had been out in the water almost 25 minutes. We stood around in the water not allowed to cross the timing mat for a while waiting for everyone to get out of the water. Some people were told at the first turn to just head back while others, like me, swam the whole thing.

So now the race was going to be a duathlon and the swim (that I didn't even need today) wouldn't count.

The first run would be from the water to T1. It wasn't that far and would have just been part of T1 in the tri.

I really questioned if I should do this thing or not. I was worried about getting hurt this close to Ironman. I decided to tough it out and just get a good workout it. I had never planned to race today anyway.

So they started the du with Wave 7. After the last wave of non swimmers (wave 15), they started with wave 1. So now instead of being at the almost beginning I was at the almost end, where I prefer to be. BTW, if it wasn't for the age up rule and I still got to race as 39 I would NOT have had to endure that swim!

My wave lined up in the water and they said go. I got to the back of the pack and walked/jogged to transition. My heart wasn't in it and distance really didn't count for much.

I put my bike shoes on my sandy feet, grabbed my bike and was out.

The wind as an issue right from the beginning. I just thought it was windy Friday. HA! Nothing compared to today. There was one bridge that really scared me. I felt like the wind was going to blow me off. The overall male winner said in his "winners speech" that he was wondering if he would be able to unclip before drowning when he blew over into the water below. I have also never seen so many bikers with bike trouble at a race. They were pulled off the course fixing flats, dropped chains and whatever. I know there were a couple of wrecks too. I was SO glad to make it back to T2 without incident.

I racked my bike and changed shoes.

The run was new this year. This is how the RD described the course
We have designed a scenic two-loop course (3 miles each loop) entirely on the Nashville Shores Property. It is a mix of running through and around the water park, along the shores of Percy Priest Lake and through beautiful wooded sections of the park. There are several areas where you will run off of pavement - very short section on sand that we will have raked smooth, gravel portions, and a very short trail section with sure footing. We hope you enjoy this new course - includes two not so terrible climbs and definitely less of a climb than the original course!
I, for one, was not a fan. I don't do trail running. I didn't feel sure footed on the gravel. The sand section was short but still SAND?!?!!? And it was followed by stairs. Not a set of normal steps, but those kind where you get about 3 or 4 steps before having to step up. The first loop I ran in the grass next to the steps but the second loop I took the steps and it was much easier. The wind was still an issue on the run too. I was sorry I had on a hat since it almost blew off my head several times.

I was so happy to make it to the finishline. Then it started to rain. I felt really sorry for the people still out on the course.

I got my stuff out of transition and took it to my car. Then I used my meal ticket for a burger, chips, banana, cookies and a diet Pepsi. As I was walking away from the food tent, the lettuce and tomato blew right off my burger. I mean come on already!!! I went back and got more salad for my burger then just sat right there and ate so it couldn't blow away again.

After lunch I went to find results. I was SHOCKED to find out I got first place Age Group!!! I got a cool mug, jug of Heed, a gift card from Acme MultiSport and Stuffitts.

Offical results "run 1" 3:16, 44k bike 1:33:09, 17.7 mph, 6 mile run 47:43, 7:58 pace. Total 2:25:59

So while today's workout didn't match the plan, I still think it was major money in the bank.

L&M Century

The L(Lana)&M(Michele) Century started at about 8:30 from the Rec Center Friday morning.
Lana had a 70 mile route and when she told me I suggested how we could add to the end to get it closer to the 100 miles we were shooting for.
I had already asked Lana if she was going to kill me on the hills. She assured me there were only 3 worth mentioning, the rest would just be rolling to flat. I knew my part was flat, maybe slightly rolling.
We loaded our pockets with as much food as we could carry and some money for additional fluids and were off.
The hills were tough but I made it up them, heart racing but no pushing. The wind was brutal. It just wouldn't let up and I think it got worse when we got to the second half. Three fourths of the time it was a battle against the wind and one forth it was a tail wind and we caught some speed.
We made one pit stop at about mile 45. We should have made another because we both ran out of fluids at the end.
Since we were both out of water and sick of the wind we called it good when we reached the rec center with 94.27 miles. rolling time of 5:16. That is an average speed of 17.9!!!! That is FAST for me.
My fuel:
2 PB&J
4 Fig Newtons
1 banana
2 small boxes of raisins
2 bottles of Nuun
1 bottle of Gatorade
1 bottle of water
I know I needed more liquid. I think I was ok on food. I had a chocolate/banana protein shake when I got home and we went out to dinner where I pigged out and drank way too much beer.
So today I am enjoying a rest day. Guilt free since I got the swim done Thursday.
Week Totals:
swim 9700 yards
bike 138.58 miles
run 13.09 miles
The kids and I are going to take my mom out to lunch for her 60th birthday. Then I am doing NOTHING!!! Tomorrow is Music City. I know I am going to take a public stomping. No way will my legs be ready to race by the morning. But Team Magic always puts on a great race, so I am going to have fun.

Got it Done

I am happy to report that I got Saturday's 1200 yard swim done this morning.
Believe me it wasn't easy. I tried to use the whole "I can count Sunday's swim" rational. But that is NEXT week. I needed that 1200 yards this week.
When the alarm went off at 5. I goaned and thought
Oh, I don't have to do this...I could swim tomorrow before my 100 mile ride...Is 1200 yards even worth getting wet for...my bed sure is comfy...I am tired...
The dog cried to go out. I got up to deal with her and in the process realized I wasn't that tired. So I got dressed and went to the pool.
The Plan called for easy 1200(and even allowed 25 minutes) so I took it easy (26:30). But it is done!
Now I just gotta figure out how I am going to make up those lost run miles from Tuesday.

Nothing Like a Good Nap

I am a contract employee. I only get paid for hours I work. There are no benefits, no sick time, no vacation, and I pay all my own taxes and social security. So basically I am self employed working for someone else. The job doesn't pay very well but what it lacks in pay it makes up for in flexibility. At the end of each month I make out a work schedule for the next month and hang it on the fridge at work. So when I made out my work schedule for Sept I consulted the school events calendar and my training schedule. Today's plan called for an hour run and 4000 yards of swimming. A couple of weeks ago I thought that I would sleep in a little, do my run, take kids to school, swim, then go to work. I scheduled working 11-2:30. But last night I noticed that the plan called for an hour of hills. So I set my clock for 3:45 so that I could run jail hill and thrill hill repeats for an hour and be ready to swim when the pool opened at 5:30.
My hill repeats were slow and I only got in 5.9 miles. But I felt good while doing them.
The swim was another continuous swim. The plan allowed 1:15 again. Guess since it had hills before hand it was cutting me some slack. I still didn't make the 1:15. 4000 yards in 1:23:59.
I got home in time to pack lunches and get the kids to school. After I dropped them off, I came home and TOOK A NAP!!! It was wonderful. I feel recharged.
Tomorrow is suppose to be a rest day but I am thinking of doing Saturdays 1200 continuous swim tomorrow. Making it to the pool on Saturdays is just so HARD. On the other hand I am doing the Music City Tri on Sunday and there is no swim on the plan for Sunday. Could I call that an even trade??? That would give me a rest day tomorrow AND Saturday!!! Hmmmm....

Skip the Apricots

This morning I got up at 4:00. Plan called for an hour forty bike followed by a 55 minute run. The bike was "anything goes". So I set up my trainer and popped in a movie. I took it easy.
After the ride, I grabbed a few dried apricots and some water.
I started feeling uncomfortable within the first mile. By mile two I knew I had to alter my route and swing back by my house.
I made it home but was done with my run for the day. So only 29:37 of the 55 done.
I won't be eating apricots before I run again.

Another Race

I got an email the other day that "The 2008 Los Locos Duathlon is Fast Approaching!" I didn't delete it but I didn't really give it too much thought either. It is in Memphis and that is a long drive for a duathlon. Then this morning I realized that it is the same weekend we will be in Memphis for a wedding anyway!!!! AND they have a 1 mile kids fun run where each kid gets a finishers medal. I called Ronnie and told him about how lucky we are!!! He was overjoyed ;) but gave me clearance to sign up. yahoo, another race.

In the meantime. I have Music City this Sunday and a training plan to stick to. That plan called for a 1:30 ride Sunday followed by a 40 minute run. Tracy came over at 4:00 PM and went along. We had a nice social ride and went 23.2 miles. After the ride Tracy ran with me for the first 3 miles then I finished up alone for a total of 4.2 miles.
This morning I had a 4500 yard continuous swim. The Plan allotted 1:15 for the swim, it took me 1:41:30. Man I am slow!!!! But it is nice to know that I can go the distance.

HOW 100

My training plan did not call for a long ride this week, but I really wanted to do this ride. So I did.
The weather was iffy on the way to Nashville. It misted on me most of the way but the weatherman kept saying that the rain had moved out and it was going to be cloudy and mid to high 70's.
I got to the ride start and checked in. They made the announcements and sent us out. I am a tri girl at heart, I want my 3 bike lengths. Pack riding scares me to death. So I kept trying to fall back so that I could have more space, but then it was hard to ride that slow.
I made it to the first rest stop, grabbed half a bagel with peanut butter and got out of there. Now I had some space.
They had told us that we had to be at rest stop 3 by 11:45 to be able to continue on the 100 mile route. So I made a quick potty stop at 2, refilled my aero bottle, and scarfed down two of the best cookies. I also looked over the que sheet. It said
Turn left onto Tom Rail Rd (CAUTION-Goats/Gravel At Turn)
I so hoped that there would be goats in the road. What a great pic that would have been. But I never saw the goats.
I made to to rest stop 3 with time to spare. I ate 2 more cookies, part of a PB&J and refilled my water bottles. It was a little confusing which way to go since this is where the 62 and 100 mile routes split. But I got assistance from one of the rest stop workers and was on my way.
Mile 67 I had my first run in with dogs of the day. Then I rolled into rest stop 4 to cheers of "You're number one, You're number one...". I ran to the bathroom. I got another bagel with peanut butter and refilled my bottles. A group rolled in right behind me and were complaining about the dogs. A guy working the stop said they are out there every weekend. Then one of the girls asked how the rest of our ride would be and he said "hilly". I grabbed a bag of trail mix and headed out.
The guy was right lots more hills to deal with and another dog. This one, a black lab, was scary. First off he was big. Second he had that low growl bark and his fur was standing up from his neck to his tail. I made it by with out getting bit or knocked off my bike.
Rest stop 5 was rest stop 3. I was in and out of there quickly. I passed 2 girls that were riding the metric. There was a head wind and the climbs were so slight that it was hard to tell you were going up hill other then the slow down in speed. I ended up passing 5 people from the metric before making it to the finish.
Whole Foods Market supplied all the food at the rest stops and then provided box lunches at the end. Problem was most of the people did the shorter rides. So even though I was the first 100 miler in the pickins were pretty slim. I wanted a diet coke SOOOOO bad but they were out. I got a slice of pizza and an awesome ham wrap. I feel bad for the others that came in after me, there might not have been enough food for everyone.
All in all it was a great ride. Lots of beautiful country roads with very little traffic. Great rest stops with very helpful encouraging people. A very well marked route. And money raised for a great cause.
I am happy to have gotten another 100 miles done without any bike or stomach issues.
Another week in the bank
swim 11,500 yards
bike 146 miles
run 28.5 miles
17.6 hours total

Got the Most Out of It

The title for today's post was going to be
Bad Run
But then I read today's entry in The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration that my friend Kim gave me for my birthday.
It said
Instead of judging each day on strict standards of "good" or "bad," it might be worthwhile to look at it in a different way. Is it possible that, even though you had a theoretically "bad" day, you got the most out of that day that you could possibly get? That you derived more benefit from that "bad" day than you did when things were so easy for you on that theoretically "good" day?


Wow, that hit home today.
I got up at 3:15 for my 2:20 run. I felt slow the whole time. I just couldn't get into it. I wanted to quit and try again another day, but there is no other day. I had to get it done today. So I ran. 13.97 miles in 2:21:42.
I was mad at myself. How can I go out and run so easily one day and then barely shuffle through another day?
I read my daily inspiration and instantly felt better. Today's run my not have been at a pace I like to run at but the mental toughness I got just by finishing is money in the bank for Ironman.

8 Weeks

Man, hard to believe 8 weeks from today I will be in Panama City. How am I going to get ready in 8 shorts weeks????
Guess it would help if I would stick to The Plan.
But Sunday I totally skipped my stretch/core day.
Then Monday I got up and ran for an hour before Ronnie left for his golf scramble. But then I got to enjoying the day outside and could NOT make myself go inside to swim. So I put it off til Tuesday.
Tuesday morning I got up early and went to the pool to make up the 3000 yard swim. After taking the kids to school and counting laps at their Rebel Run, I did a 2 hour bike ride followed by a 20 minute run.
Today the schedule called for a 50 minute run and a 4500 yard swim. I miscalculated the run so ended up with an hour instead. That put me behind and I was worried that I would have to cut the swim short. I finally convinced myself to suck it up and do all 9 of the 500's and just deal with running late when I got home. Thankfully the kids got themselves ready all by themselves this morning so all I had to do was comb hair and run out the door with them.
Tomorrow I am shifting things around again due to HOW100 on Saturday. It is going to be an early morning so better wrap things up around here and get to bed.

Star Triathlon Race Report

The Star Triathlon is held here in town at the Rec Center, less then 5 miles from my house. It is a sprint, 200 yard swim, 14 miles bike, and 3.1 mile run. This didn't really match my training plan of a 2500 yard swim and a 3 hour bike but I just couldn't skip this race. I knew my legs would be tired from Fridays run, I just figured I would take a public stomping and move on.

Friday morning I ran 13.5 miles in 2:10:55. That 55 seconds is what it took for me to get home. I was having some stomach issues and knew it would get messy if I stopped and walked.

Friday evening I got a voice mail from Lana telling me that I had a good shot at overall female. She would be there to cheer and expected to see me win. Now I had pressure.

So I got up Saturday morning and rode my bike the 4.85 miles to the rec center. I racked next to Tim. I got my transition area set up and got body marked. Then my other buddies started showing up. Amy and her son, Will then Eric, who was doing his first ever tri There were a lot of first timers there and Tim and I did our best to answer any questions. It was fun to see all these new people getting excited about triathlons.
I handed my camera off to Don, who was volunteering not racing. He became my official photographer.
I had mailed in my registration and it did not have a place for estimated swim time. So I got stuck in the back. They were letting people move up but I decided to stay put and went it at the very end. I think there were 4 or 5 people behind me.When I got to the mat for my turn to go in the water, I did ask for a few extra seconds so that I would have a little space. I took me the first 25 yards before I caught up to the swimmer ahead of me. I ended up passing quite a few people in the pool and got smacked in the head once in the process. I pulled myself out of the water after the 200 yards and headed off to T1.200 yard swim 3:44
In T1 I put on my helmet and shoes, grabbed my bike and was outta there. T1 0:53
Now the real chase was on. The bike starts with a few turns in town then an out and back on the highway. In town I had to get past several people while making turns and trying to stay out of their draft zones. I got to the highway. Usually the wind would be a tailwind going out and a headwind coming in. I am hammering along and only seeing speeds of 17, 18, 19 mph. I told myself this is not going to win the race. I continued to try to pick up the pace and chase people down. I finally saw the leader coming back in. Tim was in 3rd and I cheered him on. I looked for women and once I saw three I ahead of me I stopped counting. Right before the turn I saw a female in a blue top heading back, I set my next goal to catch her. I made the turn and tried to catch her. I realized then that the wind was backwards. Now I was seeing much better speeds but still could not catch the girl in blue. I tried but she made it back to transition just ahead of me. 14 mile bike 41:33, 20.2 average.In T2 the girl in blue sat down to put on and tie her shoes while I just slipped my on and was out of there ahead of her. T2 0:44
I was really feeling my Friday long run by this point but I was running on my home turf. I run this route all the time. I made it to about the one mile marker before I saw the first female. I looked at my watch intending to time how much of a lead she had on me. I grabbed a quick drink and went to the turn around. There were only 3 females ahead of me and I passed one of them right after the turn around. Now I knew if I could just hold pace I would finish in the top 3. I forgot to check my watch again to time the lead of the lead female. I made it to the final turn and there was Lana. I said 'There are two ahead of me right??" She said "I think so". I said "I went in last". She said "Well you might have them, push it". I gave my final push to the finish. 3.1 mile run 22:42, 7:18 pace.
Total race time 1:09:34
Hung around the finish talking and cheering in the rest of the racers.
I took my bike inside and went out back to find the official results. I couldn't even get near the results so I grabbed a few orange slices and chatted. Then Lana walked up and told me congratulations I did it 1st place overall female!!! I couldn't believe I did it.
I got a super cool transition bag and a medal.
Everyone did awesome.
Will got first age group
Tim got first age group
Eric got third age group
Amy got first age group

After everyone collected their medals, I went back to the pool. I swam my required2500 yards. I thought about counting the 200 from the race but I need all the time in the water I can get.
Then I got my bike and asked them to hold my new backpack at the front desk. Riding home with one bag was enough. I took the extra long way home for an additional 2 hours to get total ride time for the day to 3 hours.

Totals for the week
swim 5200 yards
bike 105.7 miles
run 29.79 miles