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.