woot woot!

Marathon registration status: Accepted

hehehe...

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3rd Times a Charm......right? Around the Bay Road Race 2011, 30k Individual Mar 27, 2011 Thank you for registering for this event using the Running Room on-line race registration process. Payment has been received. You are now registered for this event.

Alright.  We have the fresh look.

Now I just need that last post to complete my journey.

I guess it's time.  Time for me to wrap up the focus of the past year.  Need to finish up the postings & move on. 

I need a fresh look.  Fresh purpose.  Fresh attitude.

Pondering 'Picture This........Holding Myself Accountable'.

or 

'Picture This.....A balanced, healthy lifestyle'.

or.......

Actually, any good ideas out there?  Need a catchy tag line.  Address is Year of the Picture....not really sure where 'Picture This' came into play.......

HELP?!

So thankful that this…..

…..has become this.

13 month plan

• Stack 12 cords of wood
• Run 2010 Road to Hope 1/2 marathon
• Run 2011 Around the Bay 
• Prepare for 1/2 Ironman mid season 2011
• Run 2011 NY marathon 

Now for something different....the next 6 months with GOALS!

• Run 2010 Road to Hope 1/2 marathon - Around the 2 hour mark.  
• 1.59.59 preferably but think I would be happy up to 2.09.59
• Run 2011 Around the Bay - Sub 3 hrs
• Focus on heath & vitality
• curb alcohol consumption
• tone arm & legs
• wear size 10 comfortably again or lose 15 lb

Ummmmm, yah.  How long has it been?

It's been a summer of debauchery.  10 lb gain.  Tight fitting pants.  A long run today that felt like hell.

The next 13 months are sketched out....

I wish I had completed my thoughts on my Ironman experience the day after the event.  I know I feel vastly different now than I did the first 24 hours after.  I yet to have the 'booyah' moment, the tears of joy or the sense of accomplishment that I truly expected to be with me for days, weeks or months after the event.

I do recognize that finishing is an achievement.  I also recognize that my goal at the beginning was to just finish.  I mean really?  Look at the quote that I have posted from Ironman Founder, John Collins on my side bar: 

"Ironman has always been about finishing what you started. About being able to do what set out to do. Maybe not as fast as the person in front of you but certainly faster than the person who never started........"

And yet...somewhere along the line, I let a sub 16 hour goal creep in.   And once again, I'm letting some random number plucked out of the sky influence me and dictate my feelings.  

Finishing in 15 hours and change was totally achievable for me on that day.  I know it was.  

But I didn't.  And I need to come to terms with that.  Soon.

Recovery takes on a whole different meaning when the day before involves a lot of this...

or this...

                                                        

versus something like this...

                                                        

I'm getting old.

Gu, who?

Now this is nutrition during a bike ride...

Celebrating Mardi's homecoming

Hydration

26kms of fun...

Yum!

WELCOME HOME MARDI!

Mardi and I are to be reunited today...

:0)

Iron Blue

The Bike:  It's going to take how long?

8.22.22.   'Nuff said.

Oh!  And by the way.  Idaho isn't freakin' flat.  

The Swim: 1.32.06

At the beginning of this journey to Ironman, I thought the swim would be the toughest discipline.  I have this ridiculous fear of open water.  The deep, dark, depths of murky water .  Who knows what is underneath?  And it turns out that it really is the deep, dark, depths that freak me out.  Give me clear blue water where you can see through the water and what is going on underneath and I’m better.  

I was a bit of a mess at the beginning of the swim.  Emotions had run high on the walk to the start line.  The tears were flowing freely and I was scared beyond belief.  The enormity of the day, rules & regulations and the cutoff’s had finally hit home and I was buckling.  This day’s outcome depended solely on me.  No matter how much the people around me believed, it came down to how much I believed in me.  It was a tough moment.  

Based on advice and other peoples experiences of the washing machine affect of the mass start, I made the decision to be one of the last people in the water and chose my position on the beach based on the direction of the current.  One good & one bad decision.  The cannon went off and people dashed into the water.  I took one last look around, thought ‘it’s now or never’ and meandered into the water.  I ducked into the water a couple of times and moved some water between me and the wetsuit.  Gave the goggles one final ‘spit & clean’ and realized I couldn’t put it off any longer....

I started swimming and within seconds was bumping into someone.  Stop, tread, look for open water, point in that direction and stroke...breathe, stroke...bang another body.  Seriously?  Stop, tread, look for open water, point in that direction and stroke...breathe, stroke...bang.  Stop, tread, actually took a moment to look around and was startled by the number of ‘deer caught in headlights’ or ‘sheer panic’ looks that people were wearing.  It turns out, I’m a strong swimmer.  I was passing all the folks who surged in at the beginning and were now dealing with their own demons, whatever they might have been.  I probably lost about 6 minutes trying to deek around bodies to find a sweet spot of open water.  I finally caught up with a gentleman who was swimming at a decent pace.  I hung onto to his feet for dear life (not literally, that wouldn’t have been nice!).  By doing so, I reaped the benefits of catching a nice draft, him clearing the way and finally being able to get some decent strokes in.  Unfortunately, he only lasted about 10 minutes before made a beeline to a buoy to catch his breath.  I kept going.  I had open water for a bit, and then caught up to another pack of swimmers, banged my way through by breathing every one stroke (not the most efficient but a necessity), back to open water and managing to stretch out the stokes and breathing. It was weird how there were pockets;  open spaces and bodies.  It was finally time to turn around and start heading back.  But there was a 100 feet of water that separated the two lanes.  I remember thinking many times during the swim that it was one big cluster fuck.  BUT this 100 feet was the biggest cluster fuck off all.  We were reduced to treading water and pushing through.  It was insane.  The swell of the waves and the glare of the sun were both directly in your face.  The smell of diesel from the boats and sea doo’s was so intense.  Yah.  Not much fun.  But finally, we were turning to head back to shore.  Relief!  And really?  The rest of the 1st lap of the swim was exactly like the first portion.  Open water, long strokes and breathing, hit a pack of swimmers. 

At shore, we had to exit the water, walk over a timing mat and re-enter the water for a second lap.  Yeaaaaah.  Let’s do that all over again.  .  The only problem was that when you leave the water, the wetsuit drains and is dragged down.  About halfway through the swim out, I knew I was in trouble.  The neck line of the suit was rubbing at my hairline and I could feel the chafing as I swam.  Due to an increased volume of rescue boats pulling swimmers out of the water, the swell of the waves had increased dramatically on this leg and made treading water and adjusting the suit extremely difficult.  I made the decision to not spend anymore time re-arranging and get the swim over with as quickly as possible.  I’d deal with the repercussions of the chaffing issue later....

1.32.06 minutes in later, I exited the water and headed to transition...

This post wouldn't be complete without a thank you to the man in my life that made this possible. 

Thank you St.john!

Now it's your turn.  Paris to Ancaster Bike Ride 2011!

What a roller coaster of a day.  Emotions are all over the board.  Seeing the transition areas full of gear and bikes was yet another...holy shit I'm here.

I'm so glad we have the house.  It is away from the commotion that is Ironman.  Sitting right now in the backyard, watching some busy birds making a nest and the steady stream of birdie visitors to the pond next door.

I am so done with the preparation, the crowds, the 'what if'' thoughts swirling around.  Stjohn just got sent inside 'cause he was watching a pre-show on Ironman Live.  I really couldn't care less on what the pro's think of the water temperature, etc.  It's cold.  You need to swim.  Get in.

Poor guy.

 It's going to be an extremely long day tomorrow.  Transition opens at 5am.  Swim starts at 7.  Then I have 17 hours to just get'er done.

It's time.  

I hit a wall last night.  Tired, overwhelmed, doubt.

Ending up going to bed at 8.30 and had almost 12 hours uninterrupted sleep.  Woke up a couple of times early morning but managed to convince myself that I needed more sleep.

Yesterday in photos

Holy Shit! 

 

I'm feel like I'm one of the cool kids!