This has got to be one of the best quotes I've heard lately!
"If you're ahead of schedule, don't worry = believe. If you're behind, don't panic - roll with it. Everyone comes up with a brilliant race plan for Ironman, and then everyone has to deal with the reality that planning for something like Ironman is like trying to land a man on the moon. By remote control. Blindfolded."
Can I get an AMEN! :>)
So I haven't told many people, but I'm headed to attempt another full Ironman. Yep, this weekend!
I'm a barrel of nerves right now!! I want to puke! I think mainly it's all the time limit cutoffs! If I just had the plain 17 hours to do it all in that wouldn't bother me so much. I know I might be slow in one thing, but I could make it up in another. However, there's multi cutoffs... swim cut offs..., several bike cut offs... like mile 68, mile 93, finish time at 112 miles, then there are run cutoffs.... you could have your chip taken at any time that you don't make that cutoff. That's what is totally doing a dozy on my nerves. They really need to change the first sentence in the Athlete guide that says, "Each Athlete, regardless of what time they enter the water, will have 17 hours to complete the entire race course.".... because right after that sentence then they go into swim cut-off, bike cut-off, and run cut-off details! I keep telling myself this is an Ironman... it's gonna be HARD. Suck it up!!! Just think about how many people actually attempt one!!! You go to a marathon and there is 20,000 - 30,000 racers at these big marathons. You go to an ironman and there is like 2,500 racers. I'm not saying a marathon is easier because a marathon is hard all on it's own. I'm just saying that way less people attempt a full ironman. Guess they are only a few extreme crazy people. ha!
After Chatty my coach suggested going to Louisville or Cozumel while I'm trained and before the year ends. My cousin did Louisville and she said the bike course was tough. It has a bigger elevation gain than Chatty. She said she saw so many walking the hills with their bikes. So I didn't let that race even tempt me. LOL I would have LOVED to go to Cozumel, but I knew I couldn't get my whole family there. It would mean plane tickets, etc. I've already spent enough money in Chatty and Christmas is right around the corner. Florida was also a option for a full ironman coming up in November and it kept creeping up in my mind. I did the half ironman in May at the same place, Panama City Beach, FL, that the full is going to take place. I asked Lisa, my coach, why she didn't mention it to me and she said exactly what I was thinking in my own mind .... OCEAN swim. You just never know what you'll get with an ocean swim... jelly fish.. rip currents...high waves.. you name it!. The half ironman in May was TOUGH!! My mom had said the pros came out of the water cussing and I remember when I finally got out of the water I felt like I had been in a washing machine on the agitate cycle the entire time and my time sucked. YIKES.
Even still the race in November kept wandering into my thoughts with me asking myself should I or shouldn't I. I also had several people texting me telling me they would take up money and send me if I would just go. I told them all NO. I'm not taking money from people. LOL and It wasn't like I didn't have the money...... It's just I was in a very dark place after my DNF at Chatty. I kept playing it over and over in my head. I'm sure it's similar to a football team who has won every game and they go into the final BIG game and come up short and lose. I'm sure they all go home and play it over and over in their heads saying "what if and asking why"..... We are all human. :>)
Finally after like 2 weeks I decided what the heck. I'm trained. I'm ready. Let's do it before the year ends. So I signed up. The swim was also canceled at Louisville the same weekend I signed up for Florida. Boy I was glad I didn't sign up for Louisville. Now there are several people that did Louisville that have signed up for Florida. So many that the Florida race is now sold out. So many of us just wanting that full ironman finish this year. :>)
So I'll leave on Thursday with my mom headed to Florida. My kids will come down on Friday after work. I couldn't ask everyone to take off work again. Especially since they are all going to Memphis with me in December for the St. Jude marathon weekend. The ironman race is on Saturday this time. Gary will not be going. I really didn't bug him about going this time because Thursday, October 31st is the anniversary of his son's death. And even though he would tell me that we can't just sit around and do nothing...Plus he says that we really lost Drew on the 23 the day of his accident and that we just had to wait a full week for them to confirm he was gone. I kind of hate I have to leave that day. Drew would want us to move forward. He would not want us sitting around sad all the time. I had hoped they would have athlete check in on Friday and I wouldn't have to leave on Thursday, but they don't. I must check in on Thursday if I'm going to race. It's been 2 years since Drew's death and it still seems like yesterday. Monday Taylor texted and said they'll mention Drew in Saturday's mass at her church this weekend. I'll miss that. :( I didn't realize they would do that every year. We don't do things like that at the Methodist church. I'm glad Gary will be going and will be with the girls, but I'm also sad I won't be with him.
The forecast is calling for a chilly morning on Saturday. With beach weather you might as well not look till the night before.. ha Monday & Tuesday this week there were double red flags at the beach. I'm praying the water will be calm by Saturday (2.4 miles is a long time in rough waters!), that the wind will be a tailwind and that it won't be freezing on the bike. I know it will be chilly coming out of a swim and getting on the bike in 50 degrees if that forecast holds, but I should warm up once I get going. I just don't want it below 50.... or above 75 .. hee hee... a girl can dream can't she? :>) I really should count my blessing after that 105 heat index at Chatty. :>)
So what did I do last week to get ready for another Ironman?. Well it was TAPER week so it was an easy week:
Monday - 1,600 yard swim
Tuesday - 1 hour bike
Wednesday - 40 min run
Thursday - 1,400 year swim
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 30 mile bike... due to rain storm and wind that came in... I moved this to Sunday
Sunday - 21 mile bike followed by 5 mile run for a nice short brick. Weather was cool and I felt great! Maybe I needed that 2 day rest.... :>)
Current week:
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 20 min swim, 30 min bike, 30 min run (plan to test the long sleeve wetsuit in the pool... if the forecast holds.. I may want my sleeves to swim... )
Wednesday - 15 min swim, 25 min bike, 15 min run
Thursday - swim on site (will see if others are doing this), 15 min bike check
Friday - 10 min leg check
Saturday - RACE day
So if you are reading this.... please pray for Gary and all the Claytons as the anniversary of Drew's death is upon us, pray for my dear sweet friends Penny & Be that will be headed to NYC to run the NYC marathon on Sunday, Krista & Brittany (doing her 1st half!) along with some of their friends that are going to Pensacola for a half marathon on Sunday and then pray for me & all the other racers on Saturday to have a safe injury free race with no DNF. :>)
Much love to all of you!! I debating on posting this or not. It was just so disappointing when I DNF at IMCHOO with all the people tracking me. However, I don't consider myself a failure.... I just beat myself up for not finishing especially since it was truly my fault for taking my time on the bike! Failure is only when you don't try. I will keep trying and pushing forward. As Rocky would say... "It's not about how hard you get hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." (or something like that) ... I plan to keep moving forward!
From Sanctus Real - "Confidence"
"So give me faith like Daniel in the lion's den, Give me hope like Moses in the wilderness, Give me a heart like David, Lord be my defense, So I can face my giants with confidence" ...
So I haven't told many people, but I'm headed to attempt another full Ironman. Yep, this weekend!
I'm a barrel of nerves right now!! I want to puke! I think mainly it's all the time limit cutoffs! If I just had the plain 17 hours to do it all in that wouldn't bother me so much. I know I might be slow in one thing, but I could make it up in another. However, there's multi cutoffs... swim cut offs..., several bike cut offs... like mile 68, mile 93, finish time at 112 miles, then there are run cutoffs.... you could have your chip taken at any time that you don't make that cutoff. That's what is totally doing a dozy on my nerves. They really need to change the first sentence in the Athlete guide that says, "Each Athlete, regardless of what time they enter the water, will have 17 hours to complete the entire race course.".... because right after that sentence then they go into swim cut-off, bike cut-off, and run cut-off details! I keep telling myself this is an Ironman... it's gonna be HARD. Suck it up!!! Just think about how many people actually attempt one!!! You go to a marathon and there is 20,000 - 30,000 racers at these big marathons. You go to an ironman and there is like 2,500 racers. I'm not saying a marathon is easier because a marathon is hard all on it's own. I'm just saying that way less people attempt a full ironman. Guess they are only a few extreme crazy people. ha!
After Chatty my coach suggested going to Louisville or Cozumel while I'm trained and before the year ends. My cousin did Louisville and she said the bike course was tough. It has a bigger elevation gain than Chatty. She said she saw so many walking the hills with their bikes. So I didn't let that race even tempt me. LOL I would have LOVED to go to Cozumel, but I knew I couldn't get my whole family there. It would mean plane tickets, etc. I've already spent enough money in Chatty and Christmas is right around the corner. Florida was also a option for a full ironman coming up in November and it kept creeping up in my mind. I did the half ironman in May at the same place, Panama City Beach, FL, that the full is going to take place. I asked Lisa, my coach, why she didn't mention it to me and she said exactly what I was thinking in my own mind .... OCEAN swim. You just never know what you'll get with an ocean swim... jelly fish.. rip currents...high waves.. you name it!. The half ironman in May was TOUGH!! My mom had said the pros came out of the water cussing and I remember when I finally got out of the water I felt like I had been in a washing machine on the agitate cycle the entire time and my time sucked. YIKES.
Even still the race in November kept wandering into my thoughts with me asking myself should I or shouldn't I. I also had several people texting me telling me they would take up money and send me if I would just go. I told them all NO. I'm not taking money from people. LOL and It wasn't like I didn't have the money...... It's just I was in a very dark place after my DNF at Chatty. I kept playing it over and over in my head. I'm sure it's similar to a football team who has won every game and they go into the final BIG game and come up short and lose. I'm sure they all go home and play it over and over in their heads saying "what if and asking why"..... We are all human. :>)
Finally after like 2 weeks I decided what the heck. I'm trained. I'm ready. Let's do it before the year ends. So I signed up. The swim was also canceled at Louisville the same weekend I signed up for Florida. Boy I was glad I didn't sign up for Louisville. Now there are several people that did Louisville that have signed up for Florida. So many that the Florida race is now sold out. So many of us just wanting that full ironman finish this year. :>)
So I'll leave on Thursday with my mom headed to Florida. My kids will come down on Friday after work. I couldn't ask everyone to take off work again. Especially since they are all going to Memphis with me in December for the St. Jude marathon weekend. The ironman race is on Saturday this time. Gary will not be going. I really didn't bug him about going this time because Thursday, October 31st is the anniversary of his son's death. And even though he would tell me that we can't just sit around and do nothing...Plus he says that we really lost Drew on the 23 the day of his accident and that we just had to wait a full week for them to confirm he was gone. I kind of hate I have to leave that day. Drew would want us to move forward. He would not want us sitting around sad all the time. I had hoped they would have athlete check in on Friday and I wouldn't have to leave on Thursday, but they don't. I must check in on Thursday if I'm going to race. It's been 2 years since Drew's death and it still seems like yesterday. Monday Taylor texted and said they'll mention Drew in Saturday's mass at her church this weekend. I'll miss that. :( I didn't realize they would do that every year. We don't do things like that at the Methodist church. I'm glad Gary will be going and will be with the girls, but I'm also sad I won't be with him.
The forecast is calling for a chilly morning on Saturday. With beach weather you might as well not look till the night before.. ha Monday & Tuesday this week there were double red flags at the beach. I'm praying the water will be calm by Saturday (2.4 miles is a long time in rough waters!), that the wind will be a tailwind and that it won't be freezing on the bike. I know it will be chilly coming out of a swim and getting on the bike in 50 degrees if that forecast holds, but I should warm up once I get going. I just don't want it below 50.... or above 75 .. hee hee... a girl can dream can't she? :>) I really should count my blessing after that 105 heat index at Chatty. :>)
So what did I do last week to get ready for another Ironman?. Well it was TAPER week so it was an easy week:
Monday - 1,600 yard swim
Tuesday - 1 hour bike
Wednesday - 40 min run
Thursday - 1,400 year swim
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 30 mile bike... due to rain storm and wind that came in... I moved this to Sunday
Sunday - 21 mile bike followed by 5 mile run for a nice short brick. Weather was cool and I felt great! Maybe I needed that 2 day rest.... :>)
Current week:
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 20 min swim, 30 min bike, 30 min run (plan to test the long sleeve wetsuit in the pool... if the forecast holds.. I may want my sleeves to swim... )
Wednesday - 15 min swim, 25 min bike, 15 min run
Thursday - swim on site (will see if others are doing this), 15 min bike check
Friday - 10 min leg check
Saturday - RACE day
So if you are reading this.... please pray for Gary and all the Claytons as the anniversary of Drew's death is upon us, pray for my dear sweet friends Penny & Be that will be headed to NYC to run the NYC marathon on Sunday, Krista & Brittany (doing her 1st half!) along with some of their friends that are going to Pensacola for a half marathon on Sunday and then pray for me & all the other racers on Saturday to have a safe injury free race with no DNF. :>)
Much love to all of you!! I debating on posting this or not. It was just so disappointing when I DNF at IMCHOO with all the people tracking me. However, I don't consider myself a failure.... I just beat myself up for not finishing especially since it was truly my fault for taking my time on the bike! Failure is only when you don't try. I will keep trying and pushing forward. As Rocky would say... "It's not about how hard you get hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." (or something like that) ... I plan to keep moving forward!
From Sanctus Real - "Confidence"
"So give me faith like Daniel in the lion's den, Give me hope like Moses in the wilderness, Give me a heart like David, Lord be my defense, So I can face my giants with confidence" ...
This Ironman time cutoffs is my GIANTS... :>) So with God beside me... I'll face my giants with confidence. :>)
My giants... time cutoffs:
Swim 2.4 miles - 2 hours 20 min
9:40am Last bike out of transition
2:32pm first turnaround on bike at mile 68
4:19pm mile 93 on bike
5:40pm bike course closes ... all bikes in
5:50pm Last runner out of transition to start run
9pm first loop of run 13.1 miles
10:27pm mile 19 of run
All (Swim + Bike + Run = 140.2 miles) within 17 hours.
Oh and I have added "time of day" to my watch face on my Garmin this time! I don't know why I didn't have it on my watch face before. I guess I've always just looked at pace, miles, etc. This time I will have those plus time of day so I can hopefully keep up with these time cutoffs.
Plus I discussed my fear of all these time limits with my coach Tuesday night and she ran several scenarios showing me how I could make the cutoffs so I feel much better. Thank you Lisa for doing that!
Let's do this 140.2 miles! I'm ready! I'm trained! I can do this! God is my source of strength!
D
My giants... time cutoffs:
Swim 2.4 miles - 2 hours 20 min
9:40am Last bike out of transition
2:32pm first turnaround on bike at mile 68
4:19pm mile 93 on bike
5:40pm bike course closes ... all bikes in
5:50pm Last runner out of transition to start run
9pm first loop of run 13.1 miles
10:27pm mile 19 of run
All (Swim + Bike + Run = 140.2 miles) within 17 hours.
Oh and I have added "time of day" to my watch face on my Garmin this time! I don't know why I didn't have it on my watch face before. I guess I've always just looked at pace, miles, etc. This time I will have those plus time of day so I can hopefully keep up with these time cutoffs.
Plus I discussed my fear of all these time limits with my coach Tuesday night and she ran several scenarios showing me how I could make the cutoffs so I feel much better. Thank you Lisa for doing that!
Let's do this 140.2 miles! I'm ready! I'm trained! I can do this! God is my source of strength!
D
My total mileage this year so far:
Run 681.8 miles
Swim 107.0 miles
Bike 2,278.0 miles
I've been a busy girl. :<>)
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