Road to Nice-Week 1 Training Update

 I started training this week...I don't have a plan yet, that's coming, but I started laying the ground work. I want to keep track of how I'm feeling throughout this year and this is just as good a place as any.

Monday was a FULL day because I was subbing spin for 2 classes (9:30am and Noon) plus teaching my own 5:30am spin class and my 8am Aqua class. I threw in some Hotworx stretching. I had planned on going super easy for the 3rd spin class but once I got warmed up I hit it pretty hard. I was feeling pretty good.

Dwayne came home from work early Monday not feeling well so I decided to spend the night in the guest room! He then woke up Tuesday with a fever! I did yoga at home and then went to the pool for a mile swim. 

I'm treating myself like a brand new swimmer. I have been struggling with my swim since the brain disease. I don't know how but I really think it's related somehow...but I've decided that I CAN and I WILL overcome this issue. I just have to swim MORE. I just have to really finalize a training schedule because it does NOT work for me to swim on Monday/Wednesday/Friday before or after Aqua class because either way I'm WORN OUT to the point that either my swim suffers or my class suffers.

I ended up taking Dwayne to urgent care. They tested him for the flu, covid and strep throat. They were all negative but they told him he surely had one of the big three. So I slept in the guest room again...but work up Wednesday with a fever! UGH I got a sub for Aqua and cancelled my noon Spin class and slept pretty much all day. Thursday I ran a mile with Dwayne-we were both feeling MUCH better. The pace was just over 10min with a fast finish (5:30 pace). And we both felt good afterward. It must have been some kind of 24hr bug.

Friday I swam a mile, taught Aqua, then did Hotworx yoga and taught Spin again. I'm pretty sure my BP was down after all of that because I really didn't feel great. This morning it was down to 95/66...

This morning I got my trainer all set up (which took a while) and started the IMNice course....HOLY CRAP...within the first like 5 miles it got up to a 10.8% grade climb!! I am not quite strong enough for that yet. (Not to mention the trainer is inside and we don't have the fans set up yet!) I skipped over to the part that starts going down hill for just a little bit. That was much better!!

Dwayne bought me a VERY NICE new bike that should help me climb better!! It came in this week. I'm a little scared to ride it. At the same time I'm so stinking excited to get on that bike I can hardly wait! They should get it built the first part of the week. 

I've also started losing weight. 

My plan is to get in the best shape of my life this year.🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

Thank you Lord for giving me this opportunity!

Thanks for sticking around! :D

Running in the Park

When I heard the run was at a place called Shelby Farm I don't know why but I thought the run would be mostly flat. Looking back I can't even understand why I thought that. Friends had run a relay out there and had told me it wasn't flat. AND the course description on the website says "rolling" so who knows WHY I would have thought it was going to be more flat...

The training runs I did leading up were thankfully NOT flat. I didn't run quite enough miles leading up to race day, but at least I had been running...some...

My highest volume week was 20 miles at the beginning of September and my average was only 9 a week...but at least I was running...some...

My plan for the run was to run 3 minutes/walk 1 minute...the whole time...no matter what the elevation...

And I did that!

For twelve minutes...and then I walked extra at the aid station...and went to the bathroom (even though I had gone just a few minutes before, as I was leaving T2...). Then the negotiations started...I did run more than I expected that I might, but I was on the struggle bus for sure.

I LOVED the course for spectators....I had six people who came out to watch me, and there were 2 friends who were doing the relay that were done with the swim and bike who were out on the course watching, along with 3 other friends who were there watching their runner and other friends who was doing the whole thing.

The course winds through Shelby Farms in an interesting way...If you imagine a clock face...you leave T2 and run clockwise around the lake from "noon to noon"... then clockwise around the upper part of the park from "six to six"...then it goes counterclockwise in an inner circle from "six to six"...then you repeat the whole thing. Spectators have A LOT of opportunities to see their athlete. My sweet friends spread out all over the park so it felt like I was constantly seeing people I knew! It. Was. AWESOME! Not to mention the aid stations were all high energy. On top of that, the intersection where the course came back to a point (noon for the lower clockface and six for the upper clockfaces) was SUPER PACKED with people!

As if that wasn't enough, the course was BEAUTIFUL...truly fantastic...AND...there was on section that they had dedicated to St Jude (who the race was raising money for). They had "before" and "after" banners of patients who treated there.

I SOBBED the first time ...okay, and the second time...

Early on I came upon a guy from Huntsville whose kids participated in my kids triathlon (Kids Fly Tri). I ran with him for just a bit. He really made my day by telling me his kids loved it so much they did (or maybe just his son did) another triathlon the next month! That put some pep in my step!

With only a few miles to go I saw the friend I started the swim with and another Huntsville Ironman who was doing the race...they were off the course with Dwayne....I was STRUGGLING as I was running toward them. I had resorted to counting time (3 minutes is 180 seconds so I would start counting as I would start running 180, 179...and try to get to 0...even if I counted fast...even if I slowed down....it didn't always work but I know it had me running more than I would have otherwise!). When I saw them I heard them say something about how I looked strong. But I thought they had finished and had time to have their post race snack and they were rested enough to be out on the course cheering on friends! I realized not long after that they were just stopped taking a breather....they were still working on finishing the run! That made me feel MUCH better about my time.

See, back in June when training was going REALLY WELL I had set an A goal for myself of 6:30. I honestly felt at the time it might be possible to even get down to 6:15! But for some reason after the end of July the wheels sort of fell off the wagon so my A goal had revised. Realistically I was thinking 6:45-7:00. When I started the run I really felt that goal time was solidly doable.

But, as I mentioned before, I was a little behind on nutrition when I got off the bike. I didn't have a SOLID plan for nutrition on the run other than I planned to take Gatorade at every station and a gel at every third station. I was going to drink Coke when I felt completely empty and keep drinking it after that point.

The only issue was that I didn't feel like eating the gels when I was supposed to, Gatorade really stopped tasting good and I resorted to Red Bull instead of Coke way too early...

But, I kept doing the math and kept thinking 7:00 was doable...until the last maybe quarter.

October 4, 2023...I don't know why I never finished this post but it's been over a year. I wish I could remember the end better....I just remember passing two friends from HSV who were also racing. I thought they had finished so I whizzed by thinking what a slug I was...only to find out later that they had not finished yet-they were still working their way to the finish line....

I also remember how strong I felt. Even with a 7:05 finish (28th by the way...which is VERY FUNNY since I just wrote my IMChoo 23 report...I finished 28th there, and 28th at IMChoo 15!! I will be THRILLED to pieces if I finish 28th at Worlds!!

I didn't LOVE the bike course at Memphis, but I think that was a matter of expectation. I expected it to be the glorious rollers like Chatty has-that is the BEST BIKE COURSE EVER-but it was what I would call "hilly". Not hard climbs, but rollers ROLL into the next climb so you get momentum from one to the next. Hilly means you climb, descend, ride flat a bit and then repeat. Plus the road was rough. The run was super fun being contained in Shelby Farm. You get to see people the whole time! I'd definitely do this one again.

Thanks for sticking with me!!

Living in a Fairy Tale--Almost

I have been putting off writing my IMChoo race recap because honestly I feel like I'm in the middle of a dream. There's been a slight fear that sitting down to write this will be what wakes me up. 

So far so good...

Let me start this by going all the way back to IMChoo 2015. I trained "hard" for that race (although now that I'm reading my recap, apparently not quite enough for the swim!). I had a time goal (sub 13) and I executed well enough to beat my goal by 9 minutes. 

And then the wheels FELL OFF....I started having weird symptoms and then in March of the next year I got the Autoimmune Encephalopathy diagnosis. I treated with VERY high dose IV steroids for just over a year. I gained about 30-35 pounds and lost pretty much all my fitness. I went from being able to swim a "comfortable" 1:55/100 to not being able to swim...from being able to do my speed work in the low 8:00 paces to not being able to walk a 20 minute mile...from lifting heavy weights to not being able to hold up a dress on a hanger! (Not to mention the neurological issues.)

Fast forward 5 years...last year I did the Memphis 70.3 on October 1st. I had been swimming, but pretty much ALL with fins and just drills. That was a wetsuit swim and it was HORRIBLE. I kept telling myself I never had to swim again just to get through it. I really TRIED to swim more but I didn't swim AT ALL from February to July, and had only 10 swims (with fins and a snorkel) until race day. (More about this in a minute.) 

The one thing I did do fairly consistently was my long ride. I started in April with a short, easy, 50 minute ride and went up to 112 miles on Labor Day, plus teaching A LOT of spin bike classes. I also did my "long" runs on a hilly route...but my longest run was 13.1 (a half marathon 2 weeks prior to the race).

Another thing I did even more consistently was STRENGTH TRAIN!! My good friend, owner/operator of Iron Tribe Fitness, Ironman himself, and co-host to Fit Fat Dad Podcast, offered to program a twice-per-week plan for me specifically designed to improve my running/biking and swimming. Uh, yes please!! I started in January and went strong until IM training wore me out to the point my strength workouts were suffering (basically the end of July). I saw significant gains that translated into not only a much stronger performance, less injury and less overall fatigue! I can't recommend Iron Tribe (Prime*) Fitness highly enough! (*Prime is a specific "flavor" of Iron Tribe. It's not the "regular" ITF workouts, which are great...it's a personalized plan built for an individual's specific goals.

My MAIN goal for Choo 23 was to get to the start line feeling at least somewhat trained and healthy.

CHECK and CHECK.

I was only VERY slightly concerned about the swim. Back in January I found out that, apparently, chlorine can displace iodine in the thyroid! Well my thyroid numbers have been bad since before I had the brain disease. So my doctor suggested I take a break from swimming. At the same time I also switched thyroid hormone brands. My numbers improved at my next blood draw! Was it from not swimming or from the change in meds?? Well, I decided it was better to not swim than to find out! I ended up only having 10 swims total from July until race day. I just kept thinking "it's a down river swim...it's going to be fine" (spoiler alert-I was right!)

One other big change this time around is that I have been teaching Aqua Fitness classes (from the pool deck) for a little over a year now. I LOVE IT!! I get a decent workout teaching on deck and I LOVE the people (mostly ladies and a few men) who take the classes I teach three days a week. I truly believe teaching these classes has helped my overall fitness level improve.

RACE WEEKEND

When I originally signed up to do the race I thought we were going to have a whole house full of friends there but it ended up only being one friend who stayed with us. Honestly I was fine with that...it wasn't my first and I wasn't going out for a PR...and I truly wasn't 100% sure I would finish. We rented the CUTEST AirBnB and drove up on Friday for packet pick-up.

Ironman Village was like a ghost town!!! It was the strangest thing. There were VERY few vendors and very few athletes (only about 1500 registered compared to pre-covid days of 2500-3000. It felt like I was picking up a packet for a local 5k except you don't get a big backpack full of race bags or a wristband at a local 5k!

I picked up all my stuff, checked in at the AirBnB and we headed just out of town to see other friends of ours (AKA Thunder and Lightning!). I LOVE these friends! They are both HILARIOUS and their house is like a museum with a botanical garden yard! They fixed us these YUMMY drinks with flavored balsamic vinegar, sugar-free syrup and fresh basil! It might sound gross...but read that again...YUMMY!! So yummy that we had to go buy WAY too many sugar-free syrups and flavored vinegars to bring home!!! After that we went to dinner at a DELICIOUS vegan restaurant, Cashew. Now, I'm not a full on vegan like my amazing daughter, but I don't like to eat very heavily before a race, I try not to eat dairy, and I LOVE good vegan food. This place was ALL that and more! It was so good I got a full meal to put in the fridge to eat Sunday after my race was over.

Early to bed Friday night and up Saturday for an easy shake out run. The adorable house was JUST off the course on the North Shore so my friend who came up with us and I walked down Barton to get to Coolidge Park to explore a little there.

I'm not going to lie--I had forgotten what Barton looked like and when I saw it again I was a little intimidated (I'll come back to this when I talk about the run). My run was slow and chopped up but I felt shockingly good. We showered and headed out to check in my bike and my transition bags. I went to the athlete briefing which is where I think I heard they had SIXTY roll down slot for women!! SIXTY...and there were only like 250 women registered!!! We shopped at the little local market before going to do a little more shopping at the balsamic vinegar place! I got back to the house to prep for race day and got to bed early.

I never sleep well before a race so I was up WELL before my 3:30 alarm. I took my meds, ate my breakfast, took my shower (pre-race ritual), got dressed and we headed out MUCH earlier than usual. 

I had written out a VERY solid plan for the day so there was no thinking...just doing. Bottles of concentrated Infinite (I had a custom blend) on my wing and one serving in my bullet. Computer on the bullet. Tires pumped (I had NOT planned to slice my finger open on that stupid pump!). Race belt with gels in the run bag. And within a few short minutes, we were on the bus that would take me to the start. Again that feeling that it was the sleepiest, quietest IM start ever. I've been to the two I've done plus Dwayne's, and 2 others with friends...this one was SO QUIET and calm. Even down at the start area. We talked about how close to the actual start I was compared to 2015 and compared to Dwayne's start in 2016. 

SWIM

Before long people started gathering in pace areas. I lined up with 1:30-2:00 (that seemed like a VERY big time frame but I didn't make the signs...). I chatted with everyone around me and started getting VERY excited to start the race. I had decided several days prior that if it was wetsuit legal (and it was, barely) I would wear my lava pants (AKA floaty pants) because I feel MUCH better in them than I do in either my full wetsuit or my sleeveless. The air temp was about 50 which was a little cooler than I had expected but the water temp was right at 76 so I knew it would feel good getting in. Right at 7:30 they sang the National Anthem (I LOVE how the crowd gets SILENT in a wave as people realize what is happening!)...and the first ones were off...we SLOWLY made our way to the dock. Right about the time Dwayne moved out of the way to head down the river walk and I got to the path that leads to the dock we heard the announcement that the first swimmer was ALREADY out of the water!!! I knew without a doubt it would be a fast swim! Before long it was my turn...they had us getting in 2 at a time with about 5 seconds between each pair--another BIG indicator the river current was SUPER FAST.... and then it was the moment of truth...BEEP time to jump in.

Usually when I jump in I take a couple of seconds to just RELAX but that day as soon as I jumped in I felt better than I have felt jumping in to swim in a LONG time. And like magic, or like a real swimmer, I started to swim SO EASILY it actually shocked me. It felt completely natural! I took my first site for the buoy...200 meters away...okay, here we go...when took my second look I could NOT believe how CLOSE that buoy was. I second guessed the placement. They said they were 200 meters apart but maybe number 1 was closer? And it seemed like it was my third look I was swimming beside it!! ((I'm sure it was more than just the third, but that's how fast it felt...and I had on my "timer goggles"...I got to that buoy in 1:31!!!!!!!! WHAT? I thought I might be swimming kayak to kayak but I was about 600 or so in before I even thought about anything other than "holy crap this is FAST"....I really started regretting not swimming more because I knew I wouldn't be as fast as I was the first year, but the current was MUCH faster.

I did "stop" a few times to take everything in and just catch my breath bit...and then 1/2 way (the buoys change color from yellow to orange) I had a complete brain fart and hit the "lap" button on my watch so I would have a "split time" to compare front to back half.....DOH...the lap button told my triathlon watch I was in T1!! So I quickly hit STOP....and then I realized after a few more yards that the watch would autosave before long so I just hit resume and knew my data would be completely wrong for the swim and T1... JEEZE. But all that helped to take my mind off the swimming! Before I realized it I was at Ross's Landing. I knew there were 11 big upright things but I was moving fast enough I didn't even care to count!

My goggles have a timer function...but because I had taken "rest" breaks it didn't keep a solid time. That combined with my brain fart watch issue I had NO IDEA what my time was. All I knew when I got out of the water was that I felt FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!! I got out whooping! and started running. I was surprised Dwayne wasn't there but I saw him as I was running up the little hill--whooping the whole time. I asked someone "what time of day is it?" because I knew I got in at 8:05....they said "9" about the time Dwayne yelled "YOU WERE UNDER AN HOUR!!" That made me WHOOP even louder!!!! (I heard him say "can you imagine being married to THAT?!")

Swim time was 56:15 (it was 1:10:07 in 2015!).

T1

I ran through the bags calling out my number so a volunteer could grab my bag for me...and ran into transition. I put on my helmet and stuffed my glasses in my top. I ran barefoot to my bike, and realized I was VERY far behind most everyone! SO MANY BIKES were already gone!! That's okay...I knew my swim would be "slow"...and it was still under an hour! I threw my shoes on, grabbed the bike off the rack and ran out... I knew I "should" have put on sunscreen but I didn't want to take time to dry off and it wouldn't stick to wet skin. Last time they had people putting it on us, they weren't there this time.

T1 time 6:34 (it was 7:05 last time...I didn't know I already had about a 15 minute head start from my "perfect day in 2015!!)

BIKE

As I started riding I realized my nutrition plan was probably NOT the best. I had ordered a custom blend from Infinite based on all the data I had gathered about myself (this is already too long so I won't go into this here)...but on my last long ride I realized I had a little too much protein in it. I meant to change it but they shipped the next bag before I did so I just went with it anyway. Well...it was also MUCH cooler race day than it had been which would mean I had too many electrolytes as well. I SHOULD HAVE "called an audible" and just went with the Gatorade Endurance on the course. I had several long rides with that before I switched to Infinite. But it didn't have the calories I really wanted so I decided to stick with my plan. The whole first loop it seemed like a SOLID plan....drink 1 serving of Infinite every 15 miles which should have been every hour and should have coincided with aid stations.

That first loop was glorious. I knew I wasn't going as fast as I did last time but I was much faster than I had been in training.

This is mainly because, not to brag...but...I KNOW how to use my gears to take advantage of rolling hills. I passed SO MANY PEOPLE who would coast down the hill and then wait until they started going up before they started peddling again...and then they would grind away in a hard gear up the next hill. What you want to do is PEDAL down the hill gaining "free" speed (less effort for watts and momentum)...pedal through the bottom of the hill and shift into an easier gear to go up the next hill with lower effort...pedal over the top and get in a harder gear to do it all over again. 

I can't express how much I LOVE that course. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I got to see Dwayne and the friend who came with us at the "usual" spot....I "easily" got up the worst hill on the course before it turns to head back up...and then the GLORIOUSLY FAST ROLLERS....BEAUTIFUL countryside...I saw Dwayne and my friend again...and then my local friends were in their hometown of Chickamauga SCREAMING for me as I whizzed by!! I felt like a million bucks! I did forget how slow it is coming out of Chickamauga...but I almost didn't even care I was so happy. And then it's like a switch flipped. My stomach turned inside out. I NEEDED to throw up but couldn't. I wanted to but couldn't. I tried to go to the bathroom three times...every time I would get passed by all those people I had passed earlier. 

I have never wanted to quit a race that bad in my life! I saw Dwayne and my friend and they cheered and I whooped but really I wanted to pull over and tell them I was done.

But I kept thinking about the roll down. I had no idea how many old ladies were out there with me. How many of them were struggling? How many slots out of that 60 would be for my age group? I am not a quitter....even if I'm slow. So I kept going. I got back up the one "bad" hill, but not even the fastest part of the course could cheer me up. Oh, I forgot to mention, the leaders passed me at mile 60! Then I got to the "regular spot" where I should have seen my people but they weren't there. I started telling myself I would quit at Chickamauga if my other friends were there. 

But what about the roll down??? And I'm not a quitter even if I'm slow.

When I got back to Chickamauga I knew it would be dead quiet. Special needs is on the first loop...and I was so far behind everyone there were only a few spectators....and then I saw my people!! They were cheering and screaming... I couldn't quit. They were working HARD to cheer me on!! And by that point I only had 16 miles...just bit over an hour. 4 X 15 minutes.... 6 x 10 minutes... 12 X 5 minutes...15 X 4 minutes....give or take so I kept peddling and tried to go to the bathroom one more time...and heard what sounded like a hundred people pass me.

As I was riding back into town I was asking myself WHY...why didn't I just quit and go to dinner. I didn't WANT to run a marathon. No one would care if I quit. 

Except me, I knew I'd regret it...and JUST MAYBE I could get a roll down slot. There were VERY FEW women at the race. When I got off the time I felt completely defeated and DONE. But I kept moving forward. Dwayne videoed the WHOLE THING. I'm so glad he did. I think I'll remember that feeling the rest of my life....and I will also remember everything that was about to happen...

Bike time was 7:50:38 (last time it was 6:30:03...so much for that head start...).

T2

I got my bag and plodded into T2. And a WONDERFUL angel from Heaven flittered over to help me. She emptied my bag and started asking me what I needed....and I just stared at her. She said "do you want me to tell you what you need?" which made me laugh. I think her name was Rae. I loved her! Before the race I got 2 Starbucks gift card to put in my T1 and T2 bags. I didn't have any help in T1 but I was so glad to have that card to give her for her help! She REALLY changed the rest of my day!! I got my socks and shoes on, grabbed of my Oliver Farms hat (my friend's parents own this farm...her dad passed earlier this year and her mom is kicking cancer's butt right now...and she is currently in KONA about to race the World Championship there! She's a 13 time Ironman, about to be 14, I hoped that hat would give me extra juju!) and my headlamp and headed out....

T2 time 7:15 (last time was 4:59...all things considered I'm happy with that)

RUN

As I headed out I saw Dwayne and I handed him my head lamp. I knew I was going to be out at night. I didn't use one last time but I felt like I would be much slower so I wanted it. We had a conversation earlier that I would keep it in my bag and carry it because I did NOT want him to hand me anything because that would DQ me for getting outside assistance...and "what if I were to actually get a roll down slot!?"  But in the moment I handed it to him I didn't care. I didn't want to carry it and I felt like my chances at that point were close to zero so he might as well hold it and give it to me later....I told him Ironman is DUMB (which he also go on video)...and I started running. 

I had the most solid nutrition plan I've had for the run on any long distance tri...water and Gatorde Endurance at every aid station, except every 3rd mile I would take a Gu or Maurten gel with water...until mile 20 and then it would be Red Bull every mile. I decided I would stick with this plan even though my stomach was NOT happy.

I had forgotten just how long you have to run along the highway. It feels like 84,943.7 miles and it's SOUL SUCKING. I tried to shuffle my feet but I really didn't feel good. But I "KNEW" I had "plenty" of time to finish. I kept working out the math but I kept coming up with the understanding that I had about 7 hours to finish the marathon. I KNEW I could do that. But what about that roll down...every time I thought about it I would run. My running paces were 9:15-10:00 but I was walking a fair amount until I made the turn to get on the riverwalk. About mile 5 I stopped at a port-o-potty which helped a bit. When I came out my watch went dead.

At that moment I knew I'd have to DO MY VERY BEST (this my favorite line from Facing the Giants) because I wasn't going to know how I was doing time-wise. I had to make hay while the sun was shining. So I picked it up.

All of a sudden Dwayne came up in a panic "ARE YOU OKAY?!" He was so frantic it scared me. I had forgotten that my watch has LTE on it so he was live tracking me even though I didn't have my phone! When my watch died it showed that I stopped it...and then I had not crossed the next mat when the algorithm expected me to be there since I stopped in the potty. He had actually scared a race official into coming to search for me!! I told him about my stomach but that I was feeling MUCH better now that I was off that dumb bike! (Also on video.) But I said this as I ran away from him. As I ran about 79.8% of the time I was dreaming about getting a roll down slot.

The World Championship race used to be in Kona. Both men and women would race all on the same day together. Pre-Covid they were trying to get more women at the race so there were more slots for women but you basically had to get 1st or 2nd in your age group to get one. Last year they had so many participants at Kona (trying to play catch up from the Covid canceled years) that they split the 2 races-men's and women's....and the Island just couldn't handle that volume. So they decided to make Nice, France an additional WC race...with the men racing there this year and the women next year. (Women in Kona this year, men next year.) So they are filling the race in Nice with women only. There are FAR fewer total women racing so they have A LOT more slots per race to give. What if I somehow managed to get one of those slots??

I running more...allowing myself to walk "trash can to trash can" (something Coach Martha taught me for IMLT)...run every mile but walk the aid stations. I also walked "uphills". But when I got out to the North Shore -which is very hilly I knew I couldn't walk EVERY hill so I just did a run/walk by feel. 

I really forgot A LOT of that run course from when I did it in 2015. Most of it seemed brand new to me. No doubt I was already in cognitive decline during that race. Although I had not trained as hard as I did in 2015, I had done pretty much every long run on a very hilly course to prepare so I kept doing MY VERY BEST. And I stuck to my nutrition plan. When I got back across the pedestrian bridge I expected to see Dwayne. It was getting dark. I needed my head lamp. The highway was fine, but the River Walk was going to be VERY dark. I told myself I had to just run close to people who had headlamps but 90% of the people were walking so I was passing most people with very few passing me. I was right, it was pretty dark, but I realized it wasn't TOO dark.

I didn't see him until I came off the River Walk, just before what I call the "stinger hill"-it's short and fairly steep. And when I asked him for my lamp he said he didn't realize I would want it because I had told him not to give it to me!! DOH! Oh well...at that point I only had about 6 miles to go! 

Not only was he there with the friend who came with us, but my "local" friends came out and brought one of their dogs!! That was SUCH a treat!! But I had to potty again...and the potties were RIPE by then. One friend said "that will be your motivation to get out fast!" She was right...I got out and started running again.... and they headed for the finish line as I headed back over the bridge to the North Shore. I basically put my blinders on and ran every step I felt like I could....when I got to the top of the pedestrian bridge coming back I told myself NO MORE WALKING....and tried to run as hard as I felt like I could....

When I got to the finish chute I could hear my friends SCREAMING for me but I was so very focused on trying to eek out the last little bit of effort I had left to get to that finish line that I didn't stop to high five or anything. There was a person who had their hand out right before I crossed the line so I high fived him (her? I don't even know!)...and I crossed the line feeling AMAZING!!! I had NO idea what my time was but I knew I felt incredible and I felt like it had to be about 15 hours which was better than my first one. Another friend from Huntsville who was volunteering gave me my medal, finisher hat and shirt. I got a picture and then started looking for my people.

As we were heading to the car Dwayne said something about my finish time being so good...and said it was 14:3?....I basically accused him of making it up...so he pulled out his phone to show me my time

Run time was 5:35:45 (2015 was 4:59:46)

Total time was 14:36:24, 28/46 in my age group. Ironically I came in 28th last time too (but out of 144 last time!)

I woke up the next morning early and told Dwayne I wanted a finisher jacket and shirt so we went down to get it. The breakfast was going to be at like 9 with roll down after awards. I told him and my friend "it will be like winning the lottery because it's like .00001% chance I'll get a slot, but it's NOT ZERO so I want to be there JUST IN CASE."

The way roll-down works is that they have so many slots (60), and they are divided up based on the nnumber of participants inn each age group. I knew my group had 46 women but no idea how many slots we'd have.

They did awards and all 1-5 in my group were there to get their award....and I guessed they'd take their slots. She started calling slots for women...65-69 age group 2 slots.... 60-64 3 slots (not everyone took one so that slot rolled to the 40-44 group) 55-59 5 slots...and then my turn 50-54...ELEVEN slots. I started counting down as Dwayne read names down the list....but I lost track....3 names to go...someone took one...2 names to go...no answer...1 name before mine-she took it...I thought that was the last one-I was holding my breath and she called "Dana...." She had wanted you to say "Oui Oui" if you wanted your slot but I jumped out of my chair screaming....as if I had won the lottery! NO ONE could mistake that I was absolutely taking my WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL DOWN SLOT!!! Thankfully I had prepared Dwayne for the cost and that it had to be paid right then!!!

I'm going to the IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN NICE FRANCE next year 9/22!!!!!!!!!!!

HOLY CRAP!! I'm still in shock!!

Thanks for sticking around to hear the whole thing...I bet you feel like you did an Ironman now don't you!!??

I'm hoping to document all my training as I go...it's already started with a swim today....and I'm getting a new bike this week!!!! (Thanks to my husband who is just as excited for me as I am!!!)

See-Saw on a Cliff

When a person is training for a tough event (any event that is tough for that person...it might be walking a mile without stopping...whatever is outside what the can currently do)...the usual way to train is to "overreach" and then recover, reaching just a bit further each time until the goal is met.

But, when that person has an autoimmune issue (or maybe some other chronic condition they are working around), that person has to be careful not to go too far in the "overreach" phase of training. Because going too far can set off a flare (or reoccurrence of the injury).

My friend "Daisy" has an autoimmune condition that had been fairly stable for long enough she decided to train for a local 13.1 race recently. She asked me for my thoughts. I told her she was going to need to adjust her expectations for her performance and she was going to have to be diligent in listening to her body. She worked her way up to a 10 mile long run and the wheels fell completely off. She went into one of the worst flares she's experienced. She THOUGHT she was listening to her body...and...she didn't hear the flare coming.

She is understandably VERY concerned about me training for IMChoo.

I have been feeling pretty strong lately.

BUT

My data is giving me a very different picture than my feelings. My data is telling me I have to slow down.

this is what it should look like

Here's the thing...training effect builds up over time. It's cumulative. Fatigue is cumulative. Fitness is cumulative. The "trick" is to slowly build fitness without going too high with fatigue. Usually you want to have 2-4 building weeks and then a recovery week. Within the week you want to have building and recovery cycles as well. It's like a seesaw. But for someone with an autoimmune condition it's more like being on a seesaw with one side hanging over a cliff!

The truth is I really do not precisely know what caused my brain disease. The most likely answer is that in the summer of 2015 I was coaching about 12 adult athletes, I had about a team of about 20ish kids, I directed a kids triathlon and I was training pretty hard for IMChoo. I raced hard in September and then I let my diet fall completely apart. I think the embers were smoldering with the overload from all the mental, emotional, and physical stress I was under and my post-race diet lit a match. The doctors say there's just no way to know what caused it to happen, and, unfortunately, no way to know if it will happen again.

Sometimes I think I'm overly afraid. I haven't had a (lasting) flare in over 2 years. I honestly give most credit Juice Plus. Getting the nutrition from 30 fruits and veggies every day does wonders for the body! I'm also very careful with stress these days. Contrary to what many people think, I work hard to NOT work too hard. I'm aware I workout more than the average American. But we all know the average American doesn't workout at all...when you factor in the fact that I'm pretty darn close to being a menopausal woman that number goes down even more. 

I try to do all the right things... I don't typically have ANY caffeine, but "never" after noon. I try to eat "right" most of the time. I workout what I feel is an appropriate amount*. I drink about a half gallon of water every day. The one thing I really NEED to get better on is my sleep hygiene. I have this little routine that I NEED to change. We have been watching TV until about 8 or 8:30, then I get ready for bed, and play 5 games on my phone in bed before I shut it down and fall asleep. It's such an OCD routine that when I've tried to change it I lay awake for over an hour almost feeling anxious becuase I haven't done the routine! That NEEDS to change. I think the main reason I haven't worked harder to change it is because I don't believe it will make a difference in my sleep quality. But I won't know unless I try.

*Let's come back to what I consider to be an "appropriate amount" of working out.

If I'm 100% honest, maybe I workout "too much"...but this is where it gets tough. I only feel that way when I compare myself to those around me. But I am training FAR LESS than I "should" be at this point in time with IMChoo coming up in September. I "should" be swimming (I'm not swimming right now because there's a theory that chlorine impacts the thyroid and I KNOW my thyroid is low right now), I should be running a lot more (I'm not because that's the hardest type of workout for me to recover from), and I should be riding my actual bike more (I don't because my husband is TERRIFIED for me to ride on the roads, and I'm exhausted in the evening so I don't want to go back out to ride on the Arsenal, and I HATE the trainer...and it's hard to put that bike on and off the trainer so I can ride on the weekend).

Right now my week looks like this:

Monday: Spin, Hotworx, Teach Aqua Fitness (it's a bit like a step aerobics class for me)

Tuesday: Strength training, hotworx (next week I'm adding in a run before strength)

Wednesday: Aqua Fitness, Spin, Spin

Thursday: Strength training, hotworx (next week I'm adding in a run before strength)

Friday: Aqua Fitness, Hotworx (this is usually my easiest day)

Saturday: Long ride or run

Sunday: Long ride or run

But any day I feel like I need it I back off and skip something.  I hardly went to Hotworx at all this week and tomorrow will be a rest day because Monday is my fourteenth straight year to run the Cotton Row 10K!!

The thing about being on a see-saw on the edge of a cliff is to make darn sure what you're balancing with on the other side is just exactly the right amount! I certainly don't want to fall off into the abyss...but I also don't want to miss out on doing what I love...I don't want to be so afraid of what might happen that I miss out on what is possible. 

Thanks for sticking around. I'm excited to see what will happen next!

Three Weeks

My first day at Iron Tribe this year was Jan 3rd. Dwayne and I had planned a vacation from the 8th to the 14th so I knew I would have to either skip workout or do them on my own somehow. I got "lucky" because the local YMCA where we went had an EXCELLENT gym that had pretty much all the equipment I needed for workout 1. (Side note: I go two days a week and have had 2 different workouts that have progressed each week in difficulty.) I planned to do workout 2 at home.

Week one I was super sore so I was nervous to do week two while on vacation! But I knew what I had to do...and I was super proud that I did it. I really intended to swim while we were gone too, but the pool was outdoors and it was too cold for me in the mornings...and we were there for VACATION so going in the afternoon was HIGHLY inconvenient!

I did (most of) workout 2 at home...there was one thing I didn't have the right equipment for.....

When I went back this week I noticed improvement! YAY! But of course that means Coach Ken will have all new workouts for me next week.

This week I also got back in the pool....I won't declare victory yet since it's only been once. I'm actually truly HATING to swim now. I feel AM SO SLOW. Slower than I have ever been. And I don't fully understand why. Yes, being out of the water is huge...but I can't help but think there's more to it than just that. I'm really hoping strength training and consistent pool time will turn the barge around!

I also ran TWICE this week. Well, walk-ran. Now I need to work in getting back on the trainer and I'll be in full on Ironman training mode! 

I'm seriously looking forward to long training. When I was training for IMChoo I would go teach spin at the Y at 5:30am and then get on my bike from the Y after class. I would ride 6-8 hours for my longest rides. I absolutely LOVED it. I had a couple of gas stations I would stop at to get refills on water and buy a snack but mostly I carried everything I needed. (And, no, I didn't listen to anything other than my own thoughts.) Then the next day I'd go out for my long runs, usually with Dwayne. He picked the hilliest routes he could find and then force me to keep running with NO WALK BREAKS. It was just the best time! I miss it and I'm just so glad to be working toward being able to do that again.

And, yes, I'm aware that kind of thinking is not "normal"....unless you are within the Ironman/endurance athlete bubble. I'm excited to be moving back toward that bubble.

I just have to ALSO make sure I'm actively recovering in addition to actively training!

34 weeks and counting until RACE DAY!

New Year, Same Me...but not for long

 I signed up for IM Choo 23 and decided I would TRAIN for it... and then all my excuses started popping up...I'm SO BUSY. I'm SCARED of a brain disease relapse (this doesn't feel like an excuse, this feels VERY real), I'm SORE, I need to focus on teaching and coaching and race directing...the list goes on...

I basically stopped training the week before Thanksgiving....Okay, if I'm being really honest, I wasn't really training before then either. I was doing good to get 2 swims in a week, no running and the only biking has been when I teach Spin. But I did start going to Hotworx...and I LOVE it. REALLY LOVE IT!

But Hotworx doesn't really get me to the start line of IMChoo ready and prepared.

Then after the marathon was over (the one Dwayne and I direct) I got sick for a week. And then there was Christmas and New Years....

I kept telling myself I have plenty of time to get started. The race is in September. But I KNOW I NEED to at least be swimming. But swimming is SO FREAKING HARD. 

Then Blair told me about an Iron Tribe Prime program for triathletes he wanted to test out with me as one of his guinea pigs. The idea terrified me but I agreed, with the plan to start the first week in January.

In case you missed it...that was this week. (Insert picture of me at Iron Tribe on Tuesday)

Yes, I did start the program. Yes, it is "hard"...but somehow also (ridiculously) simple sounding on paper.

I "know" in my coach brain that swimming is the perfect adjunct to strength training, but my athlete brain said "NO WAY" this week.

And then I got a message from Coach Tom. I knew it was coming I just didn't know when. It's like when you are watching a scary movie and you KNOW the monster is going to jump out any second...but it doesn't so you exhale and relax...and then BAM there it is!

He called me out. 

He did it gently. And he was right to do it...but I won't lie...I called him some names in the last 24 hours. (Insert the pictures of me telling Dwayne that thanks to stupid Tom I'm going to swim today)

But I also got my butt to the pool this morning for an unplanned swim that I needed. (Insert photo of me telling Tom I hate him)

It SUCKED.

We are going out of town next week....so I got on GoogleMaps and MIRACULOUSLY found a YMCA with like the most amazing pool of any YMCA EVER just FIVE MINUTES from our hotel. 

FIVE MINUTES.

That sucks. It means there's no excuse for me to not swim this week.

UGH.

This morning was funny...I did NOT want to get in the water. I did NOT want to swim. But when I started my music, song number one was "I'm Ready". I had to laugh. Then about the time I started thinking "I'm going to die right here in the pool"..."I Will Survive" came on. Then about the time I started thinking "This whole thing is dumb. I'm old and I've already done two full IMs...why do I care about doing another one?" the song that will forever be my IMLT13 song, "Anything Can Happen" came on. That song was playing the first moment I stepped into Lake Tahoe's Ironman village. I found myself in awe of how far I had come to get there. There's a part of the song that says "I'll give you everything you need but I don't think I need you"...that part always makes me think of my excuses and inner critic. I give them fuel. I give them life. I give them space in my head....but I do NOT NEED THEM. They are like cement blocks on my feet pulling me into the depths of agony and doubt. The end of the song has this part that says "I know it's going to be" several times then "OVER...but I don't think I need you". When I hear this song during a training session I always imagine the finish line. The training and the race will be over...it will come to an end one way or another.... and I think to myself "I don't need that critical voice, or the excuses I make, to get there". 

But they just keep coming. 

My why: I am strong. I "believe" there's a strong athlete inside of me. I believe she has always been there. But she was never given space when I was a kid. She was squashed under doubt and fear, and some circumstances out of my control that I won't go into here. I hit young adulthood believing I was simply incapable. But God kept telling me I am strong because He made me strong. Strong-minded, strong-willed AND strong in body. But to live out that strength really does take work. It takes commitment. It takes consistency and effort.

I'm telling you--whoever may read this--I am committing to training this year. I'm committing to putting in the honest work. I'm committed to listening to my body with a very honest ear.

I can't promise that fears won't win the battle every now and then. I can't promise that the critical voice will be squashed (it sure as heck wasn't today after my swim today....Dwayne had to hear the self-hatred spewing out of my mouth like old faithful, and he did his very best to cap the geyser). But I can promise that I will face these challenges head-on and I will keep moving forward.

That is Ironman mentality. 

But, there is a BIG difference between "finishing" and "competing" an Ironman. 

I intend to compete. Against myself. Against my excuses. Against my self-critic (the hag in my head that lives like a non-rent-paying squatting bed of roaches!). I will run the race so as to win the prize.

Because God made gives me strength. Every. Single. Day.

I hope anyone who reads this will be willing to keep me accountable. Feel free to ask me how training is going. Feel free to ask me if I'm honestly listening to my body or if I'm listening to the excuses or the self-critic.

It's going to be an interesting year.