Wednesday - The alarm rudely interrupted my sound slumber at 5:15am. My 1st thought was - WHO DID THIS TO ME? Why would my alarm go off when it is still night time? Then, it came to me through the fog - 6:30am cycling class. Time to get up, get caffeinated, and get to TN Multisports. I was heading out the door when I noticed that the mud on my bike had not magically disappeared over night. I blame the 5 day old mud on living in a condo with no access to a hose. Hmmm...

I arrived at class with 2 minutes to spare. Kirsten (who saved me with hydration and sustenance in Canada) and Steph were there are ready to go. Mark wrote our 1 hour and 10 minute work out on the white board. The work out is designed to build strength using cadence and heart rate in intervals. This is when I realized that I forgot my heart rate monitor. UGGH! Damn 6:30am! My bike was making all sorts of irritating noises which Jeff has since diagnosed as the derailleur rubbing against the chain. (I admittedly have no clue about anything mechanical) The class was challenging, but no impossible. As I got in my car afterward, I felt energized. What a great work out.

My 2nd coach assigned work out of the day was a 30 minute run which I did at night. Me and one of my favorite running partners, Keisha, our Irondog, ran around Green Lake. She set a steady, strong pace, running in front of me barking at me to encourage me to stick with her. It was so fun and was too short!

Thursday - I got home from the grand opening of the beautiful new Courtyard Pioneer Square at 7:30pm and checked my schedule - a 45 minute easy spin out on the bike. I popped the muddy bike on the trainer and cranked the Comcast Party Favorites channels, (Michael Jackson, The Commodores, Black Eyed Pea, but the song Knock on Wood was the BEST!) and busted out that work out in no time. Thank you, Teresa, for the light work out tonight after a long day. It is 9:30pm. Time for dinner.

Are you tired? GOOD

Waking up yesterday, Tuesday, my muscles were more weary then sore. I must have hit snooze 5 times before actually coaxing myself out of being horizontal. My scheduled work out for the day was at the Track with the team followed by a short 1/2 hour recovery swim.

During my warm up laps at the track, I felt a little hot. How is it that a girl who grew up in the heat and humidity of Virginia could feel hot in 77 degrees? The coaches separated the Ironman and Marathon athletes from the rest of the group. In the back of my mind, I was hoping that this would mean we were getting a lighter work out because of our challenging weekend. NOT AT ALL. The assigned work out was 6 miles non stop around the track at a 1/2 marathon pace, alternating speed by 5 seconds or so every other loop. I started out with my 1st loop at 5K pace, 1:57. Too fast to maintain for 6 miles, it should have been more like 2:10 or 2:15. I spent the next 3 loops trying to slow myself down and hit a steady pace. Mark, one of our coaches, asked me if I was tired when I ran past him. YES! His response - GOOD! Good? Grown! This helped me focus even more. I am going to be tired during Ironman and will need to keep going and going and going.

Then, my stomach starting hurting. Could it have been the salsa that I had at lunch? Why did I do that? What was I thinking? The next 4 miles on a queasy stomach did not feel so great. I did not want to stop. What if my stomach hurts on August 29? I finished 5 of the 6 miles assigned. Not the best work out, but I pushed through some challenging miles. I did not make the swim, knowing that I needed to let my stomach calm down a bit. Today will be a better effort.

TOUGH IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME

32 days until IM Canada and I decided to start a blog. WHY? I think the reality of what I have committed myself to do (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) on August 29 just sunk in. I am excited and scared. There is a good possibility that I, a regular person masquerading as an athlete, can cross the finish line.





This past weekend I travelled to Penticton, BC with my teammates at TN Multisports to train on the course. Prior to this weekend, I hoped the conditions were worst case scenario so that I would experience the toughest circumstances before the race. The logic was that the race would then seem easier. (In reality, nothing is going to make this race seem easier)





FRIDAY





We spent the day driving - 6 hours from Seattle to Penticton, BC. On Friday night, we did a 45 minute swim in slightly rough waters. The temperature was nice and I felt good about it. it is still hard to imagine doing that swim with 2600 other people in the water. Yes, 2600!!!





SATURDAY





112 miles through multiple mountain passes in 96 degree weather. Yes, almost 8 hours of my butt on a bicycle seat.

• The 1st 40 miles and last 12 of the course are pretty flat, otherwise it is mostly climbing and descending. At around mile 20, I heard a whooshing noise which I thought was some sort of bird before I realized that was my borrowed race wheels singing. Around mile 35, we rode through a wet construction site, spashing mud EVERYWHERE. The bike and I were covered!

• Everyone had told me that Richter Pass was the biggest challenge on the course. Mentally, I planned for a 45 minute relentless climb. At the top, our Coaches were waiting with cold water and encouraging words. My question for them - was that IT? I liked it!

• 7 or so long rollers later and I hit was what to be the greatest challenge of the day for me...YELLOW LAKE. I started climbing this long, steep pass at the peak of the heat of the day. I stopped part of the way through to have some water and wound up staring off into space for a while. A cyclist passed me and told me that it was only about 5 more minutes of climbing. This was enough to get me back on the bike, laboriously climbing at a pace that was so slow that I am surprised that the bike did not topple over. It was more like 20 minutes. I got 2 rewards for reaching the top - 1) An amazing view of Yellow Lake with majestic mountains in the background 2) Kristen and Steve from TN were waiting with cold water, ice, and fuel. Seeing them was a game changer for my last 12 or so miles which is mostly a fast, winding downhill, smiling the whole way.

• When I finished the ride, I felt really good. I was not worn out or dehydrated. THIS IS PROGRESS!!!

• I ran my 20 minutes in what seemed like over bearing heat and met the rest of the team in the water to cool off.

SUNDAY

• 7am 1/2 hour team swim in calm waters



• My training schedule called for a 3 hour run. Since I have been running marathons for 10 years, I thought this was going to be the easy part. WELL, I was wrong. I have never run 3 hours after cycling almost 8 hours the day prior and am not used to the heat. The run was more challenging then the bike the day prior. Despite the cold sponges over my head and ice down my shirt to cool me off, I struggled. As I ran, I was thinking about whether I had lost my sanity the day that I signed up for this race. It was a fantastic feeling to see the my team mates in the Park as I ran in. I DID IT!

MONDAY

We drove back to Seattle today and the fatigue really hit during the drive. Today is a day off for recovery and back at it tomorrow. I feel fantastic about the weekend. It was tough, but it was supposed to be tough. My friend, Teri Hackney, says "Tough is your middle name" to me to encourage my progress and this weekend she is right...Tough is my middle name.