Another ironman medal - YEAH!!

The day was long, but I am an ironman finisher again!  I didn't tell anyone ahead of time, but my secret goal was to break 13 hours.  Unfortunately I did not achieve this goal.  But I finished and I feel great today!  I am healthy, uninjured and happy to have been blessed with the ability and wellness to be able to finish an ironman.  My official time was 13:49:25, 7 minutes faster than 2 years ago.  I finished 16th out of 48 women in my age group. 
I hope this blog has inspired someone out there that when the days ahead look questionable and you don't know if you're going to ever get better, hang in there.  You do recover and you do get to the point where you feel good again.  I'll never forget the day I found out I had breast cancer.  I was in a fog, a blur, unsure what laid in front of me.  That night, I stayed up late researching things on the internet and crying my eyes out.  But the next day, I made a vow that I would beat it and be back again running & doing triathlons.  In fact, the day after I found out I had breast cancer, I ran the Komen race for the cure 5K and did one of my best times ever.  So hang in there ... exercise (I think) is one of the best things for your mood, your immune system, and your overall well being.  It has helped me get thru some tough times and motivated me to get back in shape. 

I didn't sign up for next year's ironman, but I am not quitting this sport.  I was already talking to my husband this morning about what races I'd like to do next.  I'm hooked on this sport and it makes me feel good.  And healthy.  And younger as I get older.  So I won't be giving it up soon. 

Surprise, surprise

I had an absolutely wonderful surprise yesterday!
Mark and I had a nice day - we got our swim in (29 minutes), then a nice bike when the rain finally cleared (about an hour 15).  Then we came back to the hotel to change into our running things.  As we were taking our bikes up to the room, the phone rang and it was my friend, Kim (my TTT racing partner from 2 years ago).  She said she was just calling to wish me luck and see how I was doing.  After talking to her for a few minutes, I hung up saying that I would keep her posted as the weekend progressed.  A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door.  When I opened it, Kim and her brother, Rocky (Mark's triple T partner for a few years) were standing there!  They drove in from Pittsburgh, PA to cheer us on!  I was so surprised, I almost started crying!  I am just so happy that they are here.  They are wonderful people and so much fun to be with.  Rocky is volunteering out on the run course, so I'll get to see him out there.  And Kim will be watching from various points on the course and will be there when we finish.  It's so nice to have people out there cheering us on - it just gives you something to look forward to - seeing Kim's smiling face!!
Well, it was just a great way to start the race weekend and I'm so glad they decided to surprise me and come to Lake Placid!
Here are a few pictures - one from our hotel - a view of Mirror Lake with the moon overhead.  The other was taken during our bike ride yesterday. 

Rain, rain go away

Mark and I arrived in Lake Placid yesterday after about 10 hours of driving.  And it's basically been raining since we got here!  Yesterday, it was severe thunderstorm warnings with a few heavy downpours.  We did manage to get a 49 minute swim in - Mirror Lake is a beautiful lake to swim in, even during a rainstorm.  But I did get a little freaked out when it started lightening and I was in the middle of a lake.  It didn't seem like the best place to be. 
This morning, we woke up to about 60 degree temperatures and more rain.  We're waiting now for the rain to stop so we can do a swim, bike, run workout today.  Swim for about 20 minutes, bike for about 2 hours and then a 20 min or so run after.  Just keep the muscles working and make sure the new Zipp wheel on the bike is working well.  It just came before we left, so I haven't had a chance to test it out yet.  After that, the plan is to go to the expo.  My coach wants me to race with something I've never used before - CarboPro.  I've been unable to find it anywhere except mail order.  And it was too late to order it and ensure I would get it on time.  If I can't find it, I'm going to stick with my original plan of racing with my tried and true - SPIZ.  I like the taste and it has worked for me in past ironmen.  But since I bonked at the TTT race, he is concerned with my calorie intake during races.  I read while on the way here that someone doing a 11-12 hour ironman will burn 7000-8000 calories during an ironman.  I'm hoping I can take in about 1/3 of that in replenishment during the race.  But it's just hard to eat that much while racing.  I think my biggest challenge at this point is nutrition.  My plan is to take something in at every feed area, which is about every 10 miles on the bike. 
Well, it looks like the rain may be breaking up.  Hopefully, we'll be able to get our ride in today.  Three more days until the day I've been planning for over the past year.  The nerves are kicking in...

Ironman Lake Placid In Pink - here I come

I just finished my last hard workout before the ironman.  Not really that hard, but it's hot out there, which makes it harder.  Mark and I did a fun bike ride this morning called the Ice Cream Odyssey.  It was a 42 mile fun bike ride thru the rolling hills of Medina.  And you get to stop at the half way point and eat an ice cream cone!  I pushed it a little bit on the bike and we averaged about 17.5 mph, which was a good pace for me.  When we got home, we went out for a 3.1 mile run and finished it in 25:06 - and it was 91 degrees and sunny out there.  Mark says that I'm ready and he thinks I'm in better shape than I was for the previous 2 ironmen.  We'll see ... but I do feel good and I think I'm ready.  Tomorrow is a rest day, which I will probably spend packing for the trip.  We leave on Tuesday night, and will make it to Buffalo and then make the rest of the trip on Wednesday.  Then we'll spend a few days getting ready for the race, picking up race numbers, getting the bike ready, etc.  I certainly hope the weather there isn't as hot as it's been here.  But if it is - well - it is what it is.  I'll deal with it one day at a time.  But I think I'm ready.  The journey is almost at an end and I feel great!  Life is good ...

Almost there ...

Only 2 1/2 weeks to go until Lake Placid.  And I'm actually looking forward to it getting here already!  It seems like it's been a long, hard 6 months of training.  But yet it seems like it got here before I knew it.  It's hard to believe that I started at basically ground zero a little over a year ago and here I am - working out for 17 hours per week, going on 5+ hour bike rides and 2.5 hour runs.  Not to mention 1.5 hour swims in Lake Erie.  But we're almost there and I'm as ready as I'm going to be, I think. 
This past weekend was July 4th weekend and we did a lot of working out.  Saturday morning we got up at 5AM and met our friend Tom at the lake.  It was a beautiful day for a swim, with a flat lake and not a soul out there, so we decided to swim out 45 min and back 45 min.  That's actually longer than it will take to do the ironman swim, so it was great practice to swim straight for that long.  After our swim, Mark and I headed to the metroparks for our 2.5 hour trail run.  After many stops on my part (I think I have figured out that I have a gluten intolerance issue), I finally settled in and was able to do the last hour with no stops.  And I got 17.5 miles in, so a very good run despite my "issues".  Sunday was a long bike day, so we left the house at about 6:45 AM for a ride to Bay Village.  Mark ran the Bay day 5 miler while I continued riding (my coach had said no racing until LP).  After he finished, we headed home to refuel, and then headed out again for another 2+ hours.  Total ride time was a little over 5 hours and 85 miles.  Then I had to get a run in, despite the 92 degree heat.  Needless to say, I was wiped out after all of that and went to bed at about 9PM.  Training for an ironman means basically going to bed very early most nights. 
On Monday, we got up again at 5AM for another lake swim - again swimming for an hour & 40 minutes.  I hadn't received my workouts yet for the week, so I decided that was it for the day.  I needed a break.  So the rest of the day was relaxation, steaks on the grill and watching the tour de france. 
This week is a little less volume - 14.5 hours.  Then it's time to taper for 2 weeks.  Boy, am I looking forward to the taper!!