Ironman Fever

Today is my 2 year anniversary of my first Ironman - IMLP 2010!

That was also hands-down my favorite Ironman - best finishing time (12:18), best course scenery, most fun overall experience, racing with over 10 other teammates/friends, having Mary and my parents there as well as some friends. I got some of those things with my other 2 Ironmans, but not all of them. That's what happens when it's the "local" Ironman.. probably from now on I will know at LEAST one person racing IMLP!

I am starting to get a little of my Ironman fever back. I keep toying with the idea of registering for Ironman Mont Tremblant next month, but I am 99% sure I am going to wait until 2014. First of all, I think I need another year off from it. Going from a bad race season into an Ironman season is not exactly the mental preparation that I need. I would rather have a GOOD race season next year (*fingers crossed*) and then tackle Ironman again the following year. Second of all, I am starting graduate school next year and I'm not sure I want to juggle a new grad. school program AND Ironman training AND working shifts all at the same time. Maybe after I am settled into a routine with school, work, and regular training I would be able to handle it. And last of all, I just don't have the money for it right now. Or at least, I don't want to put the money into it (registration fees, travel expenses, passport renewal, etc.). Instead, I am close to having enough money to buy a Quarq Powermeter! So that is something that I am really excited about!

So I doubt I will even need someone to hide my credit card on August 20th! I have pretty much talked myself out of it. :)

Seriously.. why the f*&% do I even want to do more Ironmans? They are time consuming, they hurt like hell, they are expensive, yet..

 I still don't feel like I am done with the distance..

Or maybe I am just that much of an idiot.

(No commenting on that please!).



Carry on, my friends. :)

Ironman Wisconsin Race Report

Pre-Race

Alarm went up at 3:45 am and I took a quick shower, and ate my breakfast of whey protein shake, plain bagel, banana, and Gatorade in my hotel room. I made sure to put sunscreen on all over myself in the hotel room to try to avoid what happened to me in June, where I was a fried, peeling, painful mess for 2 weeks after the race. I left my hotel at 4:45 am with two random hitchhikers in tow - two guys I met the day before that were looking for a ride to the race start so that their families could sleep a little later - I was happy to oblige. Found a spot in a parking garage ~1 block from Monona Terraca and dropped my special needs bags off at Starbucks. I then made my way to my transition bags and my bike to stash some last minute items. Hit the porta-potty, got body glided, got the wetsuit on, headed down the helix, dropped off my dry clothes bag and headed towards the water.

This being my 3rd go at Ironman, I was calm, not nervous at all, and even SLEPT the night before the race. By this point, it was all routine. And actually.. I was so nonchalant about the whole thing that I got a little sloppy on race morning.

Swim

Lake Monona was as smooth as glass and the water temperature was 70 or so - a wonderful change from the frigid waters of Lake Coeur D'Alene. We herded into the water like cattle and I found a spot to tread water, safely on the right side of the field and to the right of the ski jump which divided the very wide swim start in half. I was not going to fight for my life like I had to last time (if I could help it)!

The cannon went off, I hit "start" on my watch, and off I went. There was much less body contact in the first 10 minutes - thank god. I was able to actually swim and not panic, but then I found myself drifting towards the buoy line - exactly where I didn't want to be as my plan was to stay wide and away from the mayhem. Unfortunately, once I got sucked over to the buoys, there was no escaping it and my swim got a bit rougher, especially around the red turn buoys. It was also a bit warm and I was feeling slightly overheated in my long sleeved wetsuit.

The swim course is a long rectangle running parallel to the shore, and once I had made it around the two turn buoys and was heading back to finish loop one, I swam into a man who was floating face down in the water in the middle of everyone. I thought he was unconscious! I stopped mid swim, grabbed his shoulders and started shaking him while shrieking "oh my god! oh my god! are you ok?" (Hey, I never said I kept it together). He then lifted his head up and said "I'm fine." My response to that was "JESUS CHRIST DON'T DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!" and then I started swimming again. Took me five minutes to get rid of the heart palpitations after that!

I was really, really tired after loop 1. My swimming has not been up to par lately and I just didn't feel like I got the yardage in that I had before IMCDA. During loop two, the field was much more spread out and there was almost no contact, but I could feel myself getting tired and my form unraveling. I was sooo happy to see the final turn buoy and make my way back to the shore. Again, I was aiming for about a 1:12 and couldn't pull it off, but the swim is so dependent on crowd, sighting, etc. that a few minutes didn't really bother me.

Swim: 1:14:09, 1:57/100m, 805 OA, 35 AG

T1
The run to transition is really long. You have to run all the way from the swim exit to the helix, up and up and round and round the helix (which was cool because it was lined 3 deep with people) into the terrace to grab your T1 bag, into the changing tent to change, then back out to the parking garage to get your bike and get covered in sunscreen. My bike was WAY at the other end from the swim exit, so I heeded the advice of Travis E. and ran the entire way across the parking garage barefoot, carrying my bike shoes. Two volunteers had my bike waiting for me when I got to it, so I threw on my shoes, ran to the mount line, and coasted down the helix. Long transition times (especially T1) are very typical in this race because of how transition is set up.

the helix was PACKED with spectators!

T1: 7:35

Bike
After riding down the helix, the bike course goes along the bike path for a few miles which is a no passing zone. That was fine, because my heart rate shot up to 170+ during the mile-long run in T1 with all of the people screaming everywhere. The bike path spit us out in the Alliance Energy Center parking lot and then we were headed out on the 18 mile "stick" part of the course, then we would do two 40 miles loops, then ride the "stick" back to Monona Terrace. The stick is easy - there is one minor false flat but otherwise it was time to settle in, get the HR down, and start taking in nutrition. I've already said that my huge goal for this race was to nail the bike split and the nutrition, which was my primary focus for the next 6 or so hours. I have been practicing my "new and improved" bike nutrition plan for 2 months and I was confident that I would be fine. I noticed 30 minutes into the ride that I had forgotten to reset Gary the vibrating Garmin (I bought a Garmin 310XT the Wed. before the race because I don't trust my 305 to hack it for much longer) after a 30 min recovery ride on Friday, so my bike split was 30 mins off (and ~7 miles off). Crap. Oh well.

As usual, I spent the first half of the bike leg getting passed over and over and over again, mostly by men. This is fine, however the course is a bit technical with some screaming, twisty downhills and sharp corners, so I am always worried that someone is going to take me out when I am getting passed by packs of 180 lb men. I had driven the course on Friday but I had never ridden it, so I was a little apprehensive about how I was going to do on the hills. Turns out, I loved them! The first part of the loop is pretty boring, just some long, straight false flats. Then you start to hit the hills at the back half of the loop. The first section of hills are called the "woody hills" in Mt. Horeb because you make a left hand turn and start heading down this section much like going over the crest of the big plummet of an old wooden roller coaster. I would hammer down these hills and let my momentum carry me halfway up the other side, which was typically short and steep, and then I would shift accordingly and spin my way up the remainder of the hill. I was careful to ride these not too aggressively because I didn't want to wear myself out.

Then comes the three steep climbs that Kevin had warned me about. When I drove the course with Laurie - they looked rough. The first one was the longest but wasn't quite as steep and was shaded. The second one comes right after the first one. And the third one is a bit farther down the road. I believe these three hills were right around the town of Verona and there was a shuttle bus taking spectators from town out to these hills. So I saw all sorts of stuff - people in costumes, crazy signs, lots of beer, etc. These three hills are literally lined with people cheering for you like you're riding in the Tour de France. So even though they were steep (there was no spinning up them for me, I was grinding on the pedals trying to make it up) they are relatively short and there are SO many people screaming for you that they weren't bad. I was a bit worried about what they'd be like the 2nd time around!

love, love, LOVE the scenery!

I made it around the first loop feeling great, but the wind had picked up and it had gotten really hot by the time I was on the 2nd loop. I was grabbing both water and Ironman Perform at every aid station, putting the Perform in my bottle cage and dumping the entire bottle of water on my helmet and shoulders. I would stay cool for maybe 15 minutes and then I would be boiling again. As I was riding the false flats in the wind, I found myself leapfrogging with three other girls in my age group, which is pretty abnormal. Sometimes I see one or two girls out there once in a while, but never three and we continued changing positions for the better part of the 2nd half of the bike course. I hit mile 80 and felt great! My nutrition was perfect (1 bottle of Perform per hour, salt pill every 30 mins, 3 Shot Bloks every 45 mins). The hills the second time around were no worse than the first time which is NOT what I experienced in Coeur D'Alene. I don't really think I lost much speed at all on the second loop (except maybe due to the wind and the heat which are not factors I can control) and by the time I was rounding out the end of the loop, I was hauling ass and passing a LOT of people, which is not normal for me. By this point I usually feel like I am riding backwards through the field. I peed three different times during the 80 miles that I was on the loop - I just keep getting better and better at peeing on the bike! I felt great riding back into town - was still passing people, and some volunteers told me how strong I looked. Road the bike path back to the Terrace, rode up the helix (fun!), hopped off my bike and handed it to a volunteer! I was hoping for a split more in the 6:20-6:25 range, but I was just so happy that I didn't blow it on the bike that I was ok with this split.

Bike: 6:30:41, 17.2 mph, 1064 OA, 36 AG

T2
Ran into the Terrace, grabbed my bag, ran into the changing tent, and got my sneakers on and my nutrition in hand. I did the same thing as in CDA where I put all of my nutrition in a ziplock bag and then stuffed everything into the pocket of my tri top as I was heading out on the run. I switched Gary the vibrating Garmin 310XT to run mode (already I was LOVING him). I also made sure to stop and get sunscreened again (third time that day) because it was HOT!

T2: 3:43

Run
The run course is two loops through town and the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, with several small out and back sections, so it's very different than the other two Ironman courses I have done which have had very long stretches of out and backs. If you are looking to see other people out on the course (who are racing) it is hit or miss. I saw Kevin a few times very briefly throughout the run. I did not see Laurie at all.

seriously.. thumbs up for the camera!

I started off at a nice pace. I felt like I was running slowly but my pace was between 8 and 9 min/mile and I felt strong. People kept telling me I was running steady (hello, I had been running for 5 minutes.. of course I looked steady!). The plan was to do one shot blok every 2 miles and drink Ironman Perform at every aid station. The first six miles went well. I ran through the Badger Stadium and screamed "WE ARE PENN STATE" which I am pretty sure was heard by no one. Then my stomach started flipping right after the 7 mile mark and I got that nasty saliva feeling in my mouth that happens right before I get sick. I had to stop on the side of the run course to vomit. I felt slightly badass because I have NEVER puked in a race before, but I kept thinking about what happened to Greg at IMLP and I didn't want that to happen to me! And let me tell you, if you are like me and can barely stand the taste of Ironman Perform, it's even worse coming back up - so be forewarned! Puking made my stomach feel loads better so I picked back up and started running again along a dirt path that goes along the lake. Unfortunately, this was the end of my ability to eat Shot Bloks. I knew I needed to replace what I had puked up, so at the next aid station I tried to eat a Blok. I got it in my mouth and was chewing it, but I just could not swallow it without gagging, so I spit it out. Perform was having the same effect on me. None of the food looked appetizing - I tried bananas (too mushy), pretzels (my mouth was too dry to chew), and grapes, which is what I finally settled on. I switched from water to Coke at mile 12 but even the Coke wasn't appealing to me. (And that's when I know something is going wrong because Coke is basically my version of crack). At this point my run had slowed drastically and I had lost the will to "race." The first 13 miles are ok, the last 13 miles are a bitch.


 I headed out on the 2nd loop feeling a little refreshed after running through the crowds and around the capitol. And then.. I was done. Walk breaks got more frequent and longer. I could not find anything I wanted to eat and was basically just pounding ice water at aid stations. I was walking up AND down hills. I tried to keep myself running as much as possible because that's the fastest way to get to the finish line, but it wasn't fun and I was unhappy that I was falling apart AGAIN, even after fixing my nutrition issues from IMCDA. Even running through town at mile 25 wasn't fun. It was dark, I was heading in for my slowest finish time yet, and I was mad. I ran down the finish chute, gave a bunch of high fives to little kids, crossed the line, and didn't even hear Mike Reilly announce that I was an Ironman!!

Run: 4:49:08, 11:02 min/mi, 856 OA, 33 AG

Finish Time: 12:45:16

finishing Ironman #3!

Post-Race
Two volunteers grabbed me and got me my medal, my t-shirt, my hat, some water and some Sprite. They took me to the photo background and I forced a smile for the photo. They then sent me on my way, and at that point I started to cry as I was walking back to the Terrace, alone. Yes, I know, I am a giant baby. But I was disappointed with my day (mostly the run), I had no one to hug, I had no one to help me, and it was overwhelming. I got my dry clothes bag and my transition bags, and was sitting in the changing room by myself, texting profanities to Mary. Men kept walking through the deserted room so I had to go to the bathroom to change into my dry clothes. I then had to check my bike out of transition while carrying 3 bags, and a really nice guy helped me to get my bike out to street level.

I drove the mile to where Race Day Wheels was set up and returned my rental wheels. Then I drove to a grocery store to get some chocolate milk, because I didn't eat anything after the race. After I went through the checkout line, I got REALLY dizzy and had to sit down on the floor of the grocery store and put my head in between my knees. I sat like that for 5 minutes, no one even said a word to me! I drank some of the chocolate milk straight out of the jug and then felt ok enough to drive the 10 minutes back to the hotel. I had to enlist the help of the girl at the front desk to get my stuff up to my room (I was on the 2nd floor and there was no elevator). She also brought me an assortment of breakfast foods (what a nice girl!). However, when I went to brush the nasty post-Ironman gunk off my teeth, I started to feel sick, and I ended up throwing up a bunch of times in the hotel room toilet. Nice. At that point, I gave up on eating, took a quick shower, and went to bed where I was unable to sleep.

Quick Thoughts

Obviously, I am not thrilled with the results of my race. I can live with everything except the stupid run. AGAIN. I thought I had fixed the problems that I had in Coeur D'Alene, and this time, even with proper bike fueling and pacing, I ran EVEN SLOWER than last time. But that is another post for another day. The emotions are still there and I haven't really had a chance to talk to Mary; to tackle what went wrong. I am just glad that I am done with Ironman for not only this year, but next year as well. I need a break, for sure. I will be back, oh yes, but I need to go in a different direction for a little while.

I am very, very happy with my bike execution. I don't think it could have gone any better. I learned my lesson in June and applied it in September. I will never be a long course cycling speed demon and I know that. But now that I have figured out how to get through an Ironman bike leg properly, I can work on getting some more speed.

Also, I did love the course. I loved Madison, the swim venue was great (I saw no snakes!), I LOVED the bike course, and even the run was interesting rather than just a long, boring out and back. I would definitely a) recommend this Ironman in a heart beat and b) return to this venue to race again.

What I have to keep in mind is that the section of the course that I felt like I executed the best - the bike - is actually where I did the WORST when compared to the rest of the field. And where I felt like I did the worst - the run - I still managed to pass almost the same number of people that had passed me on the bike. Even with that super shitty, horrible, embarrassing run time. So, I guess we are all in the same boat out there.

I am not trying to be a whiny, spoiled brat. I totally understand that racing an Ironman is a privilege. I am among a very small percentage of people that can not only afford to do it, but can actually physically do it. AND I am consistently in the top 3rd of the field (and that field has a 25% female/75% male split). But it is hard.. so hard to fall short of your own expectations. Especially when those expectations are realistic. I had two main goals - they weren't time goals. One was to nail the bike nutrition. Check. The other was to have a solid run. Fail. But.. it took me three tries to get a good bike split.. so hopefully practice makes perfect!

WTF is going on here?!

no one likes a bad attitude

If I were to write this post about how I am currently feeling, it would be plagued with negative thoughts, whining, and a bad attitude. Instead I am going to try to focus on the positive aspects of today's workout because Ironman is so much a mental sport. If you have a bad attitude, you aren't going to succeed. I tend to get a very, very bad attitude when it comes to riding long because I let things affect me that shouldn't. And then, since I tend to be an emotional person and ride, race, and live my life with my heart on my sleeve, my ride is directly affected by my bad attitude.

With that said..

I had a 4 hour ride and a 30 minute run on the schedule for today. Since it is now April and the forecast was in the 40s, Kim and I decided to ride outside. I showed up at her house at 10:30 (we wanted to give it time to warm up) and a 3rd girl, Caillie (who is doing Ironman Lake Placid this year and whose boyfriend I met yesterday at the bike shop and he sent her to us) met us there to tagalong on part of our ride. We left at 11 am sharp dressed in tights, wool socks, toe covers, gloves, hats, and several layers on top. We planned to ride from Kim's house, around Canandaigua Lake, back to Kim's - about a 4:30 ride (a little longer than what was on tap). I was excited to finally be off the trainer!

It became quickly apparent that my bike fitness has a LOOOOOOOONG way to go before my Ironman which is 12 weeks away (if you missed that somehow). Climbing hills was.. interesting. Kim was destroying me. We made all of our regular stops at our regular gas stations to refuel, recaffeinate, and rest. I was doing ok for the first 3 hrs and 30 minutes of the ride. After that, my attitude went downhill. Instead of bitching, I am going to list my issues and how I am going to try to resolve them by positive thinking.

1) 3:30 into this particular route (that I ride ALL the time) is my least favorite part - riding west on routes 5&20 which is a road that goes from west of Rochester, through all the Finger Lake villages, out to who knows where it ends. At around Canandaigua, it goes up and down these really big rollers that I just HATE. I know that this part is coming and I dread it. What I need to do to get past this mental block is drive out to 5&20, leave my car, and ride up and down this road for several hours just tackling these stupid hills. If I could get past the mental block of this section of the ride I think I would be happier and mentally in a better place.

2) Kim destroyed me on this ride. Kim has always been faster than me on the bike which is fine. Everyone has good and bad days and we are usually not too far away from each other. But today, it took her all of 5 minutes to leave me in the dust, over and over and over again. This is a huge issue for me because it makes me feel like I am slow, that I suck, that I am going to get passed by 1000 people at Ironman, and that I am out of shape and won't be ready. What I fail to get through my brain is that Kim has a year more long course experience than I do, she currently is not running due to a sprained ankle so is doing WAY more volume on the bike than I am (which makes her way fitter on the bike than me), and that everybody is different. I cannot let the green-eyed monster destroy my confidence. Plus, Kim has her own issues to deal with concerning her ankle and shouldn't have to deal with giving me 50 pep talks during a ride.

3) It was windy as shit. There is nothing I can do about this. I can't control the weather. What if it's windy in Coeur D'Alene? I should use training rides like this to my advantage. It's not always 65 and sunny at Ironman!

4) I'm slow as shit. It's April 2nd. It's been a long winter on the trainer. We rode for over an hour longer than we were supposed to due to the loop we did (5:10 instead of 4:00). My fitness will return. I need to get OVER it and just focus on what I need to do in order to get in shape. I'm slow now? I have 12 weeks. Suck it up Alexa!

Race tomorrow, stay tuned!

triathletes are freaks

If there is one thing that I am sure of - it's that triathletes are weird. We are obsessive, quirky, and anal. I know it's not just me. It's ALL OF US! 50% of us have the same tattoo, and it's probably somewhere on our leg. Both genders shave a large portion of their body hair, we wear a lot of spandex even if we have no business wearing it, we piss our pants, etc. (It's a good thing I am arguing for the fact that triathletes are freaks, because I have that particular tattoo AND I do all 3 of those things!!!). I also have some weird rituals that I do before races.

I am not superstitious at ALL, except on race day. On race day, everything has to be perfect. However, there is a method to my madness.

Note: I am a triathlete. I may be on the bus to crazy town, but I bet many of you are riding on there with me!

My first rule is in regards to race t-shirt etiquette. Never ever EVER wear the race t-shirt before or during the race. If you have not finished the race, you cannot wear the shirt! You have to earn the right to wear that finisher's shirt! It's like going to a concert, buying a t-shirt and then PUTTING IT ON AT THE SHOW! T-shirt etiquette is being violated! I don't care if it's a 5K. I don't care if it's an ultra (do they even give t-shirts out at ultras?). I swear to god if I DNFed a race, I don't know WHAT I would do with that t-shirt. I LOVE race t-shirts. If they are too big for me, I sleep in them. If they are a tech t-shirt that I can't run in (it's too big or it's not a ladies-cut shirt) I keep them regardless as souvenirs of the race. But if I DNFed a race, I would probably have to cut it up into rags for cleaning my bike.

My second rule is in regards to M-dot gear/apparel. It cannot be worn until an Ironman distance race is completed. I fully believe that doing this will jinx your race (if you are planning on completing an Ironman). You have to earn the M-dot! There are 2 exceptions. If you complete an  "Ironman brand" 70.3 race and you buy finisher's gear (half-IM SPECIFIC finishers gear) or get a finishers hat or shirt, that is ok (it has the M-dot but it says 70.3 on it). But you can't finish Mooseman and start telling people you are an Ironman. The other exception is the stupid Timex Ironman watch or any other stupid Ironman thing you can buy at a drugstore (I have personally seen Ironman cologne and Ironman muscle ointment). I have the Timex Ironman watch because I think all of the Timex sports watches have the little Ironman on them.

My main problem with people sporting the M-dot without having gone the distance is false advertising. For instance, I am a girl in my mid-20s, single, and mostly only interested in Ironmen (yes this is true, and yes I know I am pathetic). So if I go to a race and see a guy wearing an article of clothing with an M-dot, I am immediately interested (if he's cute, obviously). However, if this guy is wearing the shirt and hasn't done a freaking Ironman, I will be PISSED and immediately lose interest. Once again, I know, I am ridiculous.

My next few things are weird race rituals that I have. I must always crumple my race # before any race. If it's a running race, I must crumple it before I pin it to whatever top I am wearing. If it's a tri, I must crumple it before I pin it to my race # belt and then leave it in transition. I have done this since running XC in high school.

I must always run wearing a hat. This is regardless of whether I am racing or just running. I HAVE to wear a hat, visor, or winter hat to keep my hair from blowing all over the place and annoying the be-jesus out of me.

I must only race in a specific pair of green Balega socks that I own. Typically I only put socks on for the run. If it's an Ironman (where I wear socks on the bike as well) I have a different pair of socks to wear on the bike and I change into the green socks for the run. For winter races I have some socks that are cut higher than my green socks that I will wear in order to keep my ankles covered, but winter races are not races that I really care about, therefore the green sock rule is void during months where snow is on the ground.

These are my rules. Yes, they are crazy and at times they are arbitrary. If you want to run in your race t-shirt, by all means go for it (a LOT of people do this) but I think it screams "newbie." It's like going to NYC wearing a Hawaiian t-shirt with a camera hanging around your neck and tall white socks. Everyone knows that you are out of your element.

You'll never catch me in either of those outfits!

Ironman travel blows

My plug for the day: I am a new member of the blog 201Ironman, which consists of bloggers who are racing Ironman distance races in 2011! Check it out, and check out my intro post here!

Anyways, yesterday and today I have been dealing with the delightful fun of booking a hotel room for IM Coeur D'Alene. I have called every hotel in the area. Surprisingly most of them are not sold out yet. However, many of them are a little too far away to be within walking distance. The closer ones are all  more expensive. I am trying to do this without a rental car, so walking distance is a must. I just made a reservation for 5 nights at a La Quinta which is 1 mile from the race site. Not totally ideal but it's walkable. The room has a fridge and a microwave, free wifi, pool/jacuzzi open 24/7, and a continental breakfast! I will be in the room (and probably at the race) all alone so if anyone wants to come with me I will share my queen bed with you! If you are afraid I will touch you inappropriately at night, I will allow you to build a pillow barricade between us in order to make yourself feel more comfortable. :)

Figuring out flying is a huge pain in the ass. Do I box my bike up and Fedex it? Do I box my bike up and take it with me on the plane? What if it gets lost? I don't know how to take it apart OR put it back together! What if it gets smushed in the cargo area of the plane? How much is this going to cost? How the f- am I going to be able to travel for an entire day the DAY after the race?

Lots of lovely questions running through my brain!

I am driving to Wisconsin. End of story. It's only a 12 hour drive. I can totally do that by myself.. it might take me 2 days but I don't even care!

At the suggestion of my parents, I am going to the bank tomorrow to set up a "vacation club account" which is something that I have never heard of, but apparently it will shuttle some of my paycheck into a new account so I will never even see that money, which means I can't spend it! Momma says that I have to stop buying IM backpacks, and lululemon, and things from L.L. Bean, Eddie Bauer, and Vera Bradley! Oh boy!

even tomboys sometimes wear dresses

Just over a week has passed since the Ironman, and the itch is returning. The rising urge to train is inversely related to the fading post-IM pain. This is the problem with Ironman (or really, any of these long ass races that I've done). They hurt like hell and I curse my decision to do the race while I'm still doing the stupid thing, but then like 3 days later, I'm ready to register again! So I am ready to get going on the road to Syracuse 70.3, and then my 2 Ironmans next year! Unfortunately, I am on overnights again this week so the urge to train is overshadowed by the icky feeling I get that accompanies overnights. :(


Either way, I have finally (ok, mostly) come to terms with my Ironman finish time of 12:18. I'm not going to lie.. I was annoyed with myself for missing my goal time by 18 minutes. I still am slightly irritated. I know you people think I am a freak for still being upset by this (or even upset in the first place) but what is the point in doing the training and setting goals if you're going to be happy with your results regardless of whether you met your goals or not? My goal was NOT to "just finish." I'm not insulting that as a goal - it's a legitimate goal and lots of people have that for their first Ironman, but I didn't. I had a time goal because I trusted my body enough to get me through the Ironman - I wasn't worried about not finishing (freak accidents/medical issues aside). I had a time goal, which I missed. And it doesn't matter who tells me that I had a good race - doesn't matter that Mary was happy with it, or that my family is impressed, or that my Ironman buddies are congratulating me. (It DOES matter to me that people are happy with my performance, but it does not change my own attitude towards the race). There is still part of me that is displeased. There is always room for improvement.

What this does is light an 18 minute-long fire under my ass for next year. Oh boy..



I had an absolutely terrible night at work last night. Sunday nights are already hard because all of the instruments in our lab have to be checked in for the week. And I was working solo because my labmate is out for grand jury. It took me a good 3 hours to get all of the instruments checked in.. then I had some problems with a water bath dying - took me 45 minutes to figure out why the temperature was dropping below 25 C. I also spilled a sample in another water bath which turned it completely blue - it looked like a smurf took a bath in there. So I ran around like a nutjob all night and now my legs are KILLING ME. Luckily, I only had a short swim on Monday afternoon and it felt really really good.


When I got home from the gym I checked my mail and my Nuu-Muu exercise dress that I won via a giveaway on Kelly @ TriMommyLife's blog was here!! I tried it on and it is REALLY CUTE! It fits great, and even though the website advertises the dress as being a bit short (they actually suggest wearing some kind of shorts or tights underneath it), I am incredibly short so the length is perfect for me! It's cute, comfy, sporty, and completely perfect for a tomboy triathlete such as myself! Unfortunately, I highly doubt I can wear it to the wedding I have to go to in 2 weeks! :P

Please excuse the terrible post-gym picture of myself.

Unfortunately, now I want more of these dresses..


I have a meeting with Coach Mary in the morning (after work) to discuss Lake Placid and hopefully upcoming races. We are meeting at Starbucks so I will be falling asleep in my chair after my overnight and she will be going through caffeine withdrawal in her house of worship due to cutting caffeine out of her diet per her coach, The Wizard. I need to get a list ready of things I would like to chat about. Also, every time I look at this photo of Mary, I die laughing. :)

This is what's going on in my life at the moment! :)