First Post...

After the website that hosted my original blog crashed, I finally have set out to find a new place to blog...here it is!

Hopefully, this will help keep me honest on my training and my eating patterns. I have a ton of goals this year.

One of my goals was to finish IM Arizona on April 13. I did it and it was quite challenging. The heat and wind made for a hard day. Starting from the beginning, I did not train the same way I normally do and it really showed on Sunday. I was quite nervous and knew in the back of my mind it was going to be a challenging day...when you do not train like you should, it does not make for a pretty picture.

That morning, my shoulder had given me quite a bit of problem and I did not sleep great. After a little breakfast, we hopped on the shuttle and headed to Ironman Village. It was quite a buzz of activity even at 5:30 a.m. After ensuring my bike was set up, I headed to body marking and the LONG bathroom line. My belly was not really cooperating and I was in line when they started calling athletes to the start line. I did not have my wetsuit and luckily, my friend, Tony, helped me get it on and get to the water. The water was about 66 degrees and at first, it was cold but felt okay as we had to swim about 200-300 yards to the swim start. My plan was to start a little more toward the front than I usually do but there were a lot of BIG guys behind me and I did not want them climbing over me so I moved a little further back. The cannon went off and off we went. This was a one loop swim course and although crowded, there was not a lot of combat swimming going on for me. The sun was directly in our eyes on the way out so it was hard to see the buoys so I had to site on the bridge. When the turn-around finally came around, it seemed to get a little easier and more spread out. The finish actually came before I expected. I felt like I was in my groove and thought my swim would be close to my normal 1:15...WRONG...I got out the water and saw the time and I was quite disappointed. My swim was 1:24. Off to T1 where it was packed and I ended up changing outside the tent. I quickly changed and got the sunscreeners to lather up me up and off I went on my bike...

As I headed out on the bike course, a dog ran directly in front of the cyclist in front of me and the poor guy ate it. It was really scary because the dog continued to run down the side of the road with the owner chasing it. The dog came back on the side of the road we were on and I was afraid I was going to suffer the same fate as the other cyclist. The bike course was three loops. On the way out, the winds were quite challenging. I do not know exactly the wind speed but I would guess 20-25 mph with 40 mph gusts. There was no turning away from this wind on the way out. Before the turn-around, there is about an 8 mile incline. While it was a very small incline, the wind was relentless and never let up. After the turnaround, we flew down with the wind at our backs and that was great!!! After I completed the first loop and headed back out, my saddle decided to start giving me quite a bit of pain. I shifted and tried to get out of the saddle. Thanks be to God, at mile 63 we could pick up our special needs bags, where I had some vaseline for chaffing and I was never so glad to see some vaseline in my life. The third loop was still pretty tough even though the wind died down a little. It was quite challenging for me. During the second loop, my feet started burning and I ended up taking my feet out and pedaling with my feet on top of my shoes for about 50 miles...Finally, after the last loop, as I came back into town, some spectators were standing in the middle of the road and I was quite nervous that I would not have enough time to react. I was afraid of ending up like the poor guy that hit the dog. So, after screaming Hey, Hey, Hey, they moved and I headed into T2.

In T2, I changed into shorts quickly and again some sunscreen. It was quite warm still! I jogged slowly for a little while but when several men passed me walking, I thought they might have a better idea. Walking is much less impact on my body then running so I started walking quickly. At mile 6, I figured that if I walked an average of 15 minute miles, I could make it to the finish line with an hour to spare. So, I trucked it through the marathon. The run course was also three loops with lots of out and backs and was mentally challenging. My goal was to finish all the Ironman races in the states (except Kona) and that actually kept me moving because I surely did not want to return to Arizona. Luckily, after walking a half marathon with my sister and her friend, I knew I could walk quickly and keep moving. While my marathon time was VERY slow, I was proud I finished walking a marathon in less than 7 hours. I met lots of fun folks on the course and that was fun. The only bad thing was I knew my mom was at the finish line, worried sick because this was very late for me. Oh, did I forget the blisters that were forming on the ball of one foot and on the heel of the other. At mile 23, the blister on my heel popped. OUCH!!! When I finally reached the finish line, the first thing I did was take off my shoes. I had a huge blister on the ball of my foot and it really hurt. I was so glad to have my shoes off and I hobbled over to the medical tent, thanks to my friend, Tony; where they slapped some mole skin on it and sent me on my way.

So, I got my medal, t-shirt, and hat. My husband was unable to come due to work stuff so I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with him while I picked up my transition/dry clothes bags. My stomach was not doing great and I was thankful my friend, Tony, had the car close by. My parents and I got in the car and headed to the hotel. After getting to my room and taking a bath, I ended up calling my mom and asking her to get ice for my shoulder...there was no way I could walk. Luckily, I had some decent drugs and I finally got to sleep. The next day I was not really that sore but my feet were not happy. I did not do well in the sun and stayed in my room for the better part of the afternoon.

This week is a rest week and then start training for Ironman Louisville. I learned a lot from this race. I know I can swim, bike and run better and now I just have to do it!!! Better training, better eating, and a better attitude...You can do anything you set your mind to.