Thank you IMAZ training for reminding me once again that I can do hard things. Yesterday I had a 6-hour triple brick workout (bike-run-bike-run-bike-run) and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it because before I even set out on this long day, I had a knot in my calf the size of a baseball. You know, the kind of knot that keeps you up at night and leaves you walking like a pirate with a peg leg. I decided to get on my bike anyway, and see what I could do, hoping it would magically work its way out. Well, you know what happened…the rest is history. Done. Done. Done. Done. Done. Done. #mindovermuscle #doepicshit(asElkeoftensays)

It definitely wasn’t easy, but I had no illusion that it would be. I didn’t get started until nearly noon because I had a meeting to attend at 10:30. It was a late start to a long day, but I’m glad because it mirrored what race day will feel like, especially running in the chilly evening.

As all my endurance athlete friends will attest, when you’re out on the road for a long time, you get to see and experience a boatload of interesting things.

Here is just a sprinkling of what I saw yesterday:
A ukulele club performing at East Beach
A wedding
A vintage military plane flyover
A lacrosse tournament
The tiniest little guy (2 years, if that) riding his scooter in the middle of the bike path, blissfully zigzagging, oblivious that he was about to get taken out multiple times while his parents were staring at their phones
Teenage boys doing flips off sand dunes
The Vietnam remembrance wall
A drum circle
Tourists in their tourist bubbles
Surfers riding perfect waves
Drivers opening car doors without looking to see a cyclist coming (eek!)
My coach! What a surprise to see Matt’s smiling face in the middle of my second brick as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere while I stopped to snap a picture of these flowers. His words of encouragement added another dollop of fuel to my motivation. Thanks Coach!
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A car full of teenage boys, music blaring, crossing over a double yellow line, recklessly trying to pass four cars at once (sadly, I think we’ll be reading their obits before long)
Fellow IMAZ’er, Elda Rudd, running along the bike path (so bummed we didn’t coordinate our workout!)
A street band entertaining passersby
A gorgeous sunset over Butterfly Beach

Stopping for a minute to drink in the moment.

People taking a bazillion selfies (including a couple of my own-ack)
Lovers embracing
Several runners out doing their long training runs
The Maritime Festival


A group of dudes hanging out at Leadbetter, and me overhearing, “Dude, that chick has been running for hours. I saw her when we got here a long time ago.” 🙂
The wind…the #%$! wind…which I consider a gift, even if I loathe it, because it’s helping me get stronger and preparing me for race day. It reared it’s head big time on my last brick. Brrrr. Glad I had a wind jacket.

A STUNNING full moon rise…the kind you see in children’s books…the perfect end to a perfectly challenging and fulfilling day.

Good night moon.

As cliche as it sounds, doing your first Ironman truly is about the journey. The race is one day, but the road to the starting line is hundreds of days and thousands of hours. It’s important to love, appreciate, and honor all the ups and downs of those training days, even on toughest ones. Otherwise what’s the point? I can honestly say, this journey has far surpassed any expectations I ever had. Just learning that I can bike and run for six hours with a knot in my calf taught me something new: our mind is by far our strongest muscle.

Only 35 days to go now!!

Until next time, my friends…
xo Becky