Week #19 & 20 NYC Marathon Training: Good Butterflies

As we head into the last few days of training before hopping on a plane to NYC, I’m feeling charged, organized, and ready to take on 26.2 once again. I’d be lying though, if I told you that butterflies weren’t getting busy in my tummy.

Even after all these years of running and all these races, they still visit like clockwork, and that’s a good thing because it means I’m still excited (understatement), and a wee bit nervous, fully acknowledging that the challenge ahead is big enough to push me beyond my everyday limits. No matter how many marathons you run, covering 26.2 miles is still a test of mind, body, spirit.

While a marathon is obviously meant to be a race, it means a whole lot more to me than just that. In fact, if I’m honest, I’m not really “race” racing this one in the classic sense, but rather focusing on fully absorbing the experience again, and looking at it as a celebration of my longevity in running and my everlasting love of the sport.

Being able to circle back to New York 25 years after I ran my first marathon there is truly a gift; and to run it with my dear friend Janet as she crushes her first marathon while also being part of a team raising funds so kids across the nation can fall in love with the sport we love so much, it doesn’t get any better.

And those electric butterflies circling? They are ones of deep, deep gratitude for my health and fitness, which I never take for granted, especially on this journey back which has been filled with some bumps along the way. And they are butterflies of tremendous joy that I GET to do this again. How lucky am I (and the 50,000 other runners who are taking on this challenge)? For a 57-year old runner, this feels like a fantastic gift. #pinchme

After this last post, I will catch you all on the flip side of the race and let you know how it went. Your good thoughts for #24080 and her badass sidekick #24198 are appreciated!! Woot! Woot!

In the meantime, here’s a look back at Week 19 & 20 training schedule (Oct 23-Nov 5):

  • Mon 10/23: Run 4.22 miles with the second half at a “controlled discomfort pace”
  • Tues 10/24: Spin class 60 min medium/EZ, core & mobility 30 min
  • Wed 10/25: Run 4.45 miles on undulating hills, walk 1.5 miles w/ my hubby
  • Thur 10/26: Rest, core & mobility 20 min
  • Fri 10/27: 5K self-timed TT, core & mobility
  • Sat 10/28: Run 7.75 run with Becca
  • Sun 10/29: Rest & recovery day (walk with my hubby)
  • Mon 10/30: Run 4.17 miles with 2 x 5 min @ 10K pace
  • Tues 10/31: Cross-train 30 min ez, core & mobility
  • Wed 11/1: Run 3 miles easy
  • Thurs 11/2: Travel day
  • Fri 11/3: Expo
  • Sat 11/4: Shake-out run
  • Sun 11/5: RACE DAY!!

Monday: It was a blue bird day to kick off the week, and no better way to find my happy place. The schedule called for a 40 min run, with the second half run at a “controlled discomfort.” I ran it thinking about the last 4 miles of the marathon, visualizing powering through the last 2.2 miles and finishing strong with a smile on my face. Practice. Practice. Practice.

Tuesday: Knocked out another of my favorite spin classes with Kristine, one of the most positive, funny, motivating instructors you’ll find. It’s always a joy to take her class and get my butt kicked. I followed it up with a short and sweet core & mobility sesh at home.

Wednesday: It was a cool autumn morning, perfect for 45 minute scamper with some undulating hills, starting and ending at East Beach. Once again, I focused on visualizing race day, getting up the last hills in Central Park at the end of the race. I tested out a new pair of Zensah calf sleeves too, to make sure they would feel good for race day. Yep.

Thursday: It was a rest day with some core & mobility work, but mostly it was a “stop and smell the roses” kind of day. My sweet sister-in-law, Jess, and brother Scott, sent me a surprise package in the mail with this cute run shirt, along with pampering foot mask socks and CHOCOLATE to celebrate the journey. Totally made my day, and reminded me once again that it’s the little things that are the big things.

Friday: 5K time trial. It was fun to see my progress since the beginning of this training cycle, even though I intentionally didn’t run full throttle (just 3/4 throttle). At this point in the game, it’s more about keeping sharp and healthy and avoiding injury. I found a happy balance that left me feeling confident and energized.

Saturday: What a treat to knock out my last long run with my friend Becca on another spectacular Santa Barbara morning. Becca is one of those unassuming “beast” runners, someone who is super sweet, but unknowingly pushes you to be a better runner. Thank you Becca! My legs were a little heavy, perhaps from Friday’s time trial, but my heart was light, appreciating what a beautiful journey this has all been, and knowing that next weekend I’ll be in running through the streets of NY.

Sunday: It was a rest & recovery day, and a perfect morning to catch up with a dear friend Kimberly for coffee. Thank you friend! And thank you taper days for giving me so much more time and flexibility to be able to do this again without rushing to squeeze it in.

Monday: Yesterday was a classic autumn afternoon in which I celebrated the end of this training cycle with a big high five and a chuckle as I cruised through a neighborhood ablaze with Halloween humor and cheer. Janet and I have officially made it! Phew! Now it’s on to the starting line on Staten Island to enjoy our victory celebration through New York’s unforgettable 26.2 mile street party!

As I sign off, I want to thank you all again for your incredible support, uplifting messages, good humor, and especially your overwhelming generosity in supporting Team for Kids. Together we raised $3,050 to help support free youth running programs across the nation. I will circle back around after the race to let you know how much our team raised in total during this event. I think you may be surprised.

Onward we head to the Big Apple!!!!!

xo Becky

PS: If you’ve missed any of my previous NYC Marathon training posts, you can click here to check them out:

Kicking off 20 Weeks until the NYC Marathon

Week #2 NYC Marathon Training: Patience & Grace

Week #3 NYC Marathon Training: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Week #4-11 NYC Marathon Training: The Good, the Bad & the Evolving

Week #12 NYC Marathon Training: Showing Up

Week #13 NYC Marathon Training: Staying the Course

Week #14 NYC Marathon Training: Honing the Details

Week #15 NYC Marathon Training: Upping our Game

Week #16 NYC Marathon: Counting Down, Visualizing, and Keeping It Moving Forward

Week #17 NYC Marathon Training: Peak Week

Week #18 NYC Marathon Training: Sharpen and Trust

Week #18 NYC Marathon Training: Sharpen and Trust

After 17 weeks of slowly, steadily building up endurance, strength, and mental toughness, it’s now suddenly time to taper back down on mileage and intensity as we head into the last two weeks before finally reaching race day. It’s not uncommon to struggle with this stage of marathon training. It may bring on panicky feelings, wondering if you’ve trained hard enough, thinking it might be a good idea to squeeze in one more 20-miler, even though it would likely cause more damage than add more fitness. Or you may suddenly feel weird pains you’ve never felt before, or worry that your gear isn’t quite right even though you’ve been training with it just fine all along.

This is the time to block out the tapering crazies and lean into your plan.

Repeat after me: TRUST YOUR TRAINING.

Instead of doing more, focus on sharpening and fine-tuning everything, from your final training workouts to your nutrition, your mental strategies to your organization and logistics preparation. Most of all, focus on resting and pampering your body so it’s as primed as it can be when you finally toe the line on race day.

Here’s a look back at Week #18 training schedule (Oct 16-22):

  • Mon 10/16: Run 1.5 mile (test run for my grumpy foot)
  • Tues 10/17: Spin class 42 min medium EZ, core 30 min
  • Wed 10/18: Run 3.5 miles on the treadmill (testing foot again)
  • Thur 10/19: Run 7.5 miles
  • Fri 10/20: Core and mobility 30 min, walk
  • Sat 10/21: Run 11 miles
  • Sun 10/22: Rest & recovery day (walk with my hubby)

Monday: My foot/ankle/anterior tibialis tendon was strained and grumpy after last Saturday’s 18-mile run, so after resting on Sunday, I simply went on a micro scamper (1.5 miles) to see how it felt being taped up and wearing compression sleeves. Not too bad! I didn’t want to push it so I called it good for the day. See, I’m heeding my own advice and using restraint!

Tuesday: Back doing my favorite cross-training…zoom, zooming on the spin bike.

Wednesday: Testing out my ankle/foot tendon again by running 3.5 miles on the treadmill. Fortunately, it felt okay! Phew.

Thursday: As we count down the days and hours to race day, I’m trying to do more runs around the time I know I’ll be running through the streets of NY. I started at noon for this run when the temperature was 69 degrees with 68% humidity. Sounds like pretty great conditions, but it quickly felt much hotter than that, offering me ample opportunity to work on cooling techniques and staying laser focused on hydration and salt intake. With my tender anterior tibialis taped up again, I wanted to test out how it would feel to wear full compression tights and compression socks pushed down during the race on a warm day. Although it felt a little “sausauge-like,” the extra support was also nice as I knocked out 4 miles on the soft surface of SBCC’s track, then 3.7 miles on the waterfront bike path.

Friday: This was another day of listening to my body, knowing that sometimes the best workouts at this stage in training involve a “Less is More” approach. I simply did a short core/mobility/foot strengthening routine, then went for a nice walk with my hubby in preparation for Saturday’s last long run.

Saturday: It felt really good to knock out the last double-digit long run of this training cycle with my friend Becca. We started at 8:30, did a 1-mile warm-up run on the track before running 10 more out and back along the waterfront. It was a glorious Santa Barbara morning and we did not take it for granted. The best part is the big mental boost you get when 11 miles now feels easy (compared to when we started training all those weeks ago). Becca is training for a half marathon and conquered her longest run yet, adding an additional mile at the end to round it out with 12 miles. So proud of this gritty warrior!

As we head into the last two weeks of training, as you can imagine, I’m feeling all the feels: excited, grateful, relieved to have gotten through the longest and hardest training days, a bit nervous (even after all these years and races), and most of all thrilled that I get to take on this challenge again, and honored that I get to do it with my dear friend Janet, and also share it all with my family.

Onward we go…sharpening, trusting, and slightly losing our minds with excitement. It’s getting real!!!

xo Becky

PS: If you’ve missed any of my previous NYC Marathon training posts, you can click here to check them out:

Kicking off 20 Weeks until the NYC Marathon

Week #2 NYC Marathon Training: Patience & Grace

Week #3 NYC Marathon Training: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Week #4-11 NYC Marathon Training: The Good, the Bad & the Evolving

Week #12 NYC Marathon Training: Showing Up

Week #13 NYC Marathon Training: Staying the Course

Week #14 NYC Marathon Training: Honing the Details

Week #15 NYC Marathon Training: Upping our Game

Week #16 NYC Marathon: Counting Down, Visualizing, and Keeping It Moving Forward

Week #17 NYC Marathon Training: Peak Week

Week 45 of Ironman Training: Visions of BadAss-ness

During this crazy week of political and emotional upheaval, I’ve tried to stay focused on all things positive and keep my eye on the Ironman prize, but man, oh man, it has been tough. I’ve definitely shed a few tears and simmered in some dark moments as I’ve contemplated the state of our nation, but thankfully, exercise always brings me back around.

The other thing that has soothed my soul is pouring my energy into creating a vision board–a simple, empowering reminder of how I’m going to make this BadAss Iron(Wo)man dream come true. No. Matter. What.

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Being a visual person, it’s helpful for me to write down my goals and remind myself of my race plan and how I’ll handle the challenges of the day.

The background of my vision board is a portion of artwork created by my daughter with geometrical rainbow-colored fish that look like arrows pointing forward–the direction we all hope to be going. Every time I look at my board, I think of her and remind myself that I’m still one of the most important role models in her life, which makes her the number one reason I will never give up.

GRIT is what it will take to get to the finish line, a word I will not forget for a minute during IMAZ, especially as it also reminds me of my husband, my rock and north star, who is the epitome of grit. I will be carrying his love and support with me all along the way, as well as his grit, just as I have all throughout this journey.

The word COURAGE on my board reminds me of my friends, the Reeder-Riechels, as that little scrap of paper is something I tore from a card at their home during the holidays last  year. It simply said, “Take something you will need in the new year.” I have leaned on that word more times than I can count this year, and I will certainly be leaning on it heavily on race day. Did I mention these awesome friends are also flying out to the race to cheer me on? Unbelievable.

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One week from now I will be on the Ironman Arizona course (holy freaking craziness!!), taking each challenge as it comes.

My main goal is to try to enjoy and appreciate every single moment as I finally get to live out my Ironman dream–something I’ve carried with me since I was a teenager.

The race itself is truly a victory lap, a celebration of all the hard work that’s gone into this year, and a big “BOOYAH!” that I made it to the starting line in one piece–no small feat for this injury-prone runner.

I have Matthew Tague to thank for that. His outstanding coaching and his wise counsel have kept me moving forward, even when things got bumpy on occasion. I feel incredibly lucky to have had him in my corner during this journey.

As  I get prepared to head to Arizona next week, here’s what my final full week of training looked like during this taper phase:

Monday: Swim 3500y, Run 1 hr 15 minutes on a flat/rolling course
Tuesday: Bike 3 hours with 2×20 min hard efforts
Wednesday: Rest (beach walk)
Thursday: Run 30 minutes
Friday: Ocean swim
Saturday: Brick–Bike 60 minutes, Run 5 miles
Sunday: Rest (optional bike or swim)

Here are a few snaps from the week…

I usually run in the morning, but it took me all day to get out the door on Monday, so I had the joys of an evening jaunt. I opted to run loops around Sheffield Reservoir, which is mostly flat with a few small rollers.

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I was handed this lovely gift of color during my run…another opportunity to revel in gratitude…
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Tuesday was election day AT LAST. Halle-freaking-lujah! I wasn’t quite sporting a white pantsuit, but I did wear my white tri suit in honor of this historic occasion. I saw countless women wearing white on their morning runs, too, which made me smile.
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My 3-hour ride went by in the blink of an eye and ended at the rainbow sculpture along Cabrillo Blvd. It’s funny how 3 hours on the bike once felt like two days.
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Wednesday was a scheduled rest day, and I was thankful because, like many of my friends, I was exhausted from the election and trying to keep it together while struggling to explain it all to my daughter. A beach walk with my husband brought a tiny bit of solace.

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Thursday I did a short morning run with my big brown doodle, then another sweet evening run solo…this time around the Rose Garden and trails next to it, where the sky showered us with magic once again. When life feels insane, the best thing I can do is sweat, breathe deeply, and remind myself about the larger universe.
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Friday morning I had the joy of doing an ocean swim with my friend, Whitney Bruice. She has been super supportive all year long and has made a big difference in helping me get stronger in the water. It was especially awesome of Whitney to do this at 7:00am on her day off. Rock star status!
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I was thrilled to discover the new wetsuit Jeffrey bought me as another sweet show of support, fit perfectly and was more comfortable and buoyant than any I’ve ever worn. Yay! It may not make me faster during the race (or maybe it WILL!!), but it will definitely make me more comfortable.
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Saturday I did my final brick workout, a short 1-hour ride and 45-minute run. Zip. Zip. and Done. I got to try out my new team wind jacket and arm warmers to make sure they’d be comfortable on race day, along with some new socks. This was cutting it a little close for trying out new things, but it all went well.
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I am ready to roll. Let’s do this thing!
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As I sign off for the week, I can hardly put into words how much I appreciate all of you who have cheered me on, given me advice, hugs (virtual and in person), pushed me to be stronger, showered with me love and support and come along on this epic journey. It’s humbling, to say the least. My heart is full.

Next time you hear from me, I will be heading to Arizona to get ready to do my victory lap. I’ll be arriving Thursday evening and spending a couple days getting dialed in for the race on Sunday. My swim wave will start around 7 am and I’ll have until midnight to cross the finish line.

If any of you are interested, you can track me during the race via the Ironman website. My race bib number is #533. And don’t forget, I will be taking every single one of you with me, so fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a wild ride!

xo B
PS: This is your FINAL CALL if you’d like to donate to my Smile Train fundraising. Several of you have mentioned that you’d like to support my effort. Today is the day to do it. So far we have funded 36 kids for life-changing cleft surgery. How exciting is that?!

For my SB friends, as my final push to Arizona, I’m raffling off a $50 gift certificate to JANE restaurant and a bottle of wine to raise more funds for Smile Train. Each ticket costs just $5. All you have to do is go to my fundraising page (click link HERE) and make a donation and you’ll automatically be entered into the drawing. The deadline to enter is 5 pm TONIGHT. The winner will be announced TOMORROW, November 14th.

For those of you who don’t live in Santa Barbara, I’m raffling off a $100 gift card to Amazon for anybody who donates $250 or more and a $25 gift card for those who donate $100–$249. I’m just about four smiles away from reaching the $10,000 mark, which would be mind-blowing if we could reach that. That would mean 40 kiddos would have their lives changed FOREVER when I cross the finish line…because of YOU!

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PSS: As always, if you missed any of my previous posts about Ironman training, you can click on the links below:

Kicking off My Journey to Ironman Arizona
Week One of Ironman Training: Believe
Week Two of Ironman Training: The Power of Friends
Week Three of Ironman Training: I Think I Can
Week Four of Ironman Training: Progress
Week Five of Ironman Training: Wind at my Back (and Front) and Peeps by My Side
Week Six of Ironman Training: Baking a Cake
Week Seven of Ironman Training: Courage
Week Eight of Ironman Training: It’s All About the Base
OMG, You did WHAT?! (AKA Sleep Deprivation + Training = Embarrassing Moments)
Week Nine of Ironman Training: Growing Pains
Week Ten of Ironman Training: Trust
Week 11 of Ironman Training: Speedbumps and Breakthroughs
Week 12 of Ironman Training: A Bundle of Sticks Can’t Be Broken
Week 13 of Ironman Training: Spring!

Week 14 of Ironman Training: Rollercoaster
Week 15 and 16 of Ironman Training: Staying Happy and Healthy

Week 17 and 18 Ironman Training: Inspiration and Purple Rain
Weeks 19 through 21 of Ironman Training: Transitions

Week 22 and 23 of Ironman Training: Holy Epicness…Julie Moss
Week 24 of Ironman Training: Consistency is the Key
Week 25 of Ironman Training: Embracing New Challenges
Week 26 of Ironman Training: Hills, They’re What’s for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Week 27 of Ironman Training: Taking This Show on the Road (Tri-cation!)
Week 27 of Ironman Training: High Altitude Tri-cation
Week 27 of Ironman Training: High Altitude Fun Continues
Week 28 of Ironman Training: Rocky Mountain High
Week 28 of Ironman Training: Finishing Aspen Strong
Week 29 and 30 of Ironman Training: Rollercoasters, Crazies, and Comebacks
Week 31 of Ironman Training: New Heights
Week 32 of Ironman Training: 100 Days to Go
Week 33 of Ironman Training: The Art of Recovery and Balance
Week 34 of Ironman Training: The Magic of Firsts
Week 35 of Ironman Training:Chasing the M-Dot with Toughness Training
Week 36 of Ironman Training: Miles of Opportunities
Week 37 of Ironman Training: IMAZ Training Camp and Tempe Tri Race Report
Week 38 of Ironman Training: Much to Celebrate and Carpinteria Race Report
Week 39 of Ironman Training: Why I Tri and Try
Week 40 and 41 of Ironman Training: Think Like a Dog and Train Like a Mouse
Week 41 of Ironman Training: Mind over Muscle
Week 42 of Ironman Training: #533 is Savoring the Last 23 Days Until IMAZ
Week 43 of Ironman Training: The Joys of Joy and Peak Week
Week 44 of Ironman Training: Holy Freaking Craziness

Week 44 of Ironman Training: Holy Freaking Craziness

Holy freaking craziness, people, we are almost there!!!! AND I’m still in one piece! I’ve worked my tail off this year, and my heart and mind tell me that I’m more than ready to go. No matter what happens on race day, they’re going to carry me to the finish line. #MindOverMuscleBaby

Bring. It. On.

I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m a little bit excited, and my body is feeling great. After Monday’s final epic 9-hour workout, which kicked my butt, I’m in taper mode, scaling back, recovering, recharging, and getting fired up like never before. It’s all part of the process, and it’s giving me time to stop and pinch myself.

This is really going to happen!

I’ve got news for you…YOU are also going to be doing Ironman Arizona, because I’m taking all of you with me on race day. I’m going to carry all the love and support you have showered me with and I’m going to lean on you when I need it most. Together we are going to get this thing done, hopefully with a huge smile on my face.

If you want to know what’s in store for us, you can take a peek at last year’s IMAZ YouTube video. Goosebumps!


As I continue to work toward getting to the starting line, here’s what this week’s schedule looked like (October 31st-November 6th):

Monday: Epic Day Metric Ironman (swim 1.5 miles, bike 70 miles, run 16 miles)
Tuesday: Swim 2000y (recovery), core
Wednesday: Run 30 minutes (recovery pace), core
Thursday: Swim 2000y (recovery), core
Friday: Bike 45 minutes on bike trainer, core
Saturday: Bike 45 minutes, Run 30 minutes off bike (pushing faster on the second half of each), core
Sunday: Rest/recovery, stretch class, core

Last Monday was a trial run for what’s to come on race day…a mini Ironman. Once again I practiced everything I’ll do on the course from nutrition to clothing, pacing to mental strategies. I cannot sugarcoat this training day. It was tough. Actually, parts of it were brutal, mostly because my knees decided to be unusually cranky. BUT, I got through it by digging into my bag of mental tricks. Done. Done. Done. BAM.

I tried to time it like IMAZ so I got up before 5:00 am to eat breakfast: toast, Ensure (ack), applesauce and a few sips of coffee, then sips of Tailwind on the way to the pool. I got in the water a little before 7:00, when my swim wave would be starting in AZ. I had hoped to make this an ocean swim, especially since my sweet husband bought me a new wetsuit as another phenomenal show of support, but after our recent rains (yay!!), the bacteria levels in the water have been really high. Don’t want to risk getting sick, so I opted for the pool.

The swim, for the most part, was fine. I got it done in 55 minutes (2:05 pace), still not Michael Phelps pace, but I’ll take it. I just jumped in and started swimming without a warm-up, which never feels great, but because that’s what it will be like on race day, I wanted to see how it would feel…although I’m sure it will be a lot more shocking in 63 degree water temperature and nearly 3,000 people splashing around. 🙂

After quickly changing, I zipped down to East Beach where I based myself for the bike and run. It was a gorgeous morning, so it was hard to feel anything but gratitude for this day.

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Feeling optimistic and ready to roll at the beginning of this ride…

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For the ride I did two 35-mile loops down to the Rincon and back, a route I’ve done numerous times. It’s not completely flat as a pancake, but as close as I can get around here, with a just a few minor hills in Montecito, Summerland and Carpinteria.

It was just me and the open road…and a lot of time on my hands to try to ignore my cranky knees. I gave myself pep talks, thought about all the cool people in my life, sang, and mostly visualized race day and how I’m going to rock it.
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The other thing I focused on was my nutrition. You can’t zone out too much because if you forget to eat or drink, you’ll pay for it on the run. I try to drink one bottle of Tailwind every hour and wash down a Gu energy gel with water about every 45 minutes. I also pop a Skratch Lab chew, pretzel, or bite of a PowerBar into my mouth here and there. It’s a fine balancing act staying fueled, but no overdoing it so your stomach doesn’t go south on the run.

I have to admit, I was doing a major happy dance when I finally got off the bike a little more than 4 1/2 hours later. Then it was on to the run.

I don’t know why, but this was one of the hardest runs I can remember doing in a long, long time, sixteen long miles on concrete. I’m attributing it to cumulative fatigue from weeks and weeks of training. Let’s just say, I dug out every mental trick I had to get through this one.

By now, you already know what a nut I am, so I might as well share the one thing that got me through this run (besides drinking Coke (ack!!!)…it was remembering five words my dad said to me at the very end of his life when I was a young college girl…

“You are a tough bird.”

Those five words have gotten me through a lot in my life, and they were especially helpful on this run. It wasn’t a speedy pace, but I got it done, at times visualizing a giant bird carrying my dad on its back, lifting me up by the back of my tri top and carrying me along. My legs suddenly felt lighter, my knees less angry, my spirit stronger. And then, batta boom, finally, this run was logged in the books.
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Next time, I’ll be swimming 0.9 miles farther, biking 42 more miles, and running another 10.2 miles, but I know I will get it done on race day, in much better form, because I will be rested and ready to go. I already feel like a new person from this recovery week. Woot!!

Recovery weeks also allow you to do things that have been hard to jam in during regular training weeks, like an afternoon stroll along Shoreline Park with my main squeeze, and a relaxing lunch date afterward.

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And surprising my sweet girl by cleaning her bedroom as my way of saying, “Job well done for working so hard in school.”
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Wednesday evening’s recovery run was relaxing and rejuvenating as I cruised along the soft grass while Olivia was at ballet…aaaah.
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The other thing I could do this week with my extra time was focus on my Smile Train fundraising. I have been completely blown away by the support I have received this week for Team Empower…30 people have contributed to Smile Train and funded five more kids for life-changing cleft surgery. My heart is full!! As of now, 29 children will have their lives changed when I cross the finish line. All because of YOU. That is freaking amazing!!

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Friday’s sweatfest on the back patio.
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Saturday morning I joined my family for the first time in ages for a little outing to Farmer’s Market, then a sweet breakfast date at Recipes, home of some of the best coffee in Santa Barbara, and the most wicked cinnamon buns you’ll ever find (shhhhh….don’t tell Coach Matt).
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My True North (and South, East and West)

My True North (South, East and West)

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After morning family fun, I had my own fun…burning off that cinnamon bun with a short brick workout…45 minutes on the bike, followed by a 30 minute run, pushing the last half of both so I finished strong. I felt fantastic, having had such a rejuvenating week.
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Then to top off this awesome week, it was date night at the art museum with this guy. Life is good…
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Today is a rest day, with specific instructions from Matt to nap, go for a walk and eat good food. I’m liking this taper thing! I’m also heading to a stretch class, which always puts me in my happy place. 🙂

Until next time, fabulous peeps…we are getting so close, I can almost hear Mike Reilly’s voice! Let’s do this!

xo B
PS: In case you missed my Facebook posts, SB friends, as my final push to Arizona, I’m raffling off a $50 gift certificate to JANE restaurant and a bottle of wine to raise more funds for Smile Train. Each ticket costs just $5. All you have to do is go to my fundraising page (click link HERE) and make a donation and you’ll automatically be entered into the drawing. The winner will be announced on November 14th. $5 from many different people can add up quickly, and make a huge difference in a child’s life.

PSS: As always, if you missed any of my previous posts about Ironman training, you can click on the links below:

Kicking off My Journey to Ironman Arizona
Week One of Ironman Training: Believe
Week Two of Ironman Training: The Power of Friends
Week Three of Ironman Training: I Think I Can
Week Four of Ironman Training: Progress
Week Five of Ironman Training: Wind at my Back (and Front) and Peeps by My Side
Week Six of Ironman Training: Baking a Cake
Week Seven of Ironman Training: Courage
Week Eight of Ironman Training: It’s All About the Base
OMG, You did WHAT?! (AKA Sleep Deprivation + Training = Embarrassing Moments)
Week Nine of Ironman Training: Growing Pains
Week Ten of Ironman Training: Trust
Week 11 of Ironman Training: Speedbumps and Breakthroughs
Week 12 of Ironman Training: A Bundle of Sticks Can’t Be Broken
Week 13 of Ironman Training: Spring!

Week 14 of Ironman Training: Rollercoaster
Week 15 and 16 of Ironman Training: Staying Happy and Healthy

Week 17 and 18 Ironman Training: Inspiration and Purple Rain
Weeks 19 through 21 of Ironman Training: Transitions

Week 22 and 23 of Ironman Training: Holy Epicness…Julie Moss
Week 24 of Ironman Training: Consistency is the Key
Week 25 of Ironman Training: Embracing New Challenges
Week 26 of Ironman Training: Hills, They’re What’s for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Week 27 of Ironman Training: Taking This Show on the Road (Tri-cation!)
Week 27 of Ironman Training: High Altitude Tri-cation
Week 27 of Ironman Training: High Altitude Fun Continues
Week 28 of Ironman Training: Rocky Mountain High
Week 28 of Ironman Training: Finishing Aspen Strong
Week 29 and 30 of Ironman Training: Rollercoasters, Crazies, and Comebacks
Week 31 of Ironman Training: New Heights
Week 32 of Ironman Training: 100 Days to Go
Week 33 of Ironman Training: The Art of Recovery and Balance
Week 34 of Ironman Training: The Magic of Firsts
Week 35 of Ironman Training:Chasing the M-Dot with Toughness Training
Week 36 of Ironman Training: Miles of Opportunities
Week 37 of Ironman Training: IMAZ Training Camp and Tempe Tri Race Report
Week 38 of Ironman Training: Much to Celebrate and Carpinteria Race Report
Week 39 of Ironman Training: Why I Tri and Try
Week 40 and 41 of Ironman Training: Think Like a Dog and Train Like a Mouse
Week 41 of Ironman Training: Mind over Muscle
Week 42 of Ironman Training: #533 is Savoring the Last 23 Days Until IMAZ
Week 43 of Ironman Training: The Joys of Joy and Peak Week