I wanted to swing by on this last day of 2023 to wish you all a Happy New Year and tell you how much I appreciate you. Thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read my musing about running, triathlons, and life in general, and for supporting all of my adventures, big and small. Community is what makes all these moments come together into a wave of joyful memories.
As we get ready to launch into the new year, I hope you’ll take time to savor all the gifts that 2023 handed you, especially the gift of health and fitness. No matter how old I get, I will never cease to be amazed by what our bodies can do if we treat them well and give them the opportunity to excel. Nor will I ever become numb to how much joy and gratification there is in pushing our limits to see what is possible.
Cheers to setting new goals in 2024, pushing outside our comfort zones, which is where all the magic happens, and to reveling in the beauty of that process all along the way.
I can’t wait to connect with you again in the new year and share some exciting new goals and upcoming adventures. 2024 is looking bright already!
What are you looking forward to most in the new year? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Drop them in the comments below.
Two weekends ago I had the joy of supporting and celebrating my brother and sister-in-law as they crushed their first Ironman triathlon in Tempe, AZ.
Their back story is kind of fun…over a year ago my brother Scott texted me that he was thinking about doing something big for his 60th birthday, hinting, “IM?” I casually threw out the idea of doing Ironman Arizona because I had done that race in 2016 and enjoyed the experience immensely (you can read my race report here if you want to know just how much). I don’t know what conversations took place between Scott and his wife, Jess, but when Christmas rolled around last year, Scott received a phenomenal gift to celebrate his sixth decade: an entry into Ironman Arizona. It blew him away and also gave him plenty of time to wrap his head around this epic 140.6-mile race, and fully embrace the journey ahead.
The kicker? Jess also signed herself up so they could spend much of the year training together. Crazy Brave, right? That is until you know she is a fearless fitness/running coach, and both are ultra-marathoners who have completed numerous trail races, including 100-milers with mind-bending elevation. They had never done an ultra triathlon though, and neither felt especially strong in the water. So what’s a little 2.4-mile swim and a 112-mile bike ride before you knock out a marathon?
When Jess told me that she had signed both of them up, I knew I wanted to be there for this momentous occasion, and also help celebrate Scott’s 60th birthday year.
Fast forward to two weekends ago, November 19, 2023, when it all came together. Scott and Jess drove 18-20 hours from Oregon to take part in this event, unfolding their bodies from their Jeep late Thursday afternoon. I hopped in my car in California Saturday morning and drove 7 1/2 hours straight, with one quick pit stop. I was especially giddy when I arrived because all week there had been severe weather advisories in our area, and the night before, I had resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t be able to go. The National Weather Service had issued its most ominous warning for Friday and Saturday: “Bands of heavy rain and thunderstorms, potential flooding, localized flash flooding/debris flow concerns, strong winds, hail, lightning, and isolated waterspouts.” Thankfully, it never materialized.
Arriving in Tempe in the late afternoon, I checked into the hotel and was greeted by a huge bag of treats, as well as some “Ironman love” (a new visor and water bottle), compliments of my awesome Ironpeople-in-the-making. It’s a “spectator bag for the long day ahead,” Jess smiled and downplayed my gratitude. So thoughtful.
The three of us spent the evening catching up over a nice dinner, talking about our kids, life, and logistics for race morning, which was now less than 12 hours away. They are such pros, they had everything dialed in so all I had to do was walk across the breezeway in the morning and knock on their door.
After staying up way too late figuring out what I was going to wear on race day (desert weather can be tricky, going from freezing to toasty in no time,) and how I was going to carry all my noisemakers, dry board sign and markers, sunscreen, snacks, water bottle, and layers of clothing, I set my alarm for 3:30 am. I wanted to give myself plenty of time to wake up, make coffee, and be 100% ready to go. The last thing I wanted to do was add unnecessary stress to their big day by being late or disorganized. As it turned out, they were super chill and still casually pulling together a few last-minute things when I arrived at their door promptly at 5:00am.
My first self-appointed job was to document their day, starting with having them hold a little sign I made. Then we headed to our cars and drove to a parking structure near the race venue about 10 minutes away.
While walking to the transition area where all the athletes would be based for the day, I snapped a ton of photos, both of them and the morning scene, noticing a wild assortment of emotions and energy along the way. Some people looked like they were marching to their execution chairs, others looked frazzled, a few were puffed up like they knew they were going to crush it, and most like they were just trying to keep their shit together and not forget anything. I knew those feelings well, but loved experiencing it all again from the relaxed viewpoint of a spectator. “Harness that nervous energy,” I wanted to say to them, “and use it on the course.”
While Scott and Jess were in the transition area pumping up their bike tires, donning their wetsuits, and filling up their water bottles for the day, I downed some additional much-needed coffee and chatted with others who were supporting their Ironpeople. One thing you must know about being on support crew duty is there is A LOT of standing around and waiting, which gives you ample opportunity to chat and commiserate with others.
I got a kick out talking to a guy whose wife was competing in her second Ironman. In a small world moment, I learned that they lived in the same tiny town in CO that my husband and I had lived in for nearly 30 years. You could tell this wasn’t his first support role as he was as mellow as they come while his wife was a bundle of nerves. The thing that stood out to me was the pride that shone in his eyes and the admiration that flowed from his heart. He said he could never do one of these, even though he competes in gnarly 100-mile mountain bike races in Leadville, CO, one of the highest towns in America.
In another small world moment, I chatted with a woman with a British accent whose husband was competing. Somehow we discovered that both our daughters go to the same university in San Francisco, and both are second year students who live in the same dorm building. The universe is a such a funny thing–especially the Ironman universe.
When Scott and Jess emerged clad in their wetsuits, ready to walk to the swim start, my next self-appointed job began…to hold onto Jess’ phone and post on her Instagram story throughout the day so her tribe at home could come along on the journey and be part of the fun. She thought it was a great idea, so I fully embraced it.
THE SWIM: The start of Ironman Arizona is a self-seeded 2.4-mile swim in Tempe Town Lake, which means you place yourself in the pace group with your approximated finish time. As Adult-Onset Swimmers, Scott and Jess were not overly confident in their speed, and placed themselves closer to the back of the pack than the front. I totally got that, but also knew they had trained hard and would likely surprise themselves.
Unfortunately, during the practice swim the day before, Jess had experienced her first-ever panic attack in the water, which I knew would be hard to shake from her mind, even though with the support of some caring, professional IM volunteers, she got through it and continued her swim. I reminded both of them that this was just another swim and that they had put in the work. Then I faded into the crowd and let them focus on the joy of their day together. What an incredible gift to share.
Because I can’t help myself sometimes, about ten minutes later I decided to circle back and add some levity, and also remind them they were totally capable of conquering this distance within the 2:20 cut-off time. I started hollering over the crush of swimmers: “Heyyyy Scott and Jessssss!” Then I held my neon green dry board sign high above my head with a slightly inappropriate reminder of their abilities. They looked around, trying to figure out where my voice was coming from, then were soon helped by fellow swimmers who pointed in my direction. Watching the two finally spot my message and totally bust up as they read “YOU CAN FU*KING SWIM” was pure gold. My greatest hope was that it helped them relax enough to enjoy the swim, and set a light and empowering tone for the day.
Once their wave finally entered the water I had to rely on the Ironman tracker app, which would tell me where they were in the lake and also approximate their expected finish time. I knew it would be at least an hour and a half to two hours so I made my way up to one of the bridges to get an overview of all the athletes below. Seeing the bright caps and the rhythmic blaze of arms gliding through the water brought back memories, and reminded me of what it felt like to take that huge leap of faith at the beginning of this 140.6 mile event. I couldn’t have been more excited for them.
As I looked at my tracker again, I smiled and thought, “Yes! They’re doing it! Strong and steady. Just get through this and then get on to what you love most.” The pros were already exiting the water when they were nearing the halfway point. I was having so much fun watching it all that an hour and twenty minutes zoomed by in a blink. It was mesmerizing watching all the different stroke techniques, and also slightly nerve-racking when a few athletes veered off course and nearly swam into the wall lining the side of the man-made lake.
When I looked down at the tracker again, my eyes nearly popped out of my head because it suddenly showed that Scott and Jess were just about to get out of the water, swimming at least 30-40 minutes faster than they anticipated. OMG!!! Whaaaa? FRIGGIN’ INCREDIBLE! How could I have missed them swimming under the bridge? They were clearly having some crazy race day magic! I was both stunned and exuberant. I quickly wrote my next sign, “YOU CRUSHED IT!!!” and snapped a photo, then started sprinting down to the transition area so I could try to photograph them exiting the water. My heart was pumping and my backpack was flying all over the place, but I knew they would be ecstatic with their effort so I wanted to capture that moment for them.
I stood there trying to catch my breath, squinting at each capped, wetsuit-clad swimmer, trying to discern if they were one of “my people,” but after about twenty minutes I eventually decided I must have missed them. Darn it. All I could do now was wait at the bike exit area, where they would be coming out after they changed from their swim gear into their cycling kits.
I waited and waited, worried that I had really blown it and missed that too. Then I started chatting with other people, and soon discovered that the tracker app had stopped working. Argh. “It glitched and showed our son had suddenly jumped 3/4 of a mile, then it froze,” an older gentleman told me. “Now we don’t know where he’s at.” Others were experiencing the same thing too, so I breathed a little deeper and settled in, cheering for every athlete that came through as I waited for what would likely be Scott’s and Jess’ predicted bike exit times.
Sure enough Jess came zooming out of the shoot, looking strong and happy on her bike. I was so thrilled I hadn’t missed her, I instantly became a one-woman lunatic screaming machine with my cowbell and hand clappers going in one hand and camera snapping photos in the other. “Goooooooo Jesssss!!!!! You’re crushing it!!!!!” Her big smile said everything about how her day was going. Next came Scott a few minutes later. He flashed a goofy smile and a thumbs up when I hollered, “Yesssss Scott!! Go get it!!! The bike is yours!!!” I could tell he was both happy and relieved to get through the swim, and was now ready to get after what would likely be the strongest part of his race.
BIKE: The 112-mile ride consists of three 37-mile loops heading east out of town, then venturing up the Beeline Highway. Once you get to the top of the highway, you turn around and zoom back down into town. The course isn’t technically difficult, nor insanely hilly, but it’s challenging in its own way with its gradual incline that sneaks up on your legs. It’s also mentally tough because the frontrunners are often finishing their final lap when many of the mid and back-of-the-packers are just starting. To add to that, on this day the wind decided to rear its ugly head, making for an especially challenging afternoon with 20-25 mph gusts.
Scott and Jess completed each of their laps in 2 1/4-2 1/2 hours. Every time they came back into the turn-around area the crowd helped me cheer wildly for them, and I reciprocated for their people. There were so many great stories: a mother of five who was racing while her husband and kids, all adorned in matching family t-shirts, cheered her on. Another was a 67-year old woman, Colleen, who DNF’ed in Wisconsin and was determined to finish Arizona. Her friends were all there to lift her up and get her across the finishing line, no matter what. Everyone was glued to their trackers, trying to make sure they didn’t miss their people, even though we discovered the tracker was more of an approximation that an accurate minute-by-minute feed, and it often glitched.
In between the first and second lap I was able to take a small break and walk to Starbuck’s where I sucked down a venti iced latte and nibbled on a bagel while I posted stories on Instagram. At this point I had been in motion since 3:30 am and suddenly realized how good it felt to sit down. Aaah. It instantly made me reflect back to how lucky I was to have had my husband and daughter as my #1 Support Crew for both of my Ironman races, and also my friend Kimberly and her daughter who joined them for my first one. While I remember being flooded with gratitude at the time, I can now honestly say I had no idea the level of energy it took for them to be at every possible location, and also gather up my gear afterward. They were next level and it made a huge difference. I made a mental note to tell them again how much I appreciated the way they showed up for me, especially now that I understood the epic logistics involved in all of it.
My feet and back may have been tired at that moment, but I was in my happiest of happy places. It was pure joy being able to cheer and celebrate Scott and Jess. As I shared more photos on Instagram, I realized my phone battery was already down to 5%, as was Jess’, so I hoofed it back to the parking structure to use my car chargers. The only problem is that at o’dark-thirty in the morning, I hadn’t been paying attention to where the parking structure was located. I simply followed Scott and Jess. “That was dumb,” I chastised myself as I tried to piece it back together in my head. It took me a while, but eventually I found it with the help of an Ironman volunteer who happened to be walking by and reminded me that my location might be pinned in FindMy.
After I charged our phones for as long as I could, I quickly headed back to the bike turn-around where once again I video’ed, cheered, rang my cowbell and clanked my clappers as Scott and Jess made their way through the U-turn. I sent as much positive energy off with them as I could. “You got this! Slice through the wind! You are in beast mode! Nothing is going to stop you!!!!”
After they came through for their last lap, I high-tailed it to Trader Joe’s about a mile away, to buy bouquets of flowers and chocolates for when they crossed the finish line. Then I power walked back to the parking structure another mile away to stash the flowers until later in the evening, and also charge our phones again. I was kicking myself that I had forgotten to bring my portable charger, but it felt nice to sit down for a bit and munch on some of the snacks Jess provided in my awesome spectator bag. Chocolate never tasted so good. My fitness tracker told me I had already walked over 17,000 steps.
As the sun lowered in the sky, I booked it over to the bike area again to make sure I caught Scott and Jess as they came through the “BIKE IN” chute. I could see by the pained look on the faces of many athletes that it had been a butt-kicker of a ride, and I heard multiple variations of, “Man, that wind sucked.”
When Scott came in he looked surprisingly solid and happy, and much fresher than some of the other athletes. It may have taken him a little longer than what he had planned, but it seemed like he still had a lot left in his tank. Bravo, dear brother. You’re killing your first Ironman. Jess came in a little later, and while she was smiling, I could tell she could not wait to get off her bike. She is as tough as they come so I knew the ride was a doozy. Fortunately, next up was the run, her strength.
While they made their way through the transition area, getting ready for the marathon ahead, I zoomed to the “RUN OUT” area so I could stake a spot and cheer them on as they started on their 26.2 mile journey to the finish line.
RUN: Scott came out first, stopping for a moment to high-five and tell me to cheer extra hard for Jess because she had a brutal ride. “I got her,” I reassured him. “Don’t you worry. Now you go it. You are killing it!!!” Off he went gingerly peg-leg running, reminding his body that it could do this. “That’s right, just ease into it,” I said, “You got this!”
Jess came out a few minutes later and slowed down to ask, “Is Scott doing OK? I’m worried about his feet.” I had to smile at their loving concern for each other, but I reassured her that he was doing just fine, and in fact, rocking it. Concern quickly turned to a smile, then off she went, not even looking like she’d just ridden 112 miles. Wowzer. Incredible!
The run course consists of two 13 mile loops and starts with a quick out-and-back 4-mile section. As Scott made his way back to where I was standing, he was focused, and seemed to be running gingerly, but with purpose. “Oh no, his feet are already grumpy,” I speculated. Scott battles plantar fasciitis and it returned in a big way a few weeks before the race. It looked like the cortisone injection he had gotten prior to this event wasn’t working as well as he had hoped. Then I cheered, “Yes, Scott! Strong, steady, focused. You’ve already knocked out 4 miles. You’ve got this. One mile at a time.” He looked up and half-smiled, then blew out a deep breath.
Next came Jess who looked surprisingly fresh and cheery, pumping her fists in the air and laughing at the “SLAY” sign I held as I cheered for her. Her gait and body language had Ironman written all over them. I knew she was going to cross the finish line.
The next time I saw the two was Mile 13. Jess came through first, happy, and light-footed. “Yeah, Lady!” I hollered. “You’re already done with a half marathon!!!” She smiled, but slowed down and asked me to check on Scott and try to help boost him up. She was worried about his feet. “Not a problem. I totally got this. Now keep crushing it Jess! Go, go, go!!”
Scott appeared about a minute later, running stiffly and shaking his head back and forth as though he wasn’t sure this was going to happen. “Oh hell no, I’m not letting him quit,” every fiber of my being screamed in my head. When he started walking he told me his legs were filleted. “It feels like somebody took a 2″ x 4″ and whacked me across my quads. I pushed too hard on the bike and blew them up trying to bank extra time because I knew my run would be slow.”
“Ok, let’s just keep moving forward,” I coaxed him.
Every person hits an Ironman moment during these races, and this was Scott’s, the moment he had to dig deeper than deep and convince his body to keep going.
I was being an annoying chirpy, Pollyanish sister who said, “OK, let’s focus on what feels strong right now,” to which he laughed as if there wasn’t a single thing he could think of. Then I said, “I’m going to make this easy for you so you don’t have to strain your brain. Your heart is strong. That’s where your grit and determination come from, and you have proven over and over that you can do hard things. Your other strongest muscles are your glutes. Let’s focus on engaging your glutes and take some of the strain off your quads.
“Hips forward and squeeze your glutes,” I gently commanded. “Yeah, yeah, and tall posture,” he added as he made himself get on board.
“Great. Now let’s count our steps. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8….” Shifting his focused got him out of his head long enough to get him running slightly more relaxed again. But then he started worrying about cut-off times. He told me that he needed to be to the other side of the lake by a certain time, which seemed unlikely to him. I shut that right down, playfully whacking him on the head with my hand clapper, saying “Turn that brain off and just keep moving forward. You are going to make it. Don’t waste your energy on that.”
“I repeat, you are going to make it…2, 3, 4…just keep moving forward…5, 6, 7, 8…the next aid station is right up there. You will re-fuel there then keep on going to the next one.” I was glad Scott was on a dark, quiet part of the run course as I jogged on the sidelines, clappers and phone in one hand, my bell bottom jeans swishing back and forth and my backpack bouncing up and down. Imagining how ridiculous I must have looked, I couldn’t help but chuckle as I unzipped my down jacket to let out some heat.
Between Mile 15 and 16 I stopped running and let Scott soldier on by himself, and also waited for Jess to circle back so I could snap more photos of her. One of the coolest moments of the evening came when not only did I see Jess heading toward me, but she and Scott were now both running together. What a beautiful gift to each other, and what a memorable way to share this journey.
It all came together like magic. Jess was faster on the swim by 13 minutes so she got a bit of a head start on the bike. Scott was faster in transition and the bike by 23 minutes so he caught up with her and rode with her a fair amount, then finished the last lap faster so he got a head start on the run. At this point in the night, now past 8:30 pm, their paths were completely in sync. I made sure to share this sweet moment with their Instagram tribe.
When I left them at Mile 18, I yelled, “The next time I see you will be at the FINISH LINE!!!! YOU ARE GOING TO BE IRONMEN!!!! KEEP GOING!!!”
After that, I raced back to the car to recharge our phones again, wolf down some popcorn, and grab the flowers and chocolate before heading to the finish line.
If there’s one thing you should know about an Ironman finish line is that it is magic. The long red carpet, the pulsing music, the video screen overhead, the announcer calling out each finisher’s name, the crowd madly cheering, high-fiving, and celebrating their success as if it were their own. Families and friends losing their minds. Each athlete finishing in their own special way: some throwing their fists in the air, others crying or letting out a primal scream, some sending thanks upward to their god for this miracle of finishing, some walking, others somehow sprinting, skipping or leaping across the line. I cheered for each and every person as if they were my people. I couldn’t have been happier for them, especially the ones I recognized from earlier in the race.
I continued to obsessively check the tracker to see when Scott and Jess would be arriving. Four miles to go. “Come on you two, I’m sending you every ounce of positive energy I own.” It was now nearing 10:30 pm and with every fifteen minutes or so, they got another mile closer, which also meant the lump in my throat grew bigger. Then it was two miles. When it got down to the last mile, I flashed back to what that felt like–being so dang close, yet feeling like it was still a million miles away. Being exhausted, but feeling more alive than ever before. I wondered what Scott and Jess were feeling.
Then suddenly I no longer needed to wonder because there they were entering the chute and heading down the middle of the red Ironman carpet!
I was euphoric for them. “Yeah Scott and Jess!!!!!!!! You did it!!!!! You are Ironmen!!!!!! I knew you would do it!!!!! Wooooooooooooooohoooooooo!!!!!!” Scott was hobble running, taking it all in, then pumped his fists in the air before high-fiving several cheering spectators along the chute. Jess smiled from ear to ear, beaming as they ran side-by-side and heard their names called out.
Drops of pride and joy quickly filled my eyes as I saw them cross the finish line, briefly turning toward each other with a sweet glance that said, “We just did this really hard thing together.” What a moment. What a day. What a gift.
When Scott held up his finisher’s shirt, I wanted to holler in a way only a bratty little sister could get away with, “I told you so!” 🙂
As support crew, it was such an honor and a gift to be part of their Ironman journey, knowing all that went into getting to the starting line, and all it took to cross the finish line. The stats on my Apple watch may have reflected how my my body felt at 11:30pm (standing for 19 hours, taking nearly 30,000 steps, and logging a half marathon), but the joy in my heart could never be measured.
Stay tuned for my next post in which I will share Scott’s and Jess’ perspective on participating in their first Ironman, and let you read some of their excellent advice for newbies or those contemplating their first Ironman.
Those are the words I repeated over and over throughout the day.
Also, “Breathe and believe,” which is something I had written on my aerobar hydration bottle ahead of the race so I would have it front and center throughout the bike portion.
I knew I’d have to rely on mantras and other mental toughness strategies at least a few times during this race, but Ironman California proved to be even more epic than I had imagined, even though it was a flat course and I had trained for it for ten months.
Before I share the details of the race though, I want to express my deepest gratitude for all the good things this year of training has brought. So much joy in pushing forward, doing the hard work of healing broken wings, and rediscovering how much fun it is to push outside my comfort zone. I couldn’t have done this without the unwavering support of my number #1 support crew, Jeffrey and Olivia, and my incredible coach, Matthew Tague. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
My Iron Support Crew Jeffrey and OliviaWhile I was still running my fab peeps collected all my gear from the stadium so I wouldn’t have to go get it after the race.My incredible coach, Matt
Now to the race…IMCA was massive, with nearly 3,000 participants. The transition area was held in Sutter Health Park, a large baseball stadium near the Sacramento River. The day prior to the event we racked our bikes and dropped off our bike and run bags. Experiencing the scale of the transition area made me both chuckle and contemplate the best way to tackle this beast during the race. I made sure to at least memorize my row and identify landmarks in the stadium, knowing I’d be fuzzy after the swim and bike.
RACE MORNING: I awoke at 2:00 am filled with excitement. Race day had finally come!!! I drank my beloved coffee (aka elixir of the gods), ate breakfast (not easy), stretched, foam rolled and got my mind and body ready for the long day ahead. Jeffrey and Olivia arose at 3:00 am to take me to the transition area at 4:00.
After arriving at the stadium, receiving good luck send-off love and hugs from my peeps, I stood in line with other early bird athletes before beginning the long walk down to where all the bikes were racked at the bottom of the stadium. There I pumped up my bike tires, filled my bottles, and double-checked my gear. Next I dropped off my “Personal Needs” bags with volunteers a block away. Each athlete has a bag they can access half way through the bike course and another one for the run course. You try to put things in that will keep you going if/when things get tough (spare tube, food, band-aids, chamois cream, Advil, arnica, Tums, sunglasses, long-sleeved shirt, Red Vines, etc.).
Next I boarded a shuttle bus at 5:00 to get to the start of the swim on the American River. I was happy I got on one of the earliest buses because I heard later the shuttle situation turned nightmarish, with some people arriving just minutes before the start of the race, and some even after the race started. This was Sacramento’s inaugural IMCA, so first year event kinks will certainly be worked out for next year.
I tried to keep warm while waiting for the 7:00 am swim start, hopping up and down and from foot to foot, still shivering uncontrollably, even wearing my wetsuit. No matter, I enjoyed meeting other athletes and sharing our nerves and excitement as we anticipated finally getting this party started.
I also heard numerous stories about last year’s Ironman California, which was cancelled just as the race was about to start. The story goes that everyone was standing in their wetsuits waiting to enter the water when a massive bomb cyclone hit. The torrential rain and wind made it too dangerous for the event to take place. All I could think about was the time, energy, effort, and finances all those athletes (and the Race Director) had invested, especially those who had traveled from overseas. It was devastating, but a year later, those who came back had great humor and perspective about it all. True IronSpirit on display.
SWIM: Those stories made me especially thankful when my wave finally started at 7:35. I was also grateful that instead of a chaotic mass start, it was quite civilized, with five athletes walking across the timing mats and entering the water every 5 seconds. With the humidity and cool air temperature, the 65 degree water temperature felt nice.
All in all, it was a great swim, even with the small yellow buoys many people struggled to see, and the one large orange turn buoy at the convergence of the American River and the Sacramento River that drifted in the water so we had to try to swim upstream a bit to get around it. With the river current, which felt oddly imperceptible most of the way, every athlete I heard from PR’ed by insane amounts. I took nearly a half hour off my last Ironman swim, which was an uplifting way to start the day.
TRANSITION 1: The transition from the river back to the the bikes was about .75 miles up long ramps, then on to concrete, then across the street, and finally on to rough textured flooring in the stadium. This pretty much erased all the time saved in the river, but how can you complain after a swim like that? I was happy I had placed some old shoes by the swim exit in the dark hours of the morning, because running barefoot on concrete seemed like a really bad idea after having had a foot injury not that long ago. Although I had little hope they’d still be there when I got out of the water, after the wetsuit strippers peeled my wetsuit off for me, I spotted them (!!!) and did a happy dance before I slipped them on and headed back to the stadium, but not before soaking up a joyful moment seeing Jeffrey and Olivia and hearing them cheer their hearts out. I love my people! The. Best. Support Crew. Ever.
Inside the top deck of the stadium, I grabbed my bike bag with all my gear and ran all the way over to the changing tent on the other side of the stadium.
After quickly drying off, slipping on my tri top, arm sleeves, and a light wind jacket (trying to warm up after the swim, and not wanting to waste energy being cold on the bike), I donned my helmet and glasses, jammed my wetsuit and swim gear in a bag, then ran down to the bottom of the stadium once again to drop my bag and get my bike. This time I was shuffling in bike shoes. Good times. All told, we ran an extra 1.15 miles in T1 before we even mounted our bikes. We all laughed about it (some cursed), but in the end, it was all part of the challenge.
BIKE: Next came the real challenge of the day–the wind. It had been perfect conditions the day before, and it was once again the day after the race, but on event day, there were sustained winds of 20-22 mph with gusts of 32-37 mph coming from all directions as we made our way from the city out into the open farmland area along the delta. It turned the two loop 112-mile ride into a sufferfest at times. If it had been a headwind one way and a tailwind the other, that would have been much less brutal, but this came head-on, sideways, head-on again, a tiny bit from behind, then sideways again and head-on all the way back. Yeehaw!
Without the wind, it would have been a lovely ride, as it meandered along the delta, through a pretty rural area on mostly nicely paved roads. I tried to look up and soak in the views as much as possible, and also marvel at some of the other athletes–especially the blind athlete powering along on a tandem and the elite athletes blasting past like rockets. At times though, it felt like we were riding through a historic photo of the Dust Bowl with dust swirling and tumbling, bottles and debris flying from aid stations onto the course. I have never gripped my aerobars so hard for so long. As I write this, my jaw is still sore from clenching my teeth for hours. I was just thankful I didn’t get blown over, which nearly happened on more than a few occasions. I saw several bad crashes during the day on the narrow two-lane road we navigated, which on this day did not feel quite adequate for the number of athletes, especially with steep drop offs in places, and a long section of rough road through Babel Slough, which was littered with broken hydration bottles throughout the day when cyclists hit a pothole hard and launched their hydration system from their bikes.
There are many things you can’t control in an Ironman, and weather is one of them. The only thing you can do is focus on what you can control–things like your attitude, your fueling, and clothing choice. Because it was often hard to safely ride with one hand and try to eat with the other, I ended up stopping more than I had planned. The last thing I wanted to do was take out another rider by losing control of my bike.
The toughest part mentally was knowing we had two loops to do when the first one was a beast. I was grateful Coach Matt and I had talked on the phone the day before the race. He told me to keep in mind that when things get tough, remember it won’t last forever. I repeated this over and over in my head as well as, “Just keep moving forward.” I was also happy that he reminded me to focus on maintaining a moderate to high cadence rather than grinding out the miles in a harder gear, which would have torn up my legs for the run.
Absolute joy and relief to finally be finishing the bike portion.
The volunteers were the biggest heroes of this day. They were out there for hours for all of us, always smiling, helpful, encouraging, even when it was unpleasant. I thanked them profusely every time I stopped. Not only them, but people who were just out there for the day cheering us on. One trio of older women will forever be seared in my mind. They were standing on a corner where there was absolutely nothing around them (the area reminded me of the scene at the end of Castaway when Tom Hanks is delivering a Fedex package to a woman in Texas where there’s absolutely nothing but open space and dusty roads–IYKYK). Their hair was whipped up into crazy ‘dos from the wind, but their hooting and hollering as well as their bright lipstick, bright shirts and even brighter smiles lifted everyone out of their misery as they passed by them. Just incredible.
As I mentioned, the course was flat, which I thought would take 6.5 hours on a good day, 7 hours on an average day, and maybe 7.5 on a tough day. It ended up taking me 8 hours 23 minutes. My experience was similar to many other athletes. Even though it was soul-sucking at times, the positive part is that I never completely fell apart. It was just a grind. I stuck to my plan, focused on fuel and hydration, kept my head down, and just kept going until I got it done. Having said that, I can honestly say I’ve never been so happy in my entire life to be off my bike.
TRANSITION 2: Back in transition, I gleefully re-racked my bike and re-set my mind. The wind was still a factor, but my feet were back on solid ground, so I was feeling positive, even if I had expended far more energy on the bike than I had planned. Running shoes on, fuel belt on, visor on, it was now “Time to suck it up Buttercup, and get this thing done.”
RUN: Seeing my people again and having Olivia run alongside me for a few steps while cheering me on, helped lift me up, as did knowing there were only 26 miles left to go. As the sun set low, I settled into my run pace, which also included walking for a minute every mile.
This run course was a toughie mentally, especially since I started it as the sun was nearly setting, and there were few easy places for spectators to cheer after the first few miles. I’m guessing earlier finishers may have enjoyed the run much more than I did, but I did try to focus on the positives as much as possible, like the pretty sunset, the amazing volunteers, and all the other athletes overcoming their demons and powering on like champs. It became a huge stretch though, as we were sent down several long “out-and-backs” on dark, desolate paths through some sketchy areas of the city (along the freeway and in parks with encampments and no lighting). I was actually humming the banjo song from the creepy 1970’s Deliverance movie through parts of it. Ha ha. You just have to laugh, dig deep and keep on going.
I was glad I had brought a headlamp and another mini clip-on light, along with my disco shoe lights, which were a big hit. Many people didn’t because we were told it would be well-lit. My headlamp died at about mile 15 though, as did my Garmin. It was not a good tech day. At this point, a holy crap moment exploded in my head: I took so long on the bike, I need to stay totally focused to get this thing done in time, no matter what. I never imagined I’d be remotely close to the cut-off, but here I was, and without a watch, I had to keep asking volunteers what time it was, then calculate the pace I needed to keep to finish by midnight. Just keep moving forward.
My stomach was unhappy most of the run, having consumed Gatorade and gels for eight hours on the bike, along with salt pills, bananas, pretzels, dates and a PBJ halfway though. Ack. Balancing what and how much to consume on the bike in preparation for the run is an artform, which I clearly still need to master as the fourth discipline of endurance triathlon–especially when riding for so much additional time. I mostly chewed gum, then Tums and drank water on the run until I reached an aid station with chicken broth (THE best), then Coke, then Red Vines, which I had put in my Personal Needs bag. It was a low moment when the aid stations ran out of both Coke and Chicken broth. I tried to go back to Gatorade, but it made me almost lose my cookies. Mind over matter. Just keep moving. You are getting there!
The final push around Mile 20 took us past an elaborate homeless encampment in town playing lively music for us, which was fun and surprising. Music makes everything better. Then we reached the Capitol Mall area where the final 4 miles included multiple laps around the mall, passing near the finish line twice where you could hear the crowds, music, and announcers, but knowing there was still a long way to go, then down a weird little out-and-back in some random alley twice, then FINALLY down the finish chute.
Thankfully the throngs of people cheering as I entered the chute made all the weirdness of the run suddenly melt away.
There is nothing quite as magical as the finish line of an Ironman and hearing Mike Reilly (aka the Voice of Ironman) call out your name: “BECKY AARONSON YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!”
This day may not have unfolded exactly how I was expecting, but it definitely gave me everything I needed–the joy of reclaiming my fitness, the empowerment of pushing through and finishing no matter what, and the thrill of adding a beautiful exclamation point to an incredible journey this year. Mission accomplished.
Thank you to all of you who cheered me on from near and far, and who made a difference in so many ways. And thank you to all the volunteers and event organizers. My gratitude runs deep.
I’m sorry my blog has been silent for so long. I wish I could say it’s because I’ve been off on some far-flung adventure, but the truth is I’ve been in a funk. I don’t want to get political, but the madness that has enveloped our country has left me frustrated beyond belief and struggling to weave together sentences I’ve felt worthy of sharing, knowing what readers want most is to be inspired.
While my head and heart still continue to wrestle with a tangle of emotions, the one thing that consistently unravels all the BS and brings me back to my usual happy center is my fitness.
I’m sure you know what I mean when I say pure joy washes over me in the simple act of moving my body, breathing hard and sweating it out. It’s the perfect reminder that no matter what’s going on in the world, there will always be remarkable moments of aaaaaaaah that fill me with gratitude and remind me that life is freaking great.
Here’s what else is keeping me happy and sane….
1) Breathing in crisp, fresh air and reveling in the beauty around me, and exhaling all traces of the day’s latest toxic news. Being a speck in the universe always has a way of keeping things in perspective.
2) Setting goals–especially ones that make me stretch beyond my perceived boundaries. One in particular has me fired up right now–trying to qualify for Boston, and I’m happy to report I’ve got Matthew Tague in my corner again coaching me for a late spring marathon. My gut tells me this is the year to finally make this Boston thing happen, and I’m happily working my butt off to get my feet moving faster again after a year of Ironman endurance training. I think I can. I think I can. Bring. It. On.
3) Celebrating tiny victories like choosing a healthy kale, raspberry smoothie with protein over a vanilla latte, or a platter full of veggies during the Super Bowl instead of a pizza; or dumping Facebook off my phone to distance yourself from the craziness; or getting in bed early to immerse myself in a phenomenal book instead of watching mind-numbing television, knowing I’ll be far more inspired and also sleep better.
4) Coaching young runners and being surrounded by unrelenting joy and pint-size goodness. Kids always have a way of showing you how to be in the moment and enjoy what you’re doing while you’re doing it. There’s no overthink anything. There’s just unbridled energy and enthusiasm as they take on new challenges, and a huge sense of accomplishment afterward when they realize they can do hard things.
5) Acting like my shoe size, having a blast running in the pouring rain and reconnecting with my Oregon roots.
My poor dog wasn’t born with webbed feet like me, so although he’s a good sport, he still usually gives me “the look” on days like this.
6) Racing! While I always know it’s going to be a sufferfest, racing gives me a chance to push it hard, see where I’m at with my fitness and also celebrate our running community. There’s no happier place to be than the end of a race when everyone is flooded with endorphins and reveling in camaraderie while celebrating a sense of accomplishment, knowing they’ve started the day off in all the best ways.
7) Surrounding myself with a multitude of badass athletes in our local running community and being inspired by their energy and unstoppable attitudes. There’s no better way to keep you focused on being the best version of yourself than Continue reading →
When my coach, Matt, told me I better eat my Wheaties because we’d be climbing hills on our ride the next day, I was both humored and shaking in my boots flip-flops. Hills often bite me in the butt, so I know I need to work on them A LOT. At least he warned me though, so I could get mentally pumped for this one.
After shaking off my cobwebs and my grumpies from lack of sleep and logistical challenges the next morning, we set out on a 2 1/2 hour ride in the cool, gray marine layer. It was perfect climbing weather, although Matt quickly corrected me: “All weather is perfect climbing weather.” Bam. LOL. Love this guy.
I followed him up and down hills, zigging and zagging through a maze of back roads in Montecito, all the while trying to push it, yet keep my heart rate below a certain number. It wasn’t speedy by any stretch of the imagination (except the downhills), but that wasn’t the point. It was to steadily gobble up hills and build strength.
It was by far my favorite ride so far on this journey to Ironman Arizona. I can’t even explain why, but I found singular joy in the process, sucking air BIG TIME up all those hills and being surrounded by Santa Barbara’s natural beauty in the hills behind Montecito. I was grateful to be pushed, especially by somebody whose passion is cycling. I didn’t stop to take any pictures this time. Sorry, I was too busy pedaling, trying to keep up with Matt. Perhaps next time.
When I got home, I was whooped, which is always a great feeling. Mission accomplished. At least until the 5-mile run scheduled for later in the day.
Whenever I’m feeling wobbly from training, this is the place I go–my workout wall. I look at all the training days I’ve put in this year and remind myself that each workout has added another drop of strength in my Ironman bucket. This simple act helps to bolster my “Hell YES I CAN” attitude, even on the toughest days.
After my hilly morning ride, my evening run was slated for a course with rolling hills (are getting the theme this week), so I chose Mountain Drive, a gorgeous road on the hillside relatively close to my house. Here are a few snaps.
Love this mailbox. The butt opens for mail delivery.
Matt also had me doing hill repeats on one of my runs last weekend. Booyah! Bring. It. On.
In the midst of my 7+mile run., I did 5 x 2 minutes hill repeats up Rodeo Road off of Turnpike, pushing hard up and jogging back down. Then I finished with a couple miles on a flatter road. That was after a 25-mile bike ride. Seriously fun stuff.
I needed a little energy gel for that one, although more and more I’m starting wonder, “What the hell is in all this stuff I’m putting into my body?” Ack!
Swimming this week has been up and down. Some days it has felt smooth, other days…well…sigh…The only thing to do is to keep at it. Relentlessness has a way of quashing weaknesses and solidifying strength. I have to give a shout out to my daughter who came to the pool with me earlier this week to swim laps. After she was done, she photographed and videotaped me swimming, which was extremely helpful. I’m still working on not crossing over, keeping my head down and elbows up. I think I can. I think I can. As soon as I publish this blog post I’ll be heading back to the pool. Send me some good swim vibes! 🙂
Inspiration: if you’re on the hunt for an inspiring read this summer, I highly recommend Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington’s autobiography, A Life Without Limits. At the end of the book, she sums up her thoughts: “If there is one thing I have learned, particularly in my life as an athlete, it is that our limits may not be where we think they are. And, even when we think we’ve finally reached them, the next time we go there exploring we often find that they’ve moved again.”
Okay, I’m off to the pool to keep at it. I hope you enjoy your day in every way, my fabulous friends. Thanks for your relentless support and enthusiasm. It means everything. Like so many of you, I continually strive to be a person who doesn’t know how to quit.
Until next time…
xo Becky
PS: Exciting things are happening next week with my training and another fun summer adventure. Stay tuned…
PSS: As always, if you missed any of my previous posts about my Ironman journey, you can click on any of the links below.
Taking on a new adventure always involves trust on some level– whether it’s trust in yourself, trust in others or trust in the process. Ironman training requires all three, and that’s what I’m focusing on this week. Now that I’m fully into week ten of training, I’m trusting more and more in my abilities to pull this off in November. I’m visualizing myself crossing the finish line and seeing myself in various parts of the race, believing that I’ll find strength and extra fuel in the tank when I need it most.
The ability to trust comes from putting in the work each day. Each mile or lap completed adds another drop of confidence in the “HELL YES I CAN, and WILL” bucket. It also comes from trusting your coach and the process, even if it’s different than what you imagined or what you’ve done in the past. Trust is opening yourself up wide to possibility and believing with every fiber of your being that you will succeed.
Here’s what this week’s schedule looks like. It’s a recovery week so it’s lighter than usual, then next week it will ramp back up.
Monday: Swim 2400y, Bike 75 minutes Tuesday: Run 60 minutes Wednesday: Swim 2500y, Bike 60 minutes Thursday: Run 40 minutes, strength/Pilates Friday: Swim 1500y, Run 60 minutes Saturday: Metric Century ride in Solvang (70-miler) Sunday: Rest
Happy Girl: Last week I mentioned my growing pains from pushing my body in new directions. Even though I’m diligent with my recovery (good nutrition, stretching, foam rolling, resting, etc.), I knew a massage is what I needed most to loosen up my IT Band, shoulders and psoas. Yesterday my lovely and talented massage therapist, Stephanie Trager, worked her magic, and batta boom, I’m ready to roll again. Thank you Stephanie!!
Gear I’m loving this week: I’ve talked about this before, but small details can make a big difference in endurance training. This week I bought a new swim cap. Big whoop, I know. But this one is for long hair (I didn’t even know they existed until I read it on the Women for Tri FB forum), and it has made a huge difference in eliminating a minor annoyance when I swim. My old ones would start to slip off after every so often so I’d have to stop and adjust them. A new cap that stays in place, topped off with goggles that no longer drive me insane or leave me looking like I’ve been punched out (Aqua Sphere Vista), this mamacita is finally settling into her swimming.
Breakthroughs: As you know, swimming has been a huge challenge for me, but I am slowly making progress. This week I finally broke a 2:00 100y pace, which is still slow by speedy people’s standards, but it’s an improvement for me, especially since it was done in a 25 y pool, which involves three turns. Small victories. That’s what keeps me going, so join me in a virtual high five this week! Woot! I also got a tiny bit faster on my bike. Double Woot!
Highlights: This week I enjoyed my first ride on Gibraltar Road, a steep, scenic road in the mountains of Santa Barbara. I’ve heard about this road for years, but never ventured up until now. Silly, silly me for waiting so long. It was spectacular. I’ll be honest, I was bit intimidated by the thought of tackling Gibraltar, always hearing people talk about as if it were Mt. Everest, and also reading about gnarly crashes on it, but I trusted that I was ready and able to check it out. I only went part way up because I’m sticking to my training plan, but it was not nearly as difficult as I thought it was going to be. Definitely a good challenge, but well within my abilities, and well worth the effort. I’m already looking forward to doing it again.
The view part way up Gibraltar Road.
Challenges: Last week I shared my lactate threshold test with you (click HERE if you missed it). Now that we have the numbers, Mike has me running at a much slower pace than I’m accustomed to, to keep my heart rate below 140 (Zone 2). I never imagined this would be difficult. In the past, I’d just go out and run, cruise along at a comfortable pace, and enjoy my time on the road or trail, not giving much thought to my HR. During my last run on Tuesday, however, I kept having to slow down, and I never got into a comfortable rhythm. This will take some practice and patience, and will take reminding myself to trust the process, as it feels completely counterintuitive, even though intellectually, I know running in Zone 2 is good for building aerobic fitness, fat-burning capacity, and endurance. Ooooooohhmmm.
At least I had this to look at while I was forcing myself to slow down on my run.
Looking forward to: This Saturday I’m participating in the Solvang Metric Century, a 70-mile organized, supported ride north of Santa Barbara. Don’t ask me how they figured that math, but I’m just going with it. This will be 20 miles farther than I’ve ridden in years, and once again, I’m trusting in my ability to do it, and enjoy the process. Treating it like a long training ride will give me a good opportunity to practice my fueling and hydration for race day. Think sunny thoughts! The forecast is calling for rain (only 30% though).
Smile Train Update: It was an exciting week in the fundraising department. We raised another small bundle to help fund more kiddos for corrective cleft surgery. We’re almost half way to funding our 9th child! Thank you Kim Shlens, Whitney Bruice, Tuckman Family, McNees Family, and Laura & Chad Bergerson for your helping making a difference in the lives of children. We are now at 42% of our goal of $5,000, which will fund 20 kids for surgery. If you’d like to be a rock star supporter, please CLICK HERE TO DONATE. And don’t forget, anybody who donates $250 or more (the cost of one new smile) will be entered into a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card. If you donate $100-$249 you’ll be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift card.
Thank you once again for all the support you’ve shown me over these last ten weeks, whether it’s words of encouragement, advice, “likes” on my blog showing me you’ve swung by, or simply sharing in the process. Trust in myself also grows from surrounding myself with people like you who support me and my goal, and have no doubt that I will reach it.
xo Becky
And as always, if you missed any of my previous posts about how this big Ironman adventure started, you can click on the links below:
This week my body is definitely letting me know that I’m training for an Ironman. Multiple things hurt in varying degrees. LOL. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not injured, nor is anything keeping me from training. I just have lots of little aches I like to call “growing pains” as I continue to grow and push myself in new ways. All I have to do is remember why I started this big adventure and the aches quickly turn into motivation as they remind me that I’m moving in the right direction.
This week I swam farther than I’ve ever swum (swim, swam, swum?), which is exciting, especially since it felt fairly good. Last week I also rode longer than I’ve ridden in years, and I also hit double-digits on my long run. It makes sense why ice, ibuprofen and my foam roller have become my BFFs. It will be temporary though, as I keep working at getting stronger and fitter, and make sure I spend a little (0r a lot of) time each day working on flexibility.
Here’s This Week’s Schedule:
Monday: Swim 2900 y (1.65 miles)
Tuesday: Run Lactate Threshold Test, followed by 75 minute bike ride
Wednesday: Swim 1000y, yoga (aaaah), run 30 minutes
Thursday: Kate’s strength & stretch class, then a long spinning class (75 minutes)
Friday: 3.5 hour bike ride followed by 60-65 minute run off the bike
Saturday: Swim 2000 y
Sunday: off
A few pictures from last weekend’s long run…I felt incredibly spoiled last weekend to be able to spend my Saturday morning running along More Mesa and other points along the coastline. Even when my legs felt like bricks from my previous day’s mega swim-bike-run workout, I couldn’t help but feel like one lucky chiquita.
The view along More Mesa during my 10-miler.
After every long run I try to soak my legs in the ocean–Mother Nature’s perfect ice bath.
Lactate Threshold Test: Tuesday I did something new–a lactate threshold test, which was both interesting and challenging. Many of you already know what this is, but for those who don’t, it’s simply a test where you run on the treadmill, starting slowly, then increasing your speed every three minutes while somebody pricks your finger to draw blood and measure the amount of lactate. At the same time, your heart rate is monitored and you are asked what your perceived effort is on a scale of 1-20. You do this until you can no longer continue.
The information gathered helps you and your coach pinpoint the best training zones for your workouts. I did my test at The Lab with Bentley Nunes leading the way. He was awesome, by the way.
Here’s what The Lab’s website says about the test.
Here are some pictures that Kate took for me. She also videotaped me too, which was helpful in seeing things I could improve on with my form. Thank you Kate!
Bentley looking like mad scientist. 🙂
And that’s a wrap. The final blood draw after I said “Uncle.” Yowza, that was a good challenge!
I’m looking forward to seeing the results, and using them to train smart, then doing the test again several months from now to see if a change in my fitness raises my threshold.
What’s in store: Tomorrow is my long aerobic day once again (I can’t believe how quickly this week has flown). I’ll be riding for 3 1/2 hours, then I’ll run for an hour afterward. I’m thankful that I’ve been able to get a little more sleep so hopefully I won’t have another insane workout like last Friday’s (click HERE if you missed that embarrassing day).
Smile Train Fundraising Update: Thank you Amy and Jenni for your generous contributions to my Smile Train fundraising page last week!!! We are getting close to funding our 7th child for life-changing cleft palate/lip surgery!! Woohoo!! If you haven’t already, I hope you’ll consider making a contribution. A 7th new smile would be something to celebrate, for sure. Here’s the link: http://support.smiletrain.org/site/TR/AthleticsEvent/General?px=3630403&pg=personal&fr_id=1701
And as always, if you missed any of my previous posts about how this big Ironman adventure started, you can click on the links below:
Finally, a big shout out to several awesome people who just keep helping me get stronger each week and who help me figure out lots of small details, which make big differences…Coach Mike, Killer Kate, Erin, Kristine, Bruce, Jenni, and Mary Jo (the lady in the pool who gives me unsolicited swimming advice–I’m learning so much from her!).
It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly two months since I started training for Ironman Arizona! Each week has been fun and challenging, and super gratifying as I’ve knocked out each day’s workout–sometimes just barely and other times feeling like a million bucks.
One thing I’ve noticed as I’ve slowly gotten stronger is that I’ve also gotten more impatient with myself. I feel like I should be doing more, going farther and definitely going faster, even though at the end of each week I’m spent.
When my inner competitor needles me, I know I need to holler back, “Hold it there, sister. Instead of being in the moment and training where you’re at, you’re trying to jump ahead of yourself and train where you want to be. That’s where you get yourself into trouble with injuries. Don’t even think about it.”
I also remind myself that I’m still in the base training phase, and that helps me chill out–at least little. I know I have to trust the process, which has a slow, deliberate build-up. I WILL get stronger and faster as each week progresses…if I’m stay smart about it.
Here’s this week’s schedule:
Monday: Swim 2800 y (1.59 miles), then Kate’s strength & stretch class
Tuesday: Run 75 minutes, followed by 1 hour bike ride
Wednesday: My favorite yoga class (yay!!!), then 1 spin class followed by a 50 minute ride outside
Thursday: Swim 2000 y, then Kristine’s Pilates class
Friday: Mini tri–1000 y swim, 4 hour bike ride with hills, Run 30 min off the bike (I’m heading out the door right now to go enjoy this one!)
Saturday: Run 1 h 40 min.
Sunday: off
Highlights: To keep myself from focusing too much on my pace/speed, I decided to go for a run on Jesusita Trail. It’s exactly what I needed. You simply cannot run as fast on trails as you can on a road, so it’s a perfect way to relax and enjoy your surroundings, focusing on where you are and what you’re doing rather than what you think you should be doing. Aaahh.
Progress: While swimming is definitely still a work-in-progress, I’ve turned the corner on it mentally. I no longer dread going to the pool. Instead, I’m starting to look forward to it, which is a HUGE difference from where I started eight weeks ago.
Another bike fit: Bruce at Hazard’s dropped my handlebars another 1.5 cm and moved my seat forward another 1.5 cm as we slowly get my road bike more tri-ready. These small shifts may seem inconsequential, but it’s part of the slow process of getting to where we’ll eventually be (notice a theme here?). By going slow and letting my body adapt to each change, I’m less likely to get injured. We’ll be adjusting it again next week.
Fun stuff: I joined the Santa Barbara Tri Club last week, something I’ve contemplated many times over the years, but never followed through with for one reason or another. I’m excited I finally took the plunge as I can already tell it’s going to be a fun group, and I’ll learn a lot and become a better athlete by training with them.
Looking forward: I signed up for my first century ride this week too! I’ll be riding in the Solvang Metric Century on March 12th to continue building my base and enjoy riding with other people. Riding solo for 4 hours at a time can get a bit tedious so this will be a treat. The next one I do will be a full century, which will help build my confidence for the 112 mile bike portion of Ironman AZ.
Cheers: Congratulations to Randy Glick for being the lucky winner of my drawing for The Boys in the Boat! Thank you for your commitment to supporting my Ironman journey and Smile Train!! Randy has already read the book, so he wanted me to give it away to the next supporter. The next person to donate to my fundraising page will receive my copy of this book. Here’s the link to donate: http://support.smiletrain.org/site/TR/AthleticsEvent/General?px=3630403&pg=personal&fr_id=1701
Cheers to my supporters and to my Team Empower teammates!
Okay, it’s time for me to head out the door to continue building my base. Looking forward to today’s long workout! Woot! Hope you all have a great Friday!
xo
Becky
As always, if you missed any of my previous posts about how this big Ironman adventure started, you can click on the links below:
Heading out on last Saturday’s beautiful, windy 3-hour ride.
Okay people, where did January go? I can’t believe an entire month has already flown by. It seems like yesterday the ball was dropping in Times Square. But here we go….
HELLO FEBRUARY!
And HELLO Week Five of Ironman training! As we like to say around here, Keep Calm and Bring it On!
I’ll be honest, last week was a toughie for me–mostly logistically–squeezing in workouts between lots of different obligations–from junior high school visits to mid-week ballet performances and chaperoning a group of international dancers, to driving back and forth to LA twice in one week. Throw in the usual, everyday things and the hours disappeared faster than you can say swim-bike-run.
The circles under my eyes may have grown a little darker last week (also thanks to my damn goggles), but I did get it done. Every single workout. BAM. BAM. AND DOUBLE BAM.
And now I’m looking forward to what this week holds in store.
Here’s my schedule:
Monday: Rest (♥♥♥), gentle yoga am, core & stretching pm. Tuesday: Run 50 minutes, Killer Kate’s strength & stretch class, swim 600 y, core & stretching pm. Wednesday: Swim 2250 y, bike 2 hours moderate, run 20 minutes off the bike, core & stretching pm. Thursday: rest, core & stretching pm. Friday: Run 40 minutes, swim 2400 y, core & stretching pm. Saturday: Run 70 minutes, core & stretching pm. Sunday: Bike 3 hours with some hills, core & stretching pm.
Challenges: The weather got a tad insane last weekend. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like 3 feet of snow falling or anything like that, but we had some gnarly wind and a boatload of rain in a short amount of time (thank you El Nino). It was the kind of weather that took down a massive eucalyptus tree at my gym.
Normally I do my long runs on Saturday after coaching our Coyote kiddos, then do my long bike/run combo on Sunday, but I decided to switch it up this weekend to avoid Sunday’s unfavorable forecast for riding. And boy am I glad I did. Sunday’s rainy run was epic! It was the kind of run that was so ridiculously miserable, it was hilarious. Pelting sideways rain, puddles as big and wide as lakes, and the #*!&% wind blasting. It was awesome Iron training, and even though it was brutal much of the way, I was happy to be handed this crazy gift. If weather like this shows up on race day, I will be prepared.
It was when my phone started beeping a National Weather Emergency Alert that I stopped to see what might be headed my way. It was only a flood warning so I snapped this ridiculous picture for posterity and kept going.
Not surprisingly, I saw more than a handful of runners out there logging their miles, including my Iron friend, Jenni Miller! Go girl. Lake Placid will be no match for you!
Credit: Real Time Runners
Gratitude: I know I’ve mentioned my peeps before, but my husband deserves an extra shout out this week. The support he showered me with over the weekend is something I’ll always remember. First, he changed his plans to go to LA for an important photo/art event he attends every year, so that I could go on a long bike ride on Saturday (instead of rainy Sunday). Not only that, he did all the taxi’ing of our daughter to and from her dance rehearsals and helped her organize a big school project. Then on Sunday after my loony run he had a hot bubble bath waiting for me and a hot, spicy lunch. It was such a sweet surprise. Love and support like this makes this journey all the more memorable. My friend Jenni commented, “Sounds like you have a good iron family!!!” She couldn’t be more accurate. Although I’d change that to a GREAT Iron family. Believe me, I don’t take it for granted!
This is one of my favorite birthday gifts I received this year. Thank you Abraham Family for having my back and keeping me fueled!
Favorite gear this week: While I’ve been training in a lot of headwinds lately, Tailwind Endurance Fuel always has my back. Monica DeVreese, co-owner of Santa Barbara Running turned me on to this over a year ago (thank you Monica) and I’ve used it ever since. I like it because there aren’t a lot of fake colors and sketchy ingredients in it, and there are enough calories and carbs in it to forego additional gels and chomps if necessary. It also happens to be quite yum…as sports drinks go.
Heroes: When I’ve been out running, on more than one occasion I’ve cruised past women who made me feel compelled to holler, “Great job! You are my hero.” Most times I receive bright eyes and an appreciative smile. Other times I receive a quizzical look, like, “Why are you calling me your hero?”
It was an awesome morning of triathlon training with this fun group of women, some of whom are doing their first-ever triathlon. The water was glassy, the sun was shining, and the energy was amazing. Love this Moms in Motion group! Look out Santa Barbara Triathlon, we’re coming to get you!
I’m also excited to be kicking off my Girls in Motion Running and Fitness Camp tomorrow morning. Woohoo! There’s nothing like a bunch of strong, smart, athletic young girls to bring a big smile to my face. Let the fun begin!
Run Be Run 