Assessing my swim form...

well,  I felt fast in the top video, it sure looks      slllooooooowwww.


Form sucky... I have some work to do.

St George 70.3 is now officially on the books!!!

I have officially signed up for St. George 70.3 for May 7th.  I was a bit nervous to make it official as it has scary hills on the bike and the run.  But I have decided that if it scares me, then I need to do it. It's only going to make me better for my full in August.  


So.....My official race scheduled for 2016 as of this moment: 


St George 70.3 -  May 7th, 2016

Boulder 70.3-      June 11th, 2016

Vineman 70.3-    July 10th, 2016

Ironman Mont Tremblant-  Aug 21st, 2016



COMMIT

2016....Let the Next Ironman Journey Begin.

2016  Ironman Training: It Begins

This is my Journey into the World of Ironman. It's my journal/documentation of the ups and downs of what it takes to be an age-group athlete training for an Ironman triathlon. This is more of a way for me to remember what I am doing over the course of the training season, as any Ironman Athlete can tell you, sometimes the days can blur into one training day of swim, bike, run after another. So, while some may not find this at all interesting, those that wonder...could I do an Ironman? Do I have what it takes to do an Ironman? I give you a peek into my journey and days to complete my next Ironman.  Forgive any misspelled words/awkward sounding sentences. I'm pretty happy just to get them down on paper. Consider it a test of your mental skills to figure out what I'm saying. Hope you enjoy reading my journey.

   

Current Training Totals:

Swim       19,400 yds             8:36 hr/min

Bike       143.45  Miles       11:55 hr/min

Run         87.40  Miles         17:17 hr/min

Other/                                     6:45 hr/min

Strength

Overall  Training Time:       44:33 hr/min

Whew! I’m exactly one month and one week into my training. This year, there r big plans  and goals I’m setting for myself for my racing.  And it starts with starting off my training beginning a month early. Mainly to get in some good base training under my belt. 

I’m currently sitting in Twin Falls, Idaho. And while the hospital I’m working at is great, and I get to work rehab again. I’m having a pretty huge struggle with the apartment I’m living in.  My “furnished” apt that is double in price was really poorly “furnished”.  I’ve had very loud neighbors who have graced me with parties starting at 10:30 pm and going on til 1-2-3 AM. I don’t honestly think I’ve gotten one solid night of sleep since arriving the week of Thanksgiving.  The dogs have taken a bit of an adjustment, but we got the routine down and seem to be settling in.  I honestly feel like i’m in a parallel universe/twilight zone.  Just when I am having what seems to be a good day, there is this “switch” and everything just kinda goes to shit.  I normally am a really positive person, or I like to think so. I’ve had that much more this last year of traveling. So it’s a bit discouraging to get stuck in this rut.   But my rotation is up at the end of Feb. Then I head back to my stomping ground of Billings for a couple months, with the hopes of finishing out May-July back in my old job to cover maternity leave, and finish up my IM training for my next race in Canada!!!  Yes, thats right!! I’m going international this year!!  My passport is getting renewed and I’m going to Mont Tremblant  Aug. 21, 2016.  

Bailey's 11th b-day!

Perrine Bridge-Christmas Eve 2015  Let's BASE Jump?? maybe not.

Best, Uglist, Amazing Recovery Sandals EVER!! 

Take a bite out of that finger why don't you! 

On that note. Let’s talk this years training  and racing and goals. 

I’m currently signed up for three races. I hope to add a fourth soon, it’s just dependent on a few things.  So here is the plan:

Racing Schedule for 2016

May  8th-  St George 70.3  (tentative, should know soon)

May 14th - Whiskey Row 1/2 Marathon (tentative, depends on job and St George)

June 11th- Boulder 70.3

July 10th -  Lineman 70.3

Aug 21st- Ironman Mont Tremblant. 

I had a long talk with my coach about what I wanted to accomplish this year with my training. Now that I have my Redemption Race out of the way.  I found myself breathing a huge sigh of relief in that I can still do an Ironman. It’s a pretty daunting feeling when you fail at something you have trained so hard for. It wrecks major havoc on your confidence and on your self esteem. I just re read my race report from my IMB race, and I have to say I got emotional all over again. It was like I was right back there doing the race.  

Now, I have a hunger, a hunger to not just have fun and finish the race. I have a hunger to do better, to push myself more and be better then I was.  I have a desire to be competitive with myself.  I know I won’t break any huge records. But I want to break my barrier of where I want to be in my racing. I want to push past the uncomfortable and see what I’m really capable of.  When I talked with my coach, I basically said, tell me what you want me to do, and my answer is “Yes, coach”.  

And so, I’m now one month and one week into my training. I think I’ve almost doubled my training hours that I did last year for my first month of training.  Coach says she put me on an “aggressive” training plan.  And I admit, I can feel it. But I also like it. It’s kept me sane while here in this twilight zone.  I’ve had to get pretty creative in the beginning to get my workouts in. It started with a few setbacks. I’ve had a weekend of nausea/sick, a dog bite that kept me out of the water for a week, and then a sick dog that totally threw off one weekend as I was up every hour all night with him having horrible diarrhea.  Happy to report, finger is healed, dogs are better and pooping normally, and I’ve got more green squares then red on my training peaks schedule.  That’s a bonus. I feel strong, yet sore.  I feel fatigued, but awake. I have been pretty much on my foam roller every night, with cracks and creeks along my spine. My left shoulder has been tight, but I’m getting the swims in and stretching. My hamstrings are tight, but again, stretching all the time.  I’m getting maybe 5-6 hours of sleep, with the neighbors keeping me up. I’m eating more healthy, but still have a lot of work to do. My bike trainer is LOUD and vibrates the floor and walls of the apt. While my neighbors are not very respectful. I at least try to do my rides after 9 and right when I get home from work so I have most of them done before they come home from work. 

I train in a bubble....

Run at one place, then drive over to the bubble to swim. 

The world vibrates when I'm on my bike. 

My Go to Word for when I want to stop. 

Wear your goals....

Support Crew. 

I’ve been selected for a second year in a row as a Base Ambassador and I’m so excited to be part of this team again. The products are really good, and I’m excited to use them again for a second year in a row.  I’m also happy to be continuing my training with my coach and the FC Coaching team.  I’m so blessed and happy to have Jillian be willing to work with me again this year.  She had some good info from me from my IMB race, and being able to be there and actually see me race.  I’m excited that she will be at the Boulder 70.3 race and the Vineman 70.3 racing also.   I will be with some of my other AZ IM13 FC teammates in IMMT.     I think I’m going to have to change over my Garmin from Miles to Kilometers, so I can prepare myself for the change in numbers for racing.  I just renewed my passport. 

The new Watermelon Flavor is Amazing!!! I love it!!

Im sure I have more to say, but I’m stopping with this for now.  In tradition, I leave you with a final quote that is my IM Mantra for this year of racing in 2016.