Ironman - coming to see us

I was thinking this morning (like every other morning) about how excited we are about Ironman. We are so excited that we sent out an e-mail to about 40 people letting them know about our debut in the Iron distance. Joe and I are the type of people who don't talk a lot about our events unless we are asked because we know that other people don't necessarily enjoy things like this. We have made our lives revolve around training and participating in events but understand that others are not really into that and that is fine. So, we don't usually ask people to come and watch our events unless they express interest. This time is different though. Joe and I are so excited and awed by this distance and we need spectator support this time because we are going to be working out for at least 11 hours (in Joe's case) or in my case between 15 and 16 1/2 hours!!! So, we invited everyone. We want those around us, family and friend, to come and see this event that we are so awed and moved by and even if you are not an athlete this event is moving. It brings tears to my eyes every time someone crosses that finish line not because of what they have accomplished in that day but what they have accomplished in the year that preceded that day. And now, we want others to come and celebrate with us this monumental accomplishment. Joe and I have already gotten married (on a fabulous day last June), we will probably never be having children, so this is our accomplishment that we want our friends and family to be a part of with us. We know that this may require planning on the part of our friends and family but we are so excited to have this be an accomplishment that both Joe and I can celebrate and our family and friends can celebrate with us. I want everyone to get the feeling that anything is possible just by watching this fabulous event especially the smaller ones of our group (in one of our friends case - a 5 month old baby!!! I won't give her away yet!!) I just hope that this feeling of excitement and want to share this with others will be well received as this is really important to us. Joe and I realize that all of our friends and our families have lives of their own but we just want to feel supported on the 2nd most fabulous day of our lives (the first of course was our wedding!)

Another Mini Tri in Lake Placid

I did not realize that I PRed last night at the Monday Night Mini Tri until just now! How exciting. I actually thought that I really sucked in comparison last night. I felt awful last night for the most part. My swim was really difficult as I just couldn't catch my breath and I got a couple of mouthfuls of water in the process but it ended up being really good. My bike was tough but because there was this 12 year old girl that was right in front of me I just kept pushing. My run felt slow and I had some abdominal issues (an injury that I have been wrestling with for the past year) that made me feel slow. But overall, I guess I did really well as for the third week in a row, I PRed. I can't believe it. The end was what helped me. I heard footsteps behind me in the last 200 meters of the race and refused to have someone pass me here so I gave it all I had left (which wasn't a lot) and he got right up on my back and told me "Good work" and I thought that he was going to pass me. He didn't though. For those of you who know me, this was not my type of race outcome - if you are going to get right behind me and not pass me before the finish line, then you let me win. This was not cool for me. As I went over to Joe, he was laughing a bit and told me that the guy behind me was just running around the lake and not part of the mini-tri but pushed me in. So, he actually helped me to PR. I felt awful though at the end. I have PRed a lot this year in all different kinds of races. What strikes me the most is how bad you feel at the end when you PR. You have left all of your guts, sweat, sometime blood out on that course and you feel completely spent!!! That is how I felt yesterday, like someone had hit me in the chest and legs with a baseball bat. I was done. Joe says that that is how you are supposed to feel when you give it your all and I agree but does it really have to feel so bad. The best part is the next day when you feel like yourself again and are so proud of yourself for having accomplished something that you didn't think possible. But then again, that is how I feel about everything I am doing lately. Who would have thought that I would have done the Tinman or would be doing the Ironman??? Not me 5 years ago but here I am. So, everyday is work toward an ultimate goal and I am getting faster all of the time. That is really exciting!

Rundown of 3rd mini tri of the season:
Swim: Fastest of the year - 9:37.90
T1: 2:02.31 (yuck - couldn't get my wetsuit off)
Bike: 45.16.88 (not a bad time)
T2: 1:32.95 (slow - I think I thought that I wasn't doing well so I slowed down in transition)
Run: 29:20.36
Total time; 1:27.36 another PR

Ironman

Joe and I are now officially registered for the Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid 2009!!! We completed our online registration today!!! 1 year to go!!! I am so excited for this.

Pictures

I posted a few pictures of us getting our Ironman vouchers. We are officially in!!! Training, where do we start!!!

Ironman Lake Placid 2009 Here I come!!!

Monday morning Joe and I got up at 5:15am in order to get to the Olympic oval in Lake Placid by 6:15 am to sign up for the Ironman next year. I think we are showing our insanity just by getting up to go and register for a race that is in a year. We sat in a very long line for several hours just so we could get a really nice piece of paper that says that we can register on-line for the race on July 27!!! So, we are in!!!! The next year of our lives is dedicated to completing 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, and 26.2 miles of running in one day - JULY 26, 2009!!!!
It was only fitting that the first things that we did was do a mini tri in Lake Placid last night. A good way to get yourself into triathlon mode!!! I PRed as well with a great run after a not so great swim or bike. I also came in third in my age group which has never happened at Monday night Mini Tris before. I am really excited!!!

Here is the race rundown:
Swim 9:56
T1: 1:57
Bike: 45:39
T2: 1:06
Run 29:03

Total: 1:27:65

Hamstrings hurt on the ride but everything felt great on the run. Swim was off a little but not too bad.

Joe and I then had a beer with some friends in celebration of our upcoming training!!!