Pre Ironman Coeur d’Alene 2014

It’s almost here.  I’m close.  I’ve trained for months and Ironman Coeur d’Alene is three days away.  Really, I feel pretty bland about it.  I finished last year and this year I’ve put in far higher quality training.  I’m really eager to compete in the event, but getting ready to go is the tedious part.  Last year I took pictures of all my transition gear.  Getting my gear ready this year was pretty straight forward between referencing my pictures and adding in my few new additions.  I feel I’m prepared enough physically that the rest is kind of blasé.  I interpret that as a good thing. 

Before I start typing like a machine I feel it’s important to state that two people are gigantically significant supporting influences to my training.  You don’t know them, so let’s just call them B and E (ha, they rhyme).  B is a runner and keeps on top of her training.  I tag along with her training when it works out.  Most of my long runs are tagging along with her and I wouldn’t have my running base if it wasn’t for her.  E is a strong biker.  We’ve logged hundreds of miles cycling through the season.  I run short and fast workouts with her.  All but one of my open water swims have been with her.  My cycling and swimming base have been built by training with her.  It’s amazing how two people can provide such a strong pillar for my training.  They both are awesome people.

 

Now, let’s break it down.

Strength.  I’m strong.  This is where I rip my shirt in two and flex like Schwarzenegger.  But seriously, I did the bare minimum for strength training.  For next year (no more Ironmans) I need to work on getting my legs enough strength to spin on a bike for a few hours at a solid heart rate.

My starting gear.

Swimming.  I’m a majestic dolphin.  I swam very little in a pool this year.  I did a lot of open water swims with a max swim of 2.2 miles.  I had a terrible outing earlier this week; the worst one to date.  I got a headache and I felt far less buoyant than normal.  I got out of the water and walked on shore.  Sometimes you need some humility in a workout; I’ve never had to do that before.  I bought some new goggles for this year with a mirrored finish.  Last year there was one buoy that was in line with the sun and I could barely see it.  Mirrored goggles for the win.

T1: Gear for my bike transition.

Biking.  My bike has zebra handlebar tape now.  What else do I need?  This year I had one ride just beyond 100 miles that involved several spins around Sauvie Island.  That day’s goal was to hit 100 miles; we did.  Another long ride was 103 miles from Beaverton to Lincoln City and back again 80 miles after a one day rest.  My cycling has tremendously improved this year with a huge impact from my training partner, who happens to be pretty awesome.  I’ve logged more long rides with her than I ever would have done alone.  This year I’ll use a speed and cadence sensor rather than GPS for my bike in order to conserve battery power on my watch.  I’ll wear the bike shoes I’ve trained in all year rather than switching to my races shoes.  I know how my training shoes feel and that’s what matters.  Maybe my race shoes will make an appearance at the Portland Triathlon in September.  Last year I only had black arm sleeves.  I bought some white ones in case it gets hot this time.  This year I also opted to buy an aero helmet.  We’ll see how it does, but boy is it sexy.  There are flagrant amounts of sarcasm in that statement, but I’m sure to the right crowd maybe it’s true.

T2: Gear for my run transition.

Running.  I like running.  I’m forever grateful that running is last.  I ran the Newport Marathon at the end of May with my best bud.  She rocked it and I got some distance under my belt.  I’ve done some speed workouts this year and stayed on top of long runs pretty well.  I’m going to wear the same shoes from last year.  I never broke in new shoes and I’ve decided to stick with what works.  I haven’t logged too many miles on my Asics since last year’s race… maybe two marathons and a couple long runs… but really only 120 miles or so in total.  This year I’m going to put some calf compression sleeves in my transition bag.  I’ll decide in the tent if I feel like putting them on or not.  Other than that it’s the same old tried and true gear.  Nothing too fancy, just keep running until 26.2 arrives.

Support.  I don’t really talk about the event a lot with people other than my close friends.  People who ask about the event or my training are actually helping.  It gets me in that mindset if even temporarily.  They’re helping me out and they don’t even know it.  It’s a big life event that receives numerous hours of training and preparing.  I try to be careful who I bring the topic up around because some are not as receptive to it for various reasons.  The most prominent one is that people can’t really relate.  Try talking about running 20 miles to a person who loves knitting; the two are different fields.  And reverse the situation too, a knitter talking to a runner about their favorite needles. 

The truth of the matter is that some people don’t have the fitness/health, time, or finances to do some things.  But what I wish I could cram into people’s faces is that there is time for things.  If you want to try something just sign up or rent/buy the supplies or book the ticket.  Pounce on it like a hungry tiger.  The excuse train can chug forever.  We all won’t tackle the same things.  Even with the races and the mountains and the backpacking, I still see a variety of people’s pictures and think, “man, that is just awesome.”  We all have different limits and interests.  My Ironman could be someone else’s 5k… or king size quilt… hell, it could be getting their chili recipe juuust right.  But pouncing with the willingness to accept failure is half the battle.  No one will laugh, no one will judge, what others will see is that you threw caution into the wind and tried.  If you fail, keeping trying and fail better, and you keep going until you get to the finished piece.  And then you get an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.  The little hiccup and burp-like failures along the way make the accomplishment even better.  So just don’t stop.