Tumbleweeds

Will I survive the mass of bodies in Mirror Lake?

Will I make the bike cut off times?

Will my blood sugar cooperate?

Will my fueling plan work the same in training for the race?

Why did I miss those workouts?!

Did I train enough?

I haven't run a marathon. Will the pain I imagine be the same that I actually feel?

Will my now recovered fractured leg hold up?

Why did I feel great training 2 weeks ago and now my legs feel pressurized? Is this just part of the taper?

Will my body hold up?

Did I do everything I could have done to get the result I want?

Will I make the cut off times???!!

I don't want to let anyone down.

I'm scared.

I'm elated.

Can I actually DO this?

Will I cross that finish line?


The time is coming near and the questions are gathering like tumbleweeds in my head. The words I must repeat to myself to try and calm the mental storm, the words that will replay over and over in my head on race day: I WILL do this.

The little things...

There is trust and honesty you have within yourself of both your mind and body, and a trust you have within your coach. Without it things might not ever "click" but with it...well with it everything just seems to fall into place. The thing is, the "falling into place" might not be the big and obvious but really all the little things that bring you to the big moment. 

It's been a long time since I've last written. I've stopped and started so many posts at this point it seems why write about the past and all I've wanted to update you on. I'll just tell you what's happening right now.  This past weekend I went away to OST training camp, my first of 3 different training camps leading up to Ironman in July. It was my first big volume weekend. I've only officially been back to training as of March 8th. That's when I got the all clear from my doc that my stress fracture was 95% healed. My coach gave me my cycling plan for March. Same workout each week on the trainer 3x per week. Each week I felt a little stronger. April began my PT sessions and for the last 3 weeks now I have started run/walk program, trying to figure out the right combination of run/walk ratios that I can stick to.

I've felt leading up to this weekend that I've been improving. I still have a very big fear of re-fracturing my leg during these last 2 months before the big day. I'm trying my best to not let it get to me. More importantly I'm learning to listen to my body. Aside from the obvious physical challenge, it's been more of a mental challenge dealing with an injury that affects a plan you've had in action for over a year.  A few days before I left for camp I thought I felt something in my leg. I panicked. I called my doc. I spoke to my coach. I backed off running. Both my doc and coach didn't think I had re-injured. I didn't think I had re-injured because we have been slowly increasing my volume. Nothing has been rushed. But I thought I felt something. I told my coach that I was "aware" of my leg and "felt traumatized" by this stress fracture. It's scary. Simple as that. However, I went to the camp and did lots of riding and swimming - my two favorite sports.

Superheroes!

I learned a few things at the camp:

1. How to site in open water and continue to swim. 
2. Things clicked a little more with what my coach has been telling me over the last year about base building. 
3. I also figured out which heart rate I can continue to ride in and feel as though I can keep moving with little effort.
4. My biggest take away is that everyone is different. Triathlon is a sport that is great fun with a group but it's also a sport where you need to train on your own in order to get YOUR workout in.

 I loved being out of the city, with friends, training and eating healthy. However, I got extremelly frustrated with myself at the camp. I kept thinking how could I possibly do Ironman if I feel so tired after 3 days of riding. I didn't even ride for hours on end either. 1hr on Friday, 3:30 on Saturday along with 1hr OWS (open water swim), and 1:30 on Sunday with 1hr pool swim. Despite having to ride in the pouring rain on Sunday that was the day I felt the best. At the time, what I did over the weekend didn't seem like a lot. But I was also comparing myself to others I know who had been training all winter. It took my very good friend Denise to point out to me that I did a good job. That it had been MY first big volume weekend. I haven't been training all winter like everyone else.

I get caught up in my head sometimes with the mental aspect of it all. I need to focus on the bike. The bike will carry me through Ironman. I know I can do the 2.4 mile swim with time to spare since I just raced a 2.4 swim 2 weeks ago, you can check out my recent race report here. I know the marathon will be very long and it'll be run/walk. As long as I feel good on the bike and stay consistent I'll be ok. Brings me full circle back to trusting myself. Trusting my coach. I'm a greenhorn when it comes to this stuff. My coach isn't. He knows what he's talking about. All I have to do is keep reminding myself that I AM improving. I AM feeling better. Stop thinking so much. Follow the workouts. They are the little things that add up to the big picture making everything "click". My success in last years 1/2 IM proved that. I already trust my coach. I guess I just have to learn to trust in my own ability.


Denise sent me two links to think about when I was beating myself up over the weekend and I wanted to share with you: Minimalist Ironman Training & How To Nail the Ironman Marathon. Everything in those articles are things my coach has told me. I know I must sound like a broken record to him and I fully appreciate and acknowledge his patience with me. This IM journey is pretty spectacular and despite everything I am loving it.

I gotta go so I can hop on my trainer. Remember it's those little things...

Thank YOU!

Before I'm off to go cheer friends at the New Years Eve run to end and begin a year of being athletic, healthy and happy I wanted to thank you for your help this year. Have a wonderful beginning to the new year!!

"Difficulties are opportunities to better things; they are stepping stones to greater experience. Perhaps someday you will be thankful for some temporary failure in a particular direction. When one door closes, another always opens".- Author Unknown

Thank you for your continued support this year!! I hope since we last spoke you thought about a fun activity you did as a child and if that didn’t make you want to go right out there to re-enact those earlier years then hopefully it made you smile with the memory. As promised, I went to Tucson Arizona with my team to take part in JDRF’s Ride to Cure Diabetes. However, with great regret I was unable to ride my bike due to injury. Two days before I flew out of town my doctor told me I had a stress fracture in my leg and I was required to take a “forced rest with no activity for 6 weeks”. I was devastated by the news.  Athletically, this has been a very successful year for me. I have competed in many first time endurance events such as 2 half marathons, Olympic distance triathlon, 24hr running relay and a half Ironman distance triathlon. All of this I don’t think would have been possible without me having taken part in my first weekend 5 years ago at JDRF’s Ride to Cure program. As I’ve told you each year, the ride program made me fall back in love with riding, has helped me to take action and strive for better control of my diabetes management, has given me friends that will last a lifetime, made me an athlete, it has made me come alive. So you can see why I was so upset about not being able to take part in the ride that essentially planted the seed of the athlete you now know. 

Despite not being able to ride I had a spectacular weekend! There was never a doubt that I wouldn’t go. If my team was going, I was going. I’d be the support crew and help anyway I could. The night before the ride there is a big dinner where two awards are given out with the help of a podium girl. Guess who that girl was?! The ride staff asked me if I would like to assist our National coach in handing out the awards. It was so cool to stand up on the stage in front of the 100+ riders and volunteers to congratulate the award recipients. The next day was ride day, I woke up bright and early with my team and had breakfast with them before we had to part ways. This years ride was partnered with the El Tour de Tucson so that meant the start was going to have 8,000+ riders. I have never seen a mass start like that. It was amazing! I’ll admit that I was jealous of my friends because they were riding and I wasn’t. However, I had work to do. I had to make sure I was there cheering them so I spent ride day enjoying the weather at the finish line, watching the first and last of my teammates come in. I’ve never been on that side of the line before and it was wonderful to see the weary smiles of satisfaction and utter accomplishment on their faces as they crossed the finish line. My team…they made my day.

 

That evening there is a celebration dinner and more awards are given out to riders and coaches. One particular award is the coveted polka dot jersey, which is given out to the person that exemplifies the spirit of the JDRF Ride Program throughout the weekend. It’s been awarded to riders, coaches and volunteers in the past. This year my team and other JDRF crew nominated me for the award. I accepted the award with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. As everyone stood to clap and congratulate me, I felt so much love and appreciation from my team and all of the JDRF staff. It’s a moment I’ll never forget and a jersey I’ll wear riding with pride. My team…they made my night.

I wanted to be there to support them and the other riders but as it turned out they supported me the entire weekend, by letting me know it mattered to them that I was there. Riding or not. Your donations to the cause, your donations to support ME each year in the cause, it makes YOU part of the team. Riding or not. My team…thank you for making my year.

Love,

Jen

http://www.trainingdiabeteslife.blogspot.com

Doc said...

I have a stress fracture. As soon as he said it I burst into tears. He said I needed to take 6 weeks off. I could do no activities that required my legs such as biking, running and even swimming! However, I did negotiate with him to let me swim so long as I used  a pull buoy.  He said I needed a "forced rest" and as soon as I took a break I would notice the difference in my leg, that it would feel better. After crying and being depressed for a day I recognized the fact that this is the best time for something like this to happen (off season), that I could still swim and work on my stroke which is my weak point in swimming. So it's been 3 weeks and I've been resting and swimming with a pull buoy. I've started doing my core work again. Now I'm down to 19 days before I see the doc again and I'm hoping he gives me a Christmas gift of letting me ride my bike. Oh yeah and guess what? He was right...my leg DOES feel better. Sometimes they really do know what they're talking about ;).

Build the fire

Injuries. I guess they happen to everyone right? Overuse, improper form, doing too much too soon, not enough sleep, poor nutrition. The list could really keep going. You've heard the schpeel.

Well that's where I am right now. However, my orthopedist isn't yet sure what the problem is. We need an MRI, so were waiting on insurance approval. My left leg is the issue, more specifically my tibia. Its possible I have a stress fracture or I have tendinitis. I'm hoping for the lesser of two evils and its tendinitis.

It all started about a week before my half marathon on October 12th. My leg just felt weird, "not right" but I didn't think too much about it. Two days before the race I was supposed to do a 4 mile easy run but I didn't go. My leg was bothering me so I just decided to skip it. I mean I didn't want to hurt myself two days before my race, and "easy" is relative. To me there is nothing "easy" about running.

You know how some people go for a run to "loosen up"? Yeah. That's not me. Nothing "loosens up" when I run. Sure I might feel better after a hard run but that's because I did something that is hard. I tackled it. I did it when I didn't really want to. Sometimes though, when I run, for a few moments I get a feeling like I'm barely touching the ground with my feet. Everything gets quiet and I'm "in the zone", it lasts for such a short time though (lucky if its 5min) maybe that's the runners high I've heard about. In either case, in the year and a half since I've started running I've experienced it a handful of times.

I digress.

Back to the weekend of my half marathon. So I didn't run that Friday, Saturday I got a sports massage to loosen my legs up, Sunday race day. As soon as I started the race I had sharp shooting pains (same pains from earlier in the week when I wasn't running), it lasted about 3-4 miles then went away. Either it really did go away or I somehow compartmentalized it away. It was a really great race for me. I PR'd (personal record) and aside from walking the aid stations I ran the entire thing. That was a big deal for me. I was very happy with my time and my performance. However, that half marathon seemed so much harder than my half ironman a month earlier. To top it off I was much more sore (3-4 days) after the half marathon than the half ironman. I've been told by several experienced triathletes including my coach that you will almost always feel worse after a half marathon or marathon race than from a half ironman or ironman. Running is harder on your body plus your racing faster and harder. And ya know what? They were right!

So because I was so sore I didn't run, and I hadn't been cycling that much because there just aren't enough daylight hours unless its the weekend. However, running for the bus sure brought that sharp shooting pain right into focus again. It hadn't gone away and it hurt just to walk or stand still. So I iced, stretched and took ibuprofen for a week. Felt like the leg was getting a little better. I had continued to swim since I had no pain in the water. I tested the leg out on a track. As soon as I started to run I had pain. So I laid off it for another week. It even started to hurt when I would climb hills on my bike. Not a good thing. I'm not sure why I didn't go see a doc sooner. I thought it was getting better. But all I had really done was stop doing the things that hurt. So now almost 4 weeks later I went to my PT and she sent me to the doc. She thought it was a fracture. So now I wait for the MRI and the results.

Not sure what's been going on with me lately but I've been eating like crap, not sleeping well, and having bursts of claustrophobia. Maybe I'm not using the right word when I say claustrophobia but its kinda how I feel. A feeling of being trapped. That feeling has been around for a few months. Plus it doesn't help at all that there is not much daylight. I feel starved for it.  The poor sleeping and eating like crap has been going on for about 1-2months. I feel like I'm in a bit of a vicious cycle. Maybe that's why this happened with my leg. Is it burnout? I definitely know I need a vacation. Everyone says I need to make sure I take a break from training but the thing is I haven't felt like I've been doing that much. I need to get back to being consistent. I was doing so well when I was being structured and consistent.

I'm anxious to get the results of the MRI back because then I will know and I can treat my leg properly so I have full recovery. Not being able to have full mobility takes a toll, especially when I wanted to really improve my running this winter. My coach told me to take this time to "build the fire deep, deep, deep in my belly for all the things I want to accomplish in life". Very good words, so I am taking the time to reflect, and build my fire one log at a time. I recently switched to part time status at work; I'm hoping that in making that change I am able to organize myself a little better and create a more efficient way of spending my days and continue pursuing the things that are important to me. Plus I'll get to be out in the daylight more rather than being stuck in a building.

My kindergarten drawing: visual reminder to build the fire

Next week I'm flying out to Tucson AZ to take part in JDRF's Ride to Cure, it could not come at a more perfect time.

Signing off to go build my fire.

Ride to Cure

When I was a child during the summer months you could find me either swimming in the pool until I turned all wrinkly and the sun had gone down or riding my bike all over the neighborhood until I found my way back home hours later. Life was easy then and I had such fun! That was years before being diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic. Over time I had forgotten how much I loved swimming and riding my bike, "why did I ever stop”? Now, after living 15 years with diabetes I have gone back to those fun times thanks to JDRF. I am swimming again and have a new found love for triathlon and on my weekends you’ll find me riding my bike for hours on end. Just like when I was a child. JDRF helped me remember and ultimately has helped me take control of a disease that is with me 24hrs a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. There is no break. Ever. It’s not fun especially in the beginning when first diagnosed. Even after 15years it’s still hard. Stressful. Fear of the unknown future and possible diabetic complications. Always questioning myself if I'm doing the right thing with managing this disease. When I think I AM doing the right thing and the numbers don't come out right and everything is crazy…pure frustration, anger and sometimes depression are what ensue. Judgment from strangers, friends and family (whether they realize it or not) with their "helpful comments and suggestions". Judging what I eat, how I take my medicine, how many times I have to go see my doctors. The stress of making sure I have health insurance to cover the insulin my pancreas won't produce so I can LIVE. I need my blood sugar meter. I need my insulin. Without it there is no me.

The JDRF Ride to Cure program brought me back to my childhood fun by getting me to want to be active. By getting me to swim again. By getting me back on my bike. They are also researching ways to make my life along with millions of other diabetic lives easier through new technology and one day a cure. This will be my 5th year riding for them and raising funds. I'm asking for a donation that will help me in achieving my goal of $4,000.00 for this year’s 109 mile ride which will be taking place in Tucson, AZ on November 20, 2010. All donations are tax deductible! I have attached the link for you to make donations by credit card. https://ride.jdrf.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=rideCentral.personalpage&riderID=10144

I didn't choose to have this disease. However I AM choosing how the "betes" and I spend our 24hrs, 7 days a week and 365 days a year together. Follow me through my blog www.trainingdiabeteslife.blogspot.com. Remember YOUR childhood fun. Go back to it. Ride with me. Help me help JDRF. Your continued support of donations in any amount, your words of encouragement...they are invaluable. My thanks to you always.

Jen

Toughman: Morning of Race Day

Race Day - Sunday 9/12:
Morning and Transition set up:
We wake up at 4am, I slept about 5 hours but I felt good (I did get good sleep days leading up to race); I check my blood sugar and I'm 72 suuweeeet! Get ready quickly and eat my 2 hard boiled eggs and PBJ on whole wheat bread (brought it all from home). I bolused (gave myself insulin via pump) for the full amount of carbs I was eating since it would be more than 2 hours until I raced. Let's not forget I also brought my iced coffee from home too. I love my coffee. Love. It. We drive to Croton Point Park where the race is taking place and all is good, getting a little anxious but its ok. It's dark outside. Check the blood sugar and I'm 112. Good number. Soon as we get there I have to go to the bathroom, I was very happy about that. Then I'm off to set up my transition area. I still haven't figured out a way to set up where I'm a 100% comfortable so I look at everyone else's set up to see if I'm missing anything. I then proceed to switch everything around and then switch it around again to its original setting. What can I say we got there early! :) Check the blood sugar again at 5:30 and I'm 157, not concerned cuz I'm thinking the food is hitting its peak and all that jazz. I was starting to get antsy (despite having my ipod on calming music). Its now 5:55am BS (blood sugar) is 180, check again at 6:07am BS 208, I know I seem a little neurotic at this point checking so much but I wanted to see how I was gonna trend because the next time I'd be able to check would be at T1 after the swim. They were closing transition at 6:30 and I wouldn't be swimming until 7:15 and I wouldn't have my CGM (continuous glucose monitor) on me either since it's not waterproof. I WOULD have my insulin pump though because that baby IS waterproof! THANK YOU Animas for peace of mind.

Transition is closing and I get one more test in at 6:30am and my BS is 243, if you've noticed I've been steadily going up. I haven't eaten anything since 4:30am so I know its nerves and adrenaline spiking the blood sugar. It's decision time I wasn't sure if I should keep a temp basal on since I was so high or take some of the recommended 3 units of insulin to hopefully bring my BS down and hopefully avoid a low. I also wasn't sure if I should have a GU before the swim, again I thought it would raise my BS I wasn't even looking at it as "I'm an athlete and I need this fuel." I was thinking of it as "that GU is gonna raise my already high BS even more". I was with my friend Denise (also type 1) and I asked her what she would do; she reminded me to stick to the plan. Let me tell you, it is without a doubt THE BEST thing to have other diabetics racing with you, I had three :).

BS plan for race:
With Denise's advice I stuck to the plan and I only gave myself 1.00 unit of insulin, if I was high after so be it I could correct but I knew I wouldn't go low.

Plan for race was to have a temp basal (amount of base insulin throughout day) of 50% entire time. I calculated the night before how many carbs I would be eating during the bike only and divided that in half, I would then give myself a 20/80% combo bolus over 3 hours. A bolus is delivery of insulin for food or blood sugar correction and making it combo means its over an extended amount of time. I chose 3 hours because I needed the delivery to finish 30min before my run. Running drops your BS very rapidly for most diabetics and any active insulin on board becomes super strength, your body is 10x more responsive to it. So it's VERY important to stick to the plan and eat everything I counted for. Not just because I'm diabetic but also because I've been taught this season as an athlete fueling properly on the bike helps you on the run. So that was my plan and I promised myself, my RD, my coach and my friends who advised me that no matter what my CGM or meter said I'd stick to the plan and not panic.

I wanted a good race and to me that meant trying to stay on schedule with pacing and most importantly not seeing my BS go all crazy like a yo-yo.

Read the next entry to see how the swim goes...

Toughman: Pre-Race

I decided to write each leg this way by reading one of my Brooklyn Tri teammates blogs...so thanks for the idea Shaun!

Pre Race - Saturday:
I woke up early and went with a friend for a 45min ride just to make sure Violet (my bike) was feeling ok, then I ran for 15 minutes to see how the legs felt - all was good :). I drove up with two of my Brooklyn tri teammates later that morning to Croton Point Park where the race was being held so we could check in. I was feeling good, plus I was able to get some A.R.T. (Active release therapy) work done on my foot and shoulder to make sure I was loose. Oh how I LOVE that stuff felt a TON better. Leaving the parking lot I saw a dog that looked just like my Val I almost didn't stop to pet it but I'm glad I did. Reminded me of her and made me feel good.

Later that night as Denise, Mark and I were packing our bags for race day I jumped up and said "oh my god I don't remember packing my helmet!" I knew I didn't leave it with my bike earlier that day but I couldn't remember the action of putting it in or seeing it in the car! I started to hyperventilate therefore making myself light headed. I was FREAKING out! All I was thinking (in my head) was "oh my god, great, after all this training, after the countless tweets and facebook statuses and well wishes from everyone I'm gonna come back and say "yeah I forgot my helmet", oh lord. You can't race without a helmet! Denise, thank god for her (she's been my saving grace this season) she told me to calm down, we could go get one at walmart. I tried calling my friends who I drove up with but I couldn't reach them.

I was trying to calm down so I said "at least I remembered my meter", then Denise says "well that's great but you can race without your meter, you can't race without a helmet!" Gee thanks Denise, I feel much more calm now less than 10hours before the race and no sign of my helmet. So off we go 9:00pm at night day before the race to the shopping center and there are both a Kmart AND a Modell's.  We decided in the car that I would have to get the funniest helmet possible. Mind you I'm still freaking out (in my head), I just want get there! As soon as we get into Modell's my friends called to tell me that...I DID have my helmet I just forgot it in the car :). I asked them 3 times "you're SURE you saw it in there? Because we're here now and I can get a helmet"; mind you I had a lavender colored, child size helmet in my hand with smiley faces and pink flowers. No need to buy it! Ten pounds off the shoulders and about 3oz on my head (I think), I'll take it!

We were in bed by 11pm (late...yes I know), I was dead to the world before my head hit the pillow.

Toughman - Short Version

I haven't written much about my training for the biggest race of my life thus far, but on September 12th I completed my first half Ironman!!! A half Ironman consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run all within cut off times for each leg and within a total of 8 hours.

Here's the short of it:
Total time: 7:37:45
Swim: 41:59
T1: 5:58
Bike: 3:44:06
T2: 3:04
Run: 3:02:41
Good blood sugars throughout, I finished strong and with a smile :).

I could have probably saved 1-2min from my swim time by sighting correctly. I couldn't see the finish and the buoys looked like they were on the wrong side; apparently everyone else had the same problem. I paced well on the bike. The run is my weak link and my goal was to have it be the same time as my 1/2 marathon back in April which was 2:55:12 so I was very close :). I think had I not stopped two times to cop a squat on side of road and not stopped to take pictures with my two girlfriends (who were running with me) at the beautiful waterfall I could have made my time. However, I'd take none of it back - it only added to my experience. The temperature was cool, breezy and overcast entire day so it made for great race conditions!

The race has shown me that I can do ANYTHING I set my mind to and further motivated me to continue in my path.

We did it!

Enjoying the scenery

I will be having other posts for each leg of the race for the readers out there who want all the deets.

Keep living your dream kids!

Updates! (stay tuned for more)

It has been way too long my friends I apologize. Many BIG things have occurred since we last spoke, I'll try not to let this post be toooooo long ;).

July 3rd:
I had the honor of being a bridesmaid for one of my closest friends Deanna. Let me tell you being a bridesmaid IS as stressful as everyone says but it wasn't because of the bride :). Being a bridesmaid you want to make sure your friend has everything she dreamed of, hoped for, you want everything to be perfect for them. It's there special day. Deanna's wedding was WONDERFUL, she looked beautiful and the entire day went off flawlessly. It was a fairy tale wedding just like their story. She married a great guy but he, well he married a gem. That's my Dee Dee a gem with the biggest heart and always a great attitude. A true friend. I'm glad I could share that day with them. Cheers to Deanna and Frank, wishing you happiness, good health, success, laughter and above all love and friendship throughout your life together.

July 18th: Nautica NYC Olympic Tri
Short of it:

right after I completed my 1st Oly!

It was freaking HOT! 90 degrees, 60 or 70% humidity. HOT. Pretty unbearable. BUT I'm very happy with my times :). My super secret goals were:
Swim: 30 min based on everyone saying current is so fast and it takes me just under 50min to swim a mile.
Bike: 1:30 or 1:40 I wanted my avg pace to be 16. But I wasn't sure I could pull it off cuz that's what I did last year on a flat sprint course.
Run: goal was to try and run straight and walk the stations. Finish in 1:30
(yes I know that's slow).

My results:
swim:19:46 pace 1:11
T1 15:02 (we had 2run just under 1/2 mile 2 T1...I'm just sayin)
bike:1:35:37 avg 15.6
T2 6:47

wearing my t-shirt & medal next day at work :)

run:1:26:04 avg 13:52.
total time 3:43:13
I finished strong and with a smile despite it being so freaking hot and having high BS (blood sugar) since the bike portion (I need to work on BS mgmt while racing). Thank you so much guys for the support!

Long of it:
I competed in my first Olympic distance triathlon NYC Nautica tri; consists of a .90mile swim down the Hudson, 24mile bike on the Westside Highway into the Bronx and back, and 1 loop around Central Park. I had my concerns about the run because its not really my thing and the temps were VERY high with lots of humidity. I was very concerned prior to the race because I had been having a very difficult time training in the heat especially on the runs; plus I hadn't run 6 miles since my half marathon back in April. BUT I did it! It was a very well run race with lots of support although they could have had more run stations. I loved running through the hose. Heaven in that heat. Everyone should do that race at least once and I'm glad that was my first Olympic distance.

On to the next weekend July 23-26:
I went with three friends to Ironman Lake Placid to volunteer. All but one is diabetic and all but one (not same person) will be competing in our first Ironman distance triathlon on July 24th,2011. We were able to ensure our entry by volunteering for this event. The event of all events. One of the most physically challenging and demanding events in the world. Some of you might not know what an Ironman is, I'll tell you:

Ironman distance is the longest distance in triathlon that consists of swimming 2.4miles, biking 112miles and running a marathon 26.2miles. All within 17hours and the allotted time frames for each leg of the race.

Being at Ironman that weekend was inspiring, motivating, thrilling! A complete rush. I had friends and teammates racing at the Placid course so it was great to be able to help them at the aid stations or just cheering for them whenever I caught a glimpse while out on the course. The placid course is a 2 loop course for each leg so while volunteering on the run station I was able to see fresh faces as they made it through the first loop, when it came to the 2nd loop there were a whole other set of faces. Some were wilted, some displayed fierce determination while others just showed a constant smile, there were even athletes forcing themselves to throw up on the course!

Midnight is the 17hour cut off time. Being able to see the last person who made it as an official ironman was nerve racking and exhilarating all at once. The energy of the crowd is ELECTRIC! Volunteering at an Ironman event is humbling and inspiring.

Me right after I signed up for my 1st Ironman!!!! IMLP 2011

The next morning with less than 5 hours sleep feeling like a zombie I waited in line for 4 hours so I could sign up for 2011. Before I even signed those papers and put a small fortune down for the race fee I was committed. Signing those papers only made it official :).

On the road to our 1st IM :)

we've got our pumps & paid registration!!!

And so my Ironman road has officially begun! Looking forward to embracing every moment this year will bring.