Countdown- 8 Weeks till Ironman.

I have 8 weeks of training left until I compete in the Ironman Florida 70.3. Goal will be to just finish the race. I have up'd my training this week to try and prepare myself for the grueling distances of this race. This week I will hit 7.5 miles on the long run and advance that every week by one mile. My long ride this week will be at a distance of 40 miles and advance that by 3-5 miles every week until the race. Swimming will also be a series of drills and long swims. I am going to start lake swimming with a couple triathletes from a local club.
Not as nervous about this race now that I have one under my belt. One stress point is the fact that there will be 2500+ competitors swimming at the same time. Hopefully I can do better in this swim than I did in the Wildman Triathlon.
AFN!

Official Times for Wildman Triathlon

Swim (0.9 mile): 28 minutes

Bike (25 miles):  1 Hour 7 Minutes

Run (5.5 miles): 48 Minutes

Total Time: 2:29

By the way, I did beat my goal of 2:30 by 22 seconds! Glad I didn't stop for that pee break!

Wildman Swim Start

Race Day PICS

Race Day!

Well, I couldn't sleep at all last night. I don't think I was anxious about the race, but I guess my body was telling me that I was. Woke up at 4:45 and didn't know what to do first. We were some of the first people to arrive. Got parked, and strolled over to the transition area to load my bike and gear for the event.

After getting my numbers scribed on me (I was #141) and got my timing chip (wear it on your ankle and the computer keeps your time) I again didn't know what to do next. I felt as if I forgot something.... of course I didn't cuz I'm anal! Kaeli and Debbie were there with me and Steve showed up a little later. I strapped my wetsuit on and headed to the water at 7:30. Did a few warm-up strokes, took a deep breath and before I knew it the race was on. I have never seen so many flailing arms and legs. Hard to take in air with everyone so bunched up. I finally got out to the edge of the crowd and was able to find a good rhythm. When I stepped out of the water after swimming almost a mile, my legs were like jelly! I wobbled a little and pulled the top of my wetsuit down and headed for transition with Kaeli yelling "go Daddy go!". It was awesome.

Pulled out on my bike and I felt strong. I guess I passed 30 people or so during the bike leg. After 25 mile of pretty boring cycling I headed to transition with Kaeli and Deb cheering me on! 

Racked the bike and strapped on the shoes and headed out for the run. It was a crushed shell road. Not the ultimate running surface. I struggled here. There were no mile markers so I couldn't get calculate my pace. Felt like I was doing 10 minutes per mile....SLOW!!! (after the race Steve calc'd me doing 8:30 per mile... ) I wanted to walk so bad during the run... I just kept saying "pain is only temporary, quitting is forever". That's a Lance Armstrong quote by the way. It kept me going. 

Finally I could hear the music at the finish line. SWEET! I turned down the woods and there it was I gave her all she had and headed to the finish. The clock showed 2:26. Unadjusted Time. I will post my official time as they get posted to the website.

I will post some pics here in a minute! I am not quite sure I am ready for an IRONMAN....

"Go-Fast" Haircut

Well, I wanted to shave it down some more, but Ashley, the gal that cuts my hair, didn't want Debbie to kill her. Haa haa! Cut it short so that I at least look like I mean business. I used it as mental preparation. I will probably go shorter for my IRONMAN.

AFN- adios for now!

Today REST, Tomorrow RACE!

It's the day before the my first triathlon and I am unnaturally calm. I feel good about my training, but have had several setbacks with minor injuries. Today, knees wont make up their mind if they want to hurt or feel good. 

I am planning on giving it all I've got tomorrow during the race. However, today is all about rest and carb-loading (packing my body full of energy for the race).... I walked the transition zone yesterday, viewed the lake I will be swimming and drove the bike course to memorize the turns. I hope it pays off. There are around 300 in the race, but only 10-12 in my age group (40-45).  

If anyone wants to, the link to watch the live feeds (video and timing) is www.buttar.com/events . This website will start streaming at 7:30 tomorrow morning and the race begins at 8 am. 

Some pics from Tucson

Back in Town and Counting Down....

Just returned from Tucson and Trifest. Was a nice three day trip to Arizona to be a part of the triathlon Expo held over the weekend. Met Dave Scott, 6-time Ironman world champion and had my Pic taken with him. Steve and I also met Sam McGlone (who was on the cover of my first Triathlete magazine)- 70.3 Ironman World Champion. Good Times!

Well, Sunday is my first triathlon! counting down and ready to Hurl! I am very nervous about my first event. This is a small triathlon (.9 mi swim, 24 mi bike and 5.2 mile run) compared to the Ironman I will be running in May. I am tapering my workouts this week and loading up on carbs!

I will keep ya'll posted!