Non-Cooking: Looking back at the Mont Tremblant training, and looking ahead to race day - 7 days!

We are now 7 days from race day. This time next Sunday, I hope to be out on the run, feeling strong and bringing home my second ironman. Before that, I wanted to do a pre-race training wrap up, and talk about how I am feeling about getting ready to toe the line to my second Ironman.

Physically, my body has held up remarkably well. I have felt strong during most of the long rides and runs (minus the 50 milers in the 200% humidity), and KILLED the 127 last long run. Minus some weird early season shenanigans with repeated flu-like dehydration symptoms (?) that I have seemingly resolved by taking NUUN all day hydration tabs throughout the week, I never felt like physically I couldn’t do this training or missed a long ride/run. Last taper, I couldn’t physically stay up past 8 and had no energy, and this taper I am staying up (too) late and feel pretty good energy wise.

Mentally, this training has been HARD. Having the fear of Mountains of Misery during this ridiculous winter weighed on me. With that plus other general life stress, I have been battling mental burnout much more than the last go round, where I didn’t hit my mental burnout until the 20/120 weekend. I am considering signing up for IM Maryland next year with a bunch of my favorite training buddies, but I am really going to have to think long and hard about if I want to put that stress on me again and how I will manage the mental burnout.

All that being said, this training experience has been all I had hoped for and much more. I signed up for this race partly because I feel like I didn’t have my best race day in Wisconsin, but more so because of training partners I would have and the bonding experience IM training creates. In Wisconsin, I felt like that bonding came the June/July before the September race. For this one, especially with MOM thrown in the middle, I have felt like it has come every day since January. I have really strengthened my existing friendships, and have created so many great new ones. I have felt well-loved and taken care of this entire experience, and I am so grateful for the strong support network that I have. In addition to learning how to push my mental/physical barriers during the Ironman training, I have learned it is okay to ask for help, and that it will be there for me without even have to ask.

Now, on to the race day itself. People keep asking me if I am ready, and to be perfectly honest, I feel 100% like I am. I don’t feel nervous, or worried, or stressed. I feel excited! I would be lying if I said I didn’t have any time goals. I have worked so hard in this last 2 years since IM Wisconsin, and I would love to take at least an hour + off my 16:11 finishing time. My dream is to finish with a time in the 14 hour range. However, I refuse to put pressure on myself and will take the day as it comes. I truly feel the race is a celebration/culmination of a year long journey. If it doesn’t go according to plan or if I don’t finish, I know without a doubt it will be due to something outside of my control (i.e. a mechanical issue) because I have PUT IN THE WORK. The beauty of the second Ironman is I am an Ironman whether I finish this race or not.

Really, I believe you become an Ironman during the long/hard training leading up to the race day, not on the race day itself. I reinforced my status as an Ironman this year when I:

• Spent hours on the computrainer during the week/weekends when the roads were snow covered (creating my theme for the season ISLAGIATT – it sounded like a good idea at the time – based on the 2 hour computrainer course that repeatedly tried to kill my soul)
• Made a commitment to go to 5:30am Team Z swims that I actually kept throughout the season (thanks to great swim lane mates)
•  Ran on snow covered trails with YakTrax while training for a marathon
• Biked 50 miles in a hailstorm
•  Finished the Kinetic Half Ironman on less than 3 hours of sleep
• Willingly helped organize a Culpeper ride (the hilliest TEAM Z ride I vowed never to do again after IM Wisconsin), and actually felt STRONG throughout it
• Got sick the night before the Skyline ride (my white whale of biking), and had the mental strength to go back to bed, without worrying about the impact missing one long ride would have on my training
• Struggled through a 90 mile training ride, breaking my spoke in the middle and having a wonderful friend let me borrow her wheel (thanks Jen!)
•  Broke down in tears at mile 95 of Mountains of Misery and KEPT GOING
•  Found places to swim/bike in Memphis while traveling for work versus skipping the workouts
• Drove 28 hours to "preview" the Ironman course by racing a half ironman 
•  Felt strong during my 127 mile bike ride without ever hitting a wall
• Supported my friend on the computrainer the weekend after the 127 for 2+ hours as she previewed the Mont Tremblant course (I say supported because my legs stopped working at the 2 hour point)
•  Survived incredibly difficult 50 mile rides in 200% humidity (only mild exaggeration) with the help of snickers & Linda/Aileen/Marcia
• Managed to fit in all of my training while juggling some major home repairs and a new role at work (and only breaking down in tears on my boss once!)

See I have nothing left to prove on race day. I have shown myself to be strong, both mentally and physically over the last several years, and reinforced the point this season. The hard work is behind me. I will strive to race with gratitude next Sunday, and take the day to celebrate all that I have been through and the friendships I have made/strengthened along the way.

Thanks everyone for all of your support. Again, I couldn't do it without you all and I wouldn't want to do it without you all. If you want to follow me on race day, you can track me at ironmanlive.com. Just be aware it is not the most quick to update, so if you think I am lying in a ditch on the side of the road because the bike hasn't updated, you probably only have a 5% chance of being correct.

Excerpt from our Team's cheer guide: