This is what a rainy day in AZ does to one...turns you into a blogger (better than a tweeter/twitterer?). Not really, though it is a rare occasion here "out West."
Really I just wanted a way to document my year training for the Ironman. So there I've said it, this will be an entirely selfish endeavor so that I can look back and bask in my own glory/triumph/hopefully not utter and total failure.
I signed up for Ironman Arizona the day after last year's Ironman. Why? Well as with many brilliant (read: terrible) ideas it was a perfect storm -- 1) I had just been told by the AF I'd be staying in AZ another year. Disappointed with not moving to Korea, I wondered what I would do with another year in the desert. 2) I had just volunteered at the 2009 Ironman AZ during the run leg and thought "well they all look very fit, in a terrible amount of pain, BUT...." 3) My boyfriend Steve "If I only I could devote my life to one thing, whatever that thing was I'm sure I'd be an Olympian/President/genius" DeVito. So what I'm saying is contemplating boredom + "if they can do it why not me" + insanity rubbing off. So entering my mastercard info. and some other info later and I was officially signed up. Much more $$$$ to be spent on gear, entering other races, and food along the way no doubt.
Ironman AZ is on Sunday, November 21, 2010. The total distance is 140.6 miles: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run. Start and finish are at Tempe Town Lake. Approximate distance from my house in Surprise to race start -- 37 miles. Let's see how many times over I cover that distance in training. Since signing up for the race I've started to prep -- outfitted my bike with clips and aero bars, bought a wetsuit, joined the Y with their awesome pool, and vowed to cut back on my running (wait a minute cut back on running? it's true...it's all about the bike people).
I will roughly be following this training plan http://www.trifuel.com/triathlon/ironman-workouts/ and will blog about the ups and downs of it all.
My goal is to finish. And when I say finish, I mean to actually swim, bike, and run the whole race and cross the finish line. And what I really mean is no doggy paddle, no breakdowns on my bike, and at least jogging the run -- walking doesn't count and the "Ironman shuffle" is just so painful to watch.
Here's to a fun year. See you at the finish. Please have a stretcher waiting.
I'm sure you'll be awesome! My acupuncturist says that there is a special acupuncture point in your leg called "leg three miles"... when you feel like you cannot walk another step, that point will allow you to run three more miles. It was used by triathletes while they were running or biking (before they stopped the use of acupuncture DURING the races). Give it a shot! =)
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