Ironman Chattanooga Part 1

(Driving home from Chattanooga Erin and I read our Lean Horse blogs to Jeff. It was so awesome to relive that weekend. We read Troy's 100 miler, my 50 miler, and Erin's crew blog. I haven't written a race report in 2 years. Reading those Lean Horse blogs made me realize how important it is to have these memories written down. To have a record of both the mistakes I've made in training and racing and the friendships and bonds that have developed because of this lifestyle. So...here we go.)

This has been on repeat in my brain since Hotter'n Hell in late August. Thursday night I told my girlfriends that if the mountain bike race went well on Friday I was going to try and win the Triple Threat, a 13 mile mountain bike race, 100 mile road cycling race, and 13 mile trail running race that is part of the Hotter'n Hell weekend in Wichita Falls. I thought that these events suited me perfectly and with my Ironman fitness why couldn't it be me? I immediately regretted saying it out loud thinking it sounded so cocky. But Erin told me, “Girls that win, know they can win. They go into the race knowing it can be them. You have to have that confidence.”

This left such a mark on me and it got me through all 3 days of the Triple Threat. Believe it can be you. Believe in YOU. (thank you Erin!!!)

Triple Threat Overall Female Winner

I'm in the newspaper!!

When I did my first Ironman in Arizona in 2012 I trained so much. A little too much. The week of the race I caught a nasty cold that stayed with me through race day and put a dark cloud over my whole Ironman experience. I remember crossing the finish line and hearing Mike Reilly call me an Ironman. I smiled and threw my hands up but I didn't care, I was so over it. I had no voice, a horrible sinus and ear infection and just wanted to crawl into bed and let multiple days pass without having to move. I felt very little sense of accomplishment or pride when I crossed that finish line. I just felt DONE.

Crossing the finish line at IMAZ 2012

Fast forward a year, the group I swim with decided to sign up for IM Chattanooga. It's a bad weekend for me and Evan, right in the middle of marching band season, but I became fixated on the opportunity to have another chance. A new experience at Ironman that might be different from my first.

I wanted to do things differently this time. I didn't count my weekly training hours (which I obsessed over last time). I didn't count my weekly miles and I didn't count how often I did each sport (except swimming).

I decided I was going to swim a lot, 5 days a week. I was going to run for quality, not quantity, I was going to mountain bike as much as I wanted, and I was going to do a lot of bricks (run off the bike). My very high tech plan is I listen to my body. Train hard when I should, easy the rest of the time, and never miss a workout unless my body tells me enough is enough. Consistency is key.

So from January until race day I swam 5 days a week. 2 days really easy, only 1000-1200 yards, but the other 3 days pretty hard including one open water swim every week.

I mountain biked as often as Evan could join me. In the spring and summer it was a lot, 4-5 times a week. In the fall, not as much. I saved every Sunday for mountain biking. The only day I rode my tri bike was Saturday's. I did the occasional trainer workout, but mostly I just rode Saturday's. Except of course for my favorite summer multi-day adventures. Tulsa Tough: 104 miles on Saturday and 64 miles on Sunday, Tin Star training weekend: 200 miles plus swimming and running over 3 days, and Enchanted Circle Century in Angel Fire, NM.

Mountain Biking South Boundary Trail in Angel Fire, NM

Tin Star Training Weekend near Fredericksburg, TX

I kept up harder effort runs trying to keep the speed that I worked so hard for in 2013. Raced 5k's in June and July, finally getting a 5k PR that I hadn't been able to break in 4 years. I did Hanson style strength and tempo runs and 3 or 4 long runs of 16 miles at a quicker than Ironman marathon pace. I did my brick runs at or faster than 8:30 pace.

4th of July 5k PR

I kept up my yoga practice and worked on the quality of my diet instead of tracking how much I was taking in. Everything seemed to be working. I never felt the deep fatigue that I felt training for IMAZ and when I raced I performed at a higher level than I thought I was capable of. My confidence was growing along with my fitness. I was starting to believe.

Rivercities Sprint Tri in Benton, LA

As the Texas summer heated up and the Saturday rides were always 100 miles or more I had to really dial in my nutrition. Unfortunately, it took more than one awful ride for me to finally change things up. My issue is that I stop eating and drinking when it gets hot and the miles stack up. This is not good. I become like a child having a tantrum, I don't WANNA eat! After many bonks and meltdowns I ordered a new to me product, Infinit. I wanted to take eating out of the equation. New plan: I would drink my calories.

It worked. Like a charm. I tracked my heart rate on those long Saturday workouts and weighed myself before and after to make sure I wasn't losing too much weight. I found heart rate numbers that actually meant something to me and I drank my Infinit. Week after week went by with me sticking to the routine and my plan. Stay focused, stay smart.

Taper time kicked off a rapid-fire, constant paranoia about getting sick. During Arizona's taper everything went great! Until it didn't. Knowing how quickly things could change had me on high alert. It seemed every student came to their percussion lesson and told me they were sick. I got a pedicure and my nail tech was sick. I was surrounded! I kept up my daily training routine, just changing the intensity and duration of my workouts for my taper. I didn't want my body to think, “Oh good! Are we finally done training? Time to get sick!”

I skipped the Ironman send-off party with all my training buddies because I was afraid of getting sick. I had phantom sick pains. I thought my ears hurt, my throat hurt, my lymph nodes were swollen, I had a headache. It was as close as you can get to having a mental breakdown! Each day that passed was a relief, I only needed to stay healthy for a few more days. It was an all consuming demon that I could not shake.

Saturday morning, the day before the race, had finally arrived and I woke up with the clearest head. The pressure in my ears was gone and my sinuses felt great. I felt a lightness in my body and mind that I hadn't felt in weeks. I sat up with a knowing grin. The belief was there. I was healthy, I was strong. I was gonna do it. I was gonna be an Ironman.