Week 2 Wrap-up

Holy crap—it’s basically a week away. It’s astounding and frankly, very creepy to think that, in a week, it’s over. This thing, this obsession, this one event that has taken my time, money, and, at times, sanity is almost here…and I CAN’T WAIT!!! I’ve found myself going through some pretty crazy emotional bouts lately—things that used to not make me think twice are now freaking me out a little—like the fact that the post-it I use to mark my place in the binder that holds my training plan is way at the back of the binder and that some friends have emailed with their good wishes—all of which have, at times, sent me into moments of tears and terror.

It became really real on Monday night at the last Ironman Mondays session—we talked about race day logistics, what to pack in what bag, etc., etc., and then, as we were leaving, we started shaking hands and wishing each other luck, etc. Not sure why that sent me over the edge, but it sure did…and then I made the mistake of reading one of the articles we got while I was on the way home, which was all about the experience of doing the race—big mistake as I started crying on the Eisenhower in my car. Tuesday evening, I dropped Sue and Michele’s bikes off at the Bike Shop and ended up talking with Susan, a woman who works there who is also racing Wisconsin—it was great talking with her and getting some advice—she basically said to make sure that I race my race and take it easy and not get caught up in the excitement—all good advice that I hope like hell I can follow. My sister was also in town Tuesday night, so we had dinner and then had a couple of beverages at my place before calling it a night—I’m sure she was thrilled to listen to me babble on about IM the whole time, but, frankly, that’s all I can talk about these days.

One of the tidbits I took away from IM Mondays was the idea to pack some inspirational notes in my run special needs bag—little notes from friends and family that I can pull out and read at each mile to get me through the run. I mentioned that to Theresa and, before I knew it, she had coordinated an email effort to get my friends to write little notes for me. She won’t show me the notes—probably good—but she’s been keeping me in the loop as to who has responded, and that has been amazing! So—if you’re one of the folks who has contributed, a huge preemptive thank you—not only for keeping me going on the run, but for letting me know that you all haven’t forgotten about me, even though I haven’t been in communication for squat in the past year.

From a training perspective, this week has been fine—pretty easy training stuff and way less volume, right down to the 2 ½ hour bike I did Saturday (again, I took my mountain bike out and hit the Great Western Path, Fox River Valley Trail, and Prairie Path for a 43-miler). I also did my “long” run of 7 miles on Sunday, with the added bonus that I got to run with Theresa. We’re doing a half marathon together at the end of October, and this was one of the few weekends we could actually run together, so we took advantage of it and headed out for a nice, easy run on a beautiful September day.

I also tried to continue my return to normal life—we had Friday as a holiday, so Theresa and I met to do some shopping (I actually needed a dress for a December wedding…as shocking as it may be that I actually wear dresses on occasion) and basically just sort of hung out all day. As it turns out, not only did I find a dress (actually 2), but I bought some size 8 pants…something I also never thought I’d do. We rounded out the day back at Doug and Theresa’s house for BLT’s (made with yummy yummy garden tomatoes) and then s’mores around the firepit with the whole family. Saturday, I slept in, did my bike and a short brick run after, and then took care of a bunch of random stuff around the house and crashed. Sunday, I again went to church, then ran with Theresa before we headed back to the mall for some more shopping. All told, an absolutely perfect weekend heading into race week—the shopping and time with Theresa and her family helped me focus on stuff other than IM, which was very much a welcome distraction.

So, here I am—one week away (actually 6 days away at this point) from the longest day (and hopefully the best day) of my life so far. It’s weird—no doubt about it, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Bring it on…

Here’s the roll-up…

Swim: 2:19:00 / 6500 meters
Bike: 4:59:35 / 81.31 miles
Run: 3:33:31 / 22.20 miles
Total: 10:52:06 / 107.58 miles

And, just for grins, here’s my total training since I started my IM-specific training on Jan. 16…you might want to sit down (at least I’m glad I was when I looked at the totals)…

Swim: 82:12:18 / 221225 meters
Bike: 211:01:51 / 3475.82 miles
Run: 126:18:20 / 791.85 miles
Total: 417:04:01 / 4405.71 miles