Ironman Fears

It's hard to believe that Ironman is less than 4 weeks away. At time I feel ready and at other times I wish I had had some time to do this or that. It's too late to do any training that will really affect my race positively, so I just need to bank on the fact that I've done the work and hope that it's enough.

My biggest fear for the race is that something mechanical happens to my bike and it can't be fixed. If I don't finish, I want it to be because I physically can't finish, not because of a bike issue. That would be so frustrating and disappointing.

Another issue is my bike fit. I didn't get professionally fit and I feel like I don't fit correctly. It's very painful to sit on my bike for any time longer than 30 minutes, both in aero and upright position. This is something to worry about because I'll be sitting on my bike for almost 7 hours on race day. I haven't figured out exactly what is wrong, but it's probably too late by now.

90 miles

Skyler and I used to both ride on Saturday mornings and would have the rest of the day to relax and hang out. Now we have to do a lot of planning to get our long rides in so that our baby boy has somebody babysitting him.

Skyler knew we both needed super long rides, so he took a day off work to give us more time. It took a lot of time managing, but we did it and I got a 90 mile ride completed.

I started my ride going up Katella to Jamboree. Just 6 miles into the ride my chain got jammed. Luckily I was able to call Skyler to come help me out. It rained while I waited for him, but luckily that was the only time. 45 minutes later I was back on the road. I worried this was a sign of a bad ride, but fortunately nothing bad happened for the remaining 85 miles.

I rode about 50 miles to Yorba Linda where Skyler joined me. He had dropped the baby at my parent's house for a few hours. We rode together (something we haven't done in a long time) out to Corona. We did a lot of climbing. It was great riding with Skyler. I wish we could do it more often. 

Around mile 80 we separated and I rode 10 more miles to finish off an even 90 miles (he had to get back to the baby). I felt like I could have ridden further, but I was chasing sunlight to finish 90. I felt great after I finished. My longest consecutive ride ever. Ironman, I'm ready!

Working (Out) Together

Training is a family event at our house. It won't get done if we don't do a little planning and work with each other. Sometimes that requires getting up extra early to swim so I don't miss out on family breakfast. Sometimes Skyler runs during lunch so we can spend the evening together. Sometimes that means Skyler and I get a babysitter so we can ride together. We make it work so that everyone is happy.

Most of the time I run with the jogging stroller. Thankfully, Desmond is loving the stroller more lately. A few months ago he would cry the entire run, which makes for a miserable run for mom. I think he's starting to enjoy looking around and being somewhere different than stuck in the house all day. I can't wait for him to cheer me on and tell me to run faster.

My First Road Crash

Last weekend Skyler and I raced Orangeman in Dana Point. This was just a training race for both of us, so I wasn't too concerned about time. Plus I knew the bike course was killer so it couldn't be compared to Oceanside.

Well, three miles from the finish of the bike I got in a crash. The yellow caution tape got tangled on my handlebars and pulled me down. I crashed hard on my left side. My elbow got the worst of it. I got checked by the paramedics and cleared to finish the race, which I did, but not very fast.

The past 9 days have been extremely difficult because I want to train but I'm hampered by my injury. I can run relatively fine. I can bike on the trainer so I can lean on my right side. But swimming in out. I've done two very painful workouts and it just isn't working.

I got checked on in urgent care this morning to make sure nothing is broken and I'm ok. But I'm not supposed to swim for a while. Well, Ironman is in 6 1/2 weeks and I kinda need to swim. Ahhhhh!

Hot rides for me

Since the two of us can't ride concurrently anymore, we have been splitting our Saturdays to accommodate both of our long bike rides. Skyler has been getting the morning shift and I have the late morning/early afternoon one. Unfortunately for me, the past month has been super hot. My last training ride ended in 106 degree weather. Yikes! But I always chalk it up to good training.

Desmond is finally big enough for the bike trailer. We took it out for a test drive the other day. It was a bit scary for me because so much responsibility to ride safely. Des seemed to like it. We just need a proper bike helmet to make everything legal. Hoping this will get me outside and off my trainer more often.

Early Mornings Don't Get Easier

Skyler has been working a ton lately. He leaves for work early and gets home late. That means no time for swimming for me.

Even though he had to leave early today, I got up even earlier to finally get a swim in. I swam 3000 zombie-like yards. I came home exhausted. I had to nap when Desmond went down for his morning nap because I could barely keep my eyes open.

I hate getting up early. But I do it because of my goal: Ironman. I thought about it the whole time I swam. Only 4 months to go!

The Family Races the 4th of July "5k"

Every 4th of July our church hosts a local 5k. We raced it three years ago and we both did well. Last year we raced again. I was four months pregnant so I took it easy and Skyler had a mid-race pitstop when Pumpkin decided she had to poop now.

5ks are especially scary because of how fast they are. I am an endurance runner and a 5k is just a warm-up for me. I was especially anxious for this year's race because my speedy friends were racing and I really wanted to beat them. I used to be faster than them, but then I took a little time off to have a baby. They got faster while I got slower. It's been seven months since Desmond was born and I was ready to race normal again, no excuses allowed.

Today was a good race day. Wore my racing flats, started out front, and started fast. This is a short race, no time to speed up mid-race. Within a few minutes I was 4th place woman. I was nearing the end and I was in second place woman position. I turned around to see who was near me, if anyone, but I stumbled and fell flat on my hands and knees. Got some good scrapes and scratched my wedding ring (boo!). Got up quickly and finished strong. Finish time of 20:05. The course is 2.91 miles, so a bit shorter than a true 5k, but I'll take it. 2nd place woman and 1st place in my age group (got beat my 20 year old girl). Skyler (and Pumpkin) finished 4th overall and 1st in his age group. We both came home with ribbons. Our kids have no chance at not being competitive.