Ironman Arizona 2009

Congratulations, Ironmen!!!

2009-11-23T23:24:00.000-08:00

So...how'd the day pan out for everyone?!?

I can't wait to hear your stories and read your race reports!!! :)

Check in when you get a chance.

I found myself at the finish line in a surprising 15:54:51...and heard those four beautiful words...You Are An Ironman!!

Pre-game jitters

2009-11-17T02:38:00.000-08:00

I have pre-game jitters, too. And all I really want to do right now is sleep, but I can't!

I'm going crazy!

2009-11-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

I'm so doing a number on myself right now. I took off last week because I was so tired and really sore after my very intensive chiro and massage treatment. (walking to work hurt). So Sunday Alex and I get on our cross bikes to do a 15/3 double brick on the road at our cottage. It's very very hilly, twisty and alternates between pavement, gravel and dirt.(we bought the crosses for such places). Well, this is a workout that we've been doing last summer and this and it's tough with the terrain and surface but it felt just not like the breeze I thought it would be. So now I"m freaking out about my fitness, I feel I've lost it all and cutting back on taper workouts was a big mistake.

I'm telling myself that at 45 I need some recovery time, and that last year I ended up having to take 2 full weeks off before Muskoka 70.3 and felt incredible going into the race so, intellectually, I though time off was a good idea.

Now I'm at home with a pain in my gut and aimlessly watching tv trying, I think, to avoid thinking about the race. I've had to start using my asthma inhaler which is weird since my trigger is respiratory infections and second hand smoke. No cold right now and haven't been hanging around smoky bars so I think that stress is triggering some breathing difficulties.

I think I'm also getting crazy with all the extra stuff that I was so excited about. There is a couple of women doing the race with us and their families and friends are coming, I want to have some time to meet you all and it's all so up in the air - gugh, I must be some kind of massive control freak to worry about how it will all work. I'm at the Fairmont, how can it not be perfect.

In which I ponder the meaning of life

2009-11-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

9 sleeps out from Ironman and it all just doesn’t feel real yet. I’m trying every day to get back the memory of those long training sessions and the satisfaction I had at that time with my level of fitness. I started out on the taper not feeling at all rested after a full week off for recovery. I found myself shortening workouts to 75% or less of what was scheduled. I was bored, bored, bored and tired, tired, tired. So as not to waste the time I tried to practice being bored. Let’s be honest my 15+ hours of effort will inevitably involve some boredom. Especially on the run. I’m well trained on boredom now.

I’ve now had a week off from anything more strenuous than walking and along with some chiro, massage and a masterful stretch last night with my Pilates instructor, and the result is a happy body. My tight hip flexors and other connective bits were definitely interfering with the inner workings of all those things I have stored in the trunk of my body. I think I was the only athlete going into Ironman feeling her pants getting tighter by the day. But, stretched out with all parts doing their job I’m back to that last hole in the belt.

There is still so much to do, pack for the race, pack for the fun, close the cottage, work. Right now I wish I had access to Bolder’s old blog so I could re-read his pre Iron race epic in which he wrapped his bike in black. Must see if someone can send to me; I need a similar manifesto.

Blogger Meetup?

2009-10-30T17:45:00.001-07:00

Hey, when is everyone getting to town for the race (we all HAVE to be there by 3 weeks from today -ack!)? Is there a blogger meetup in the works?

Final Countdown...

2009-10-28T07:17:00.001-07:00

Okay folks...

How are we doin'!?! Who all's in taper? Did we all survive the last big build?!? How are we doing mentally? :)

I can't believe we're a month away. WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!?

Are You Training Hard?

2009-08-18T06:08:00.000-07:00

I am assuming you are training very hard! You better be cuz I am going to be there and expect you all to kick butt! And I would love the honor of getting to body mark you! And of course, I will cheer you on while I am eating really bad food and drinking lots of alcohol :-)

Get 'er done!

No Ironman for Me This Year

2009-07-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

With a heavy heart I am not racing in IM AZ this year. I will not be ready, that's the truth of it. I have put in the hours and done what my coach asked of me, but my weight has just not come off. I cannot make the times and I won't be able to fit into a wetsuit. I am a mixture of emotions right now - sad, mad, frustrated, disappointed, and embarrassed.

I wish you all the best in your training and your race. I am not sure if I will be down there or not at this point.

I WILL however, be following your progress and hope you all kick ass!

Duane

Let's get some discussion going here.

2009-06-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

The industrial revolution was neither industrial nor revolutionary. Discuss.

The young kids won't get that.

But here's a question - what is Ironman going to give you?

I'll tell you honestly that I don't have any idea right now. I know that triathlon has forced me to confront demons and work on the anxiety that I've carried around with me my entire life. I know that when I'm fit and active I have a mental peace that amazes me even now. I know that if I have my race brain on and I'm out there competitive, living in the moment, and focused well, then, it's just for me the best way to truly be alive.

I think Ironman, as an extreme version of triathlon will deliver up something new.

Any thoughts?

Susan's week

2009-06-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

I'm doing about 6-9 hours for the next 3 weeks and then have a scheduled recovery week. We are following a plan by the same coach as we used for our half training last year. I like how he builds in weeks of recovery every 7 weeks or so. I really understood the benefit of rest last year when, two weeks before the Muskoka 70.3 I fell running and really did a job on my face, shoulder, knee and shin resulting in an infection in my leg, antibiotics and no workouts for the last two weeks of the plan. I was so well rested by the time the race came along that I actually beat my first half distance time by over 5 minutes on a course that was substantially tougher and in terrible wet weather. It was very hard to take those two weeks off but I'm a fast learner and the effect of the rest was pretty apparent.

Unseasonable cold and rain derailed our 60k bike on Sunday so we watched a movie and did an inside spin. Pretty boring - generally I just run and swim in the winter and don't really use my trainer much. That will, however, have to be a back up plan for this year as we can't just miss those workouts if the weather is really bad. September and October is generally very nice in Ontario but we could get some bad rain storms with the hurricane season to the south. Those blow up and give us some pretty wet days.

Otherwise we did a 10k run with at 1700 m swim on Saturday after a week with a hour interval and steady run, and Pilates (every week). Local pool was closed so I missed the short swim that was planned.

This week has Pilates today, a 13k hill run Wednesday, spin class for some intervals on Thursday and we will get in our first open water swim next Saturday. We are planning to piggy back on a race course set up for an afternoon race. It will be nice to have a marked swim course. Sunday will be a 1.5 hour ride followed by a 10k run off the bike.

It's all baby steps to the finish line.

Getting Serious

2009-06-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

What is it now... 167 days? Seems so far off, but if you consider that is 5 months and a taper away, it might be time to GET SERIOUS!

After a few turbulent weeks of international travel, graduate school finals, and spending a week at the ACSM Annual Conference in my home town of Seattle, this week was finally time for me to "get serious". I've been biking (my real pleasure) quite a bit, a swim now & again, a run... well, once in a while (can you tell how much I love running?), but no real structure or Ironman focus until now.

I've eased into this first week of structure with 7.5 hours of biking, 1.75 hours of running, 1.5 hours of swimming, and 3 hours of bikram yoga. Hmmm, ok maybe I didn't ease in. That explains the complaints coming from my legs on this mornings run.

So... my quiet friends... what are YOU doing? Are you getting serious? Or are you one of those uber-focused warriors who got serious 4 months ago? Or... are you still thinking 167 days seems so far off?

Tammy

ATX

182 Days People!

2009-05-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

As of Saturday morning (tomorrow), 182 days! Dang, seems like I just signed up and had 365days! I vacillate between fear, confidence, hope, excitement, and wondering what the heck I have got myself into! I have been training for this for 1/2 year! And finally the weight is starting to budge, down to 378. I have to kick butt (lose mine) over these next 5 months of training to have hope of finishing. If I don't, it will still be a great day and I will have a great training day (but secretly? I am really thinking I can do this!)

This weekend: 4 hour brick tomorrow, 2 hour bike Sunday morning and 2550 in the pool Sunday afternoon, then Monday morning a 10k.

So, are you peeps eating hot dogs and potato salad this weekend, or are you in training?! ("Keep that damn junk food away from me! Can't you see I am training for Ironman!?!) Please share with us what your weekend will or did entail!

2009-05-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, made my 2 swims, 2 rides and 2 runs last week and I'm feeling it. Was starving today and made a very bad choice for lunch - corned beef sandwich and fries. I try to go veggie during the week so the meat was just wrong and I really rarely eat french fries. And it all wasn't very good anyways. I had a perfectly good bean dish that I brought from home that languished in the work fridge.

I really am trying to eat well for training and recovery but I find when I up the training I get really hungry and then I get stupid.

The training gives me some fantastic sleeps and I feel good getting back to it and that makes me feel great.

Planted my city garden on my third floor deck and it's coming along. We also worked on our cottage garden bed on the weekend. There is no real dirt where the cottage is, just rock, lake and bits of somewhat organic material, so we're creating two raised beds to fill with proper soil. It all sound great during the winter. I think my husband wasn't really happy about the plan as he screwed and assembled in the midst of black flies. None of you are from Canada so I'm pretty sure you don't know about the evil black fly. Tiny, tiny, nasty, satanic and only killed off by a couple of 80 degree days. Then the deer flies come. Large, nasty, stanic. I know Deet is a neurotoxin but I was sucking it up Monday.

The goal of the garden is to have good organic food only steps away. Can't say I see myself having saved money for a few years but this seems to me a long term lifestyle. Like triathlon.

Dinner is cooking, music is playing and I'd love to hear how everyone else is doing with the big training stretching out before us.

I know that many of you have blogs and I've started my own as well.

Soonest...

2009-05-07T11:10:00.000-07:00

I’ve spent the last week or so working through in my head how to explain the mental journey that I have taken over the past 4 years to take me from a Try a Tri in 2005 to Ironman Arizona next November. There was a time that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to make the swim cut-off because I couldn’t imagine not panicking in the water. As well, I could have panic attacks on the bike, either a continuation from the water, or, just an episode on a training ride. So, here’s the rules:

1. Don’t talk about fight club. Fight club is the swim and I probably only have a window right now of about 2 weeks before I have to ignore anyone talking about panic, any threads of BT about panic, and any advice to anyone on panic.
2. Cut out the caffeine. If you have any tendencies to anxiety get rid of all stimulants in your life. I was never a coffee drinker but I got caffeine from tea, Starbucks Chai lattes, chocolate, and gels. I now have to plan any chocolate consumption around my training, I’ve switched to Vanilla Creams at Starbucks and I only get one decaf tea a week, and only in the winter. I will use caffeine gels in a running race and I’m going to enjoy those Cokes in Arizona. But I will feel the effect on my mind and my ability to evaluate risk. Hopefully a jacked up metabolism will clear it all out within a day or so. But, caffeine has a half life and it takes a while to get it out of the system. If I have a decaf tea every day (4 mg of caffeine), then by the end of the week I’m going to have more than just that 4 mg of stimulant running around making me crazy.
3.Get some therapy, call it sports therapy if you want. I ended up with a great therapist who really didn’t specialize in athletes but sure knew dysfunctional families. It’s a rare person who doesn’t have demons and those suckers sure like to show up when ever emotions run high. A swim start is very emotional and just as your spouse or best friend may run into issues you are carrying around, (we’ve all had fights that were really not about those socks on the floor) so can your body run into your brain in the water. I came out of 12 weeks of therapy with very little fear of heights (big change) and a much lessoned fear of enclosed spaces. My therapy couldn’t fix my family but, did allow me to separate myself from the way they had, historically, treated me and how they made me feel about myself.
4. Consider it a series of jobs. First job, eat breakfast, second job, get to the transition, third job, set up in transition, fourth job, and the most important – if someone around you starts talking about swim panic either smile and walk away or redirect. Ask about kids, anything, do not play the panic game. Do not give advice, do not admit to any panic at all. You might even help that person out by getting them out of an unhealthy mental space. Keep going just working the one job at a time. Break it down as much as you need to. Having a gel on the bike at a certain point can be a job.

Last year our first half iron distance involved a river swim. The previous year our part of the country had a record level of snowfall. That summer was the rainiest on record also. There was a lot of water draining from the watershed on its way to the Great Lakes. I was late getting from the warm up area down river to the start and the current was fierce. I missed the start. I should have been freaking but I was laughing as I ran up the riverbank to the place were everyone had started from. I didn’t panic in the current but just kept plugging along. The fact that I could go from a woman who wanted to rip her wetsuit off, hanging off kayaks and getting to shore only through a possibly unhealthy force of will to someone who could laugh at missing the start is testimony to how much triathlon has made me change my brain.

Introduction Post

2009-04-29T13:57:00.001-07:00

Hi all!!

My name is Tammy. I was a blogger for many years (No Try), made a lot of amazing friends (such as Tri4Ever!)... quit blogging last August when I started grad school, and now I guess I'm blogging again! (but only here... for now). IMAZ '09 will be my second Ironman. My first was one year ago this month at Ironman South Africa. That race didn't go as planned, but I did finish, and am hoping for a much better race in Arizona.

About me: I'll be 40 at the end of the year, so new age group (not that I'm a contender). Single. Grad student at UT Austin studying Sports Psychology with a strong emphasis on Exercise Physiology, which was my original major. I moved to Austin last August from Seattle, WA.... LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it here in Austin! I also work as a multisport coach, mostly online, but hoping to add some Austin athletes to my roster this summer.

I'm a shining example of "adult-onset athleticism", having peeled my butt off the couch at age 32. I started out bike racing, and only found the joys of triathlon after pulling a hamstring. The bike is my strongest by far, then the swim, then the run. I've done all distances of triathlon from sprint to Ironman, and all run distances from 5k to Marathon. Oh, I am also a recent convert to the joys (?) of Bikram Yoga! Been going three times a week for 3 weeks now, and really dig it!

I often read stories about people who find athletics later in life and end up winning every race they enter... that is not me. My gene pool is a bit shallow on the athletics end, but I love to challenge myself (read: scare myself), and have found the Ironman community to be like no other.

My entire immediate family has decided to converge on Tempe to watch me complete this adventure... coming from as far away as California, South Dakota, Georgia, and Germany! That should be an adventure all it's own. That being said, I am really looking forward to getting to know each of you, and help motivate and support you on your Iron journey. And of course have a celebratory margarita or two post-finish! Cheers!

Tammy M.
Austin, TX

P.S. I am also a Facebook addict, so feel free to "friend me". ;)

2009-04-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm planning to get into the training first week of June so I haven't checked the blog for a bit. Saw the comments about the mental aspect of all of this and I'm going to give it all a good think and write down my story.

Mental work has been huge for me - triathlon has changed me completely and altered my life in a way that I would not have expected.

Be back soon.

So....how are things going?

2009-04-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

Is everyone officially on their IronPlan or is anyone still doing pre-work? I just started officially this month and I've already been out 3 days with the flu (finally feeling better now though!).

I was wondering if anyone could chime in on how the athlete's dinner and awards banquet are done...I thought I read in someone's race report that everything is outside?

So people...what is going on in your neck of the woods??

New SpringWidget

2009-03-12T19:33:00.001-07:00

Oops---I meant to post this to my site, not this one! :)

2009-03-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

Introductory post:

Hi everyone, Susan (Susietri) here.

Quick bio - 44 years old (45 on the 20th - new age group), married 10 years to Alex with small hairy child subsitute dog named Chindi. Alex also does tris and is doing Arizona with me. If we could get a bike for Chindi she'd be all over racing too. She swims like a fish, runs like Lisa Bentley.

We live in downtown Toronto, I work in an investment dealer and Alex works for a large software company.

We both came late to athleticism starting with a tri a try in 2005. I've been through the wringer with anxiety and panic attacks in training and racing (esp in the water) but have come out the other end a better person. If anyone is going through that with open water I'm happy to pass on my experience and the tips that work for me.

Outside of racing and training I'm getting into vegetable gardening and cheesemaking. We like eating - hence the training and racing.

I see a mention of "coach" in one post - who's that, am I missing something?

256 Days?!

2009-03-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

I kept thinking I should post here sometime soon - again our fearless leader has kicked things off.

Thanks to whoever added the countdown clock on the side of the page. Like I needed MORE reasons to stress :) November alternately feels far away and too soon.

Training is going fine...my first sprint race is in 4.5 weeks. I guess that will be a good test of if my winter work is doing anything. It's exciting that spring is finally here - our year is about to kick off!

How we doin' folks?!

2009-03-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

So now that we all have an extra hour of daylight...I just wanted to see how we're all doing with the training front. :)

So. How goes it!?

My plan doesn't officially kick off until April 1st. So until then I'm just working on getting my rear in gear. I'd be interested to hear if any of my fellow midwest folks are participating in any organized century rides this year...with Coaches plan of "a century a month" we'll be doing a bit of traveling to get the distances in...and I'd love to meet up with any of you fine folks...

Hullo Everyone!

2009-02-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

Name: Jeff

Age: 30, almost 31 (March 09), Pisces

Relationship: Single

Pets: None

Work: Network Administrator for a large investment firm

Hobbies: Eating, drinking, eating, volleyball, video games, eating, sleeping, eating...

Triathlon: Swimminging is my weakest sport but I'm getting better. I'm not too good in a pool and my times drop by up to 10 minutes when I'm in the open water. Party because of the wetsuit but mostly because I can't do flip turns! Biking is the sport that has imporved the most. When I started I was averaging about 18 - 19 mph and last year I was up to 22 - 23 mph. Can't wait to see what this year is about! Running is where I started but my pace has been a little stagnent over the last year. The improvements on my run have been due to the improved bike. Easier to hold a higher speed without ruining my legs. The biggest struggle is time management. One day I'll learn how though.

When I grow up: I have no desire to grow up! It's worked for me for this long!!

I'm always looking for people to train with and would love to meet up with some of you for some rides/runs or even swims.

Lodging?

2009-01-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

Uhmm...am I the only one who hasn't booked a room yet?

I was hoping to score something close through VRBO, but now I'm worried that they won't break up the week because it's Thanksgiving.

Where are all the cool kids bunking up at?

I should really get around to making a reservation soon...

A little about me

2009-01-18T13:30:00.000-08:00

Name: Brandy

Age: 31, almost 32 (March 11), Pisces (Taurus Rising)

Relationship: Married for over 3 years to Eric (together 7.5 years)

Pets: 2 bengal cats (Jinx and Bailey)

Work: Human Resources Specialist for Department of Veterans Affairs. Don't much like it.

Education: Master of Education in Organizational Performance and Change, BA in Psychology

Hobbies: Working out, playing Sudoku, playing Hidden Objects games on the computer, scrapbook making, card making, going out to eat/coffee, hiking in the mountains (14,000 ft.+ ). I enjoy hanging out with friends, Facebook, researching (new things to learn about), and most importantly--TRIATHLON and CROSSFIT!

Sports: Swimming is probably my best event, although it's my least favorite. I don't really like to get in the water--either pool or lake. Luckily I have a nice wetsuit to protect me from the fish and the dead bodies that I think will float up under me in the lake! I swam four years on the varsity team in high school, doing the 500 freestyle. Running is my next sport. Ran alot in middle school and high school, then tapered off. The at some point in August 2007 I decided I needed to run again if I wanted to get better at tri, so I started running again. Finally, the bike. I so desperately want to be a good, I mean GREAT, cyclist! Practice, Practice, Practice.

Other: I'm a little OCD, push myself too hard most of the time (but not this month!), love to learn (so always taking some kind of training/classes), love to stretch my limits, I really WANT to be organized but it's a hard task to accomplish!

When I grow up: I want to work in Organizational Development, complete an IM in under 15 hours, and manage to get past all the pain involved in training!

I'm a Jayhawk. In case you couldn't tell.

2009-01-09T10:27:00.000-08:00

Okay...I won't leave Molly hanging anymore...

Hi! I'm Barb!

Here's 20 fun little things about me.

1. I'm a massively huge Kansas Jayhawks fan. Massively huge is an understatement.
2. I live in Chicago with my hubby (IM Louisville vet), fat tabby cat Wrigley and my fantabulous black pug, Phog.
3. We live in a 1 bedroom condo in a high rise (with a whopping 900 square feet)...which poses a lot of unique challenges with space and setting up the trainer.
4. I like to procrastinate.
5. But I'm working hard to change that and start getting my workouts in before the workday begins.
6. My hours can sometimes be a little wonky...I work 9-5 in advertising, but most folks in the biz know that often the days can be something like 7am-midnight depending on the season and client.
7. Molly's constant stream of Facebook Status Updates motivates me to workout (thanks, girl!)
8. I haven't ridden my bike since...uhmm...hrmm...(considering I can't remember, is that a problem?)
9. If I were stuck on an island and only had 3 albums to listen to for the rest of my life I'd bring Self's Gizmodgery, Smashing Pumpkins MCIS and Radiohead's The Bends.
10. I am a back of packer...and I love it.
11. I will likely be arriving to the finish line at 16:59:59. That gives all of you fine folks PLENTY of time to go home...shower...eat...take a power nap...and then come back to bring me on home.
12. In 2009 I am one of two IronRookies that the Stay Tuned Report will be following during training and racing.
13. I like to flirt with folks during triathlons...so if someone is screaming that yer buns look great in spandex as you whiz by on the bike, it was probably me.
14. I collect vinyl records...i love the sound and quality in comparison to CDs.
15. I am the antithesis of a girly girl...but I'm hardly a tomboy.
16. After 3-4 years of running I still don't consider myself a runner.
17. Biking is easily the weakest of the three disciplines for me...however I'm looking to make massive improvements on this front.
18. My hidden talent is that I can fold my tongue in half...front to back.
19. On tabs for this season will be Steelhead, Great Illini half, the Trek women's sprint, Apple Cider Century Ride, a short road race or two, and then...of course...Ironman Arizona.
20. We are all going to be IMAZING!!!!!!!!

First Encounters...

2009-01-07T13:10:00.001-08:00

Excellent idea, Barb! And since I am such a procrastinator at work, I'll do it right now :)

I'm Molly (aka Muppets on Parade), I run with the shaggy herd of muppets and update my Facebook status a bajillion times a day. I live in Northern California where it's currently sunny and about 50 degrees. I love running, I like biking, and I tolerate swimming (though it is starting to grow on me). I've got a busy race year with 2 sprints and 3 HIMs (Boise, Barb's Race & Augusta) before AZ. I LOVE open toed shoes, primarily flip-flops and I live in them for as much of the year as is humanly possible (I went through a small rant on my blog last month that I was finally going to have to stop walking the dogs in flip-flops at 5am because it was below 30 degrees...). AZ will be my first IM, in my 3rd triathlon season. In all likelihood, you will spot Cujo the St Bernard at some point with my husband spectating the course in November. And I want everyone to come ride the bull with me at the Saddle Ranch the day after the race. Or just drink a big pitcher of mai tais.

Hi! My name is........

2009-01-07T12:59:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking we need to do some introductions on here...

What do you think?

Why don't we all take a moment over the next few days to write a quick blog about ourselves. You know...the usual I like long walks on the beach and loathe open-toed shoes type of thing.

And as a reminder, if you've got friends doing the race, let me know so we can extend an invitation to them. :)

Rainy Run

2009-01-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/example/sets/72157607702703437/]

Wel, Here We Are With Only 321 Days to Go!

2009-01-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

Yes that's right, the days are slipping by very quickly! Seems like only yesterday we were signing up for this crazy Ironman thing!

Where has the time gone? It will come up fast and then we will be there in transition, getting marked and wondering "What the Hell am I doing here?" Well, we will be having fun and becoming Iron because (Uh Brandy, please pay attention here) we took our training seriously! Right Brandy? :-)

Ok, so I just finished a recovery week, but it was still 9 hours and 23 minutes! (Dang, those upcoming base building weeks are going to be tough!) Cool! So my IM AZ peeps, where are you in this journey? Have you started? Do you have a plan laid out? Or, are you still in the Ben and Jerry's? I on the other hand have 14+ hours scheduled next week! MADNESS! MADNESS I SAY!

Hope you all have a great week

Photos!!!!

2008-12-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

I'm down here in Scottsdale for Christmas so I've been accumulating photos of the course and just the general area. I know I personally love seeing as much as I can to help visualize a race if I don't live locally. So anyway, excuse some of the more random family shots in there :) but enjoy!

IM AZ Course & General Area Photos

I'll be here a few more days and back again in March for (baseball) spring training, so let me know if there's anything specific you'd like to see and I'd be happy to go take more.

New bloggers!!

2008-12-11T21:27:00.000-08:00

What's the best way to get people on the blog? I have about 5 people right now that need to join. :)

Funny IM Dream

2008-12-11T21:01:00.000-08:00

Only tri-folks will understand how funny my dream last night was:

I'm indoors, working at some store. Throughout the day there I have to finish an Ironman. I only remember being on the treadmill, running barefoot, going 8 miles an hour thinking: "I have to hurry or I'm not going to make the 15 hour cutoff. I have to speed up." Yet I am also thinking "this doesn't hurt as bad as I thought it would, I can keep going!". I keep track of the miles on my left arm, by using a pen to make tick marks on the skin. Evetually I have a hard time seeing the mile marks because the sweat makes the ink run. Customers come in to the store and I am helping them with something, but still running on the treadmill.

This dream feels 15 hours long....finally I wake up exhausted.

IM Anxiety?????

Welcome!

2008-11-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

So...the idea behind this little blog is sort of a central hub for bloggers headed to IMAZ 2009.

Feel free to post questions for veterans whatever you want.

Get ready for an awesome ride!!

(My husband was part of a community blog for IMLou and it worked out really well.)