The story starts in Tempe Town Lake at the 2011 Ironman Arizona. Before the cannon shot off, I was under the bridge about 200 yards from the starting line in order to feel comfortable with so many people around. I was toward the middle to the back of the pack. I’m guessing it took me at least 20 minutes in the swim in 2011 to calm my breathing. I was moving in the water, but not necessarily swimming. Whenever someone got close to me, I’d let them pass, but eventually got into a groove and swam the rest of . . . → Read More: IMAZ 2012 Swim: Don’t PANIC like I did (then again, I hope you do)
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Her hands and voice were shaking uncontrollably because she felt helpless. She knows that it’s going to just get tougher. The strength that he used to have has been rapidly decreasing, and will not return. It’s been 6 months since the diagnosis and the picture is bleak, dark… horrible. “Don’t get old” he told me as we made our way into the living room. The corner of the comfy couch was our destination. As he plopped into that corner, there were many short gasping breathes before it became semi-normal again. It’s certainly not like it used to be… even . . . → Read More: Invincible…. until you are not I spent Saturday and Sunday on the couch, which was a little upsetting because of how nice it was this weekend. In my attempt to start my running training, I ran last Wednesday. I wasn’t going to go very far, or very fast (even if there were ghost runners out there) so I decided not to wear either my ankle and knee braces. Big mistake….. I felt fine Wednesday night and most of Thursday, but by Friday a spot about two inches above my left ankle was really tender. Fawn says it’s where my tendon attaches to my bone….. That’s cool, . . . → Read More: Ouch At 9:33:46 pm (or 14 hours 33 minutes and 46 seconds after I started the day) I raised my hands at the finish line. Those last few seconds running up the finish line shoot seeing my Dad first on the right with a huge smile and a thumbs up, then looking left and hearing my brother Steve giving me a big “YOU are an Ironman”, seeing Kirstin and Anthony with giant smiles, a few steps further on the right I see a hand shoot out of nowhere and I look up to see it was Fawn with her infectious . . . → Read More: starting at the finish line This is a list of what I need to bring with me for the run: sneakers, thin socks, braces, shorts, hat, gps watch. I still have a hard time calling sneakers, running shoes, but I have to bring a pair with me no matter what they are called. The other day I was running in my sneakers with a pair of ordinary socks and after I got home, my pinky toe was crying ‘Wee Wee’ for a few days. So to avoid that again I’m going to wear a pair of thinner socks. I use braces on my left ankle . . . → Read More: Run Checklists These are the items I need in order to do the bike portion of the event: bike, bike shoes, thin socks, helmet, gloves, computer, hydration belt, chafing stuff, tools, extra tire tube, food, sunscreen. My super fast bike was picked up in Philly by TriBikeTransport on Friday morning. It’s being carried by truck to Arizona. Barring any issues, it should be there on Thursday when I get there. I have bike shoes that clip onto the pedals of the bike. At first, I didn’t like using them, but it’s certainly more comfortable because my feet aren’t moving around or . . . → Read More: Bike Checklists I need to bring the following items with me: goggles, wetsuit, trisuit, wetronome, and a towel (I’m guessing on the towel) We all know or have an idea what goggles are. The wetsuit keeps my body warm and afloat. The water temperature is currently 61 degrees and I’m fairly confident it won’t get any warmer, so I’m very glad I opted for the full length wetsuit. No hypothermia for me please. A trisuit is a one piece shorts and shirt that makes me look like a wrestler from the early days. I’m going to wear it under the wetsuit . . . → Read More: Swim Checklists At 4 pm the delivery came! I was expecting it about an hour before, and that last hour went so slowly. I began to prepare myself to forget about today and hope for the next day delivery, but that all changed when the big brown truck pulled up. From that point on, it was like slow motion. The delivery guy sleepily walked out of the truck with a box. A box that had crossed the country five times. The taped edges showing the wear of excited attempts to open it to reveal the contents. The only difference with this . . . → Read More: You can’t imagine! I have a feeling, no matter how I end up doing next month, I’ll wonder if I should have done more or did things differently. Is that natural thinking? Would it ever be enough, or would the ’satisfactory’ amount make me even more anti-social? Does it really matter anyhow? I had a little trouble with energy earlier this past week, so getting past this weekend the way I did was wonderful. Having a lack of energy is enough to discourage you from thinking that it will ever get better. To date, the longest run I’ve had was nowhere near long enough. I had to run at least 20 miles to stay on track. The theory goes….if you can run 20 miles, you can complete a marathon. Sounds a little strange, but I’ll buy it. In my mind, leading up to this weekend, I resolved myself to accepting having . . . → Read More: certain |
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