Journey to IRONMAN: 2 Months: Respect the Distance

Sometimes I have to just stop, stop thinking about my next training ride or race, stop thinking about all that is left to do, stop thinking about the day in day out schedule and just embrace the reality.

I am 8 weeks away from competing in my first ever IRONMAN!

I, Bethany, the overweight, movie queen, who swore I would never be able to run a marathon, am going to start on the banks of the Tempe Town Lake with thousands of other athletes ready to claim glory in the IRONMAN Arizona.  I am the first person of my family to attempt something so big. Oh how I wish my 14 year old self could see me now.

I have 6 more weeks of the most intense training of my life and I am SO EXCITED.  When Dawn sent me my 4 week schedule I was nearly giddy.  I turned to Bob and practically squealed...."Look at all that work I have to do! Isn't it exciting?"  Everyday from here to IRONMAN is filled with big things, big  physical stretches, speed work and distance work and volume, Volume, VOLUME.  I'm gonna be an IRONMAN!  And you know what?  I'm scared out of my excited mind.  All the what ifs and unexpected things that could happen over the final push. My dream is so close......

The time to get serious about this distance is now.  Not that I haven't been serious up until now, but in the wise words of someone very close to my training, "You have to respect the distance."  You see I run in circles where most of the athletes I know have competed in MULTIPLE IRON distance races.  I run in ultra marathon circles and even have connections to an amazing athlete who rode over 900 miles on his bike in 7 days...... (not even kidding).  I am a part of this incredible pocket of the population that thrives on distance and enduring and suffering and pushing the body harder and farther.  Its good, but there have been times where its easy to get lost in this idea that, "It's only an IRONMAN."  

Because it's not.  This is IRONMAN........less than 80,000 people a year finish the distance, over 100 have died in its pursuit over the past 30 years.   This is big.  So BIG........

I will respect the distance, I will give all that I have, I have worked tirelessly and will continue to do so. I will be a germaphobe and guard my health.  I will sleep, eat well, recover wisely and continue to be coachable.  I will be better tomorrow than I am today.

When I stand on the start line I will know without fear.......I'm gonna be an IRONMAN.

#ColadoesAustin

Bob and I have been waiting over a year for Nikki and Chris's wedding!  I cannot even begin to tell you how exciting it was to leave the kids with Memaw and Papa (thanks Mom and Dad) and go on an adult only party vacation to the Grand Traverse Resort in Michigan.  We had a blast celebrating with this lovely lady and were so blessed to be a part of her and Chris's special weekend! 

One of the most exciting parts of our trip was all of the exploring we were going to do while getting in my training.  The first morning we were up bright and early (It was early....and I was not bright :), to get on some rented road bikes and explore for 4 hours.  My husband took the navigational bull by the horns and led us on this amazing trip up the peninsula to the Old Mission Lighthouse.  It was so green and lush and the trails were amazing!

Bob totally nerded out too, because the main trail through the city has a solar system replica along it.  The scale is all off, but you can go from Pluto to the Sun on the TART Trail.  We started at Pluto and made it all the way to Saturn before turning off to go up to the lighthouse.  It was really fun to pass the planets and hear my husband tell me more than I ever wanted to know about each one.  Do you know why Uranus is on its side??

It had poured rain the night before (I mean torrential downpour type of rain) so the air was cool albeit muggy and the roads were wet.  We had cloud cover for our entire ride which was actually wonderful and we only got sprinkled on a wee bit at the end.  We made it up to the lighthouse (which was a bit underwhelming) and explored around before heading back down the road to home.  What a GREAT training ride and so much fun to explore new territory!

We got back to the Grand Traverse Resort and Bob quickly got into full golf mode while I so eagerly took on the role of chauffer to the Mother of the Bride.  We ran errands......got pie (Cherry Crumb Pie....it was amazing......I may have eaten a whole one), picked up dry cleaning, checked on the reception site and just had a wonderful afternoon together.  I love this lady.

Friday morning I sent Bob out to golf and then grabbed my wetsuit, goggles and swim cap and headed out to the lake.  I was so hoping to connect with a few other triathletes in the area for an OWS, but alas it wasn't meant to be.  One of the triathletes I was communicating with suggested Bryant Park as the location for a good swim so I found myself on its banks just as the sun rose.  Lake Michigan is a big and deep place.  Thankfully, I was able to swim the shoreline and never be in more than 6 feet of water.  I love open water swimming, but I am not in love with doing it solo.  All in all it turned out to be a fabulous swim and 2500 yards later I had conquered more fears and had a great adventure.  Towards the end of my swim a local male sports team came out to train.  Their coach had them run out into the water then turn around and sprint out and up the beach.  I must have been good  training because the coach was out there going, "See that swimmer?  Don't let her catch you!  You get out of that water before she gets here! Go, Go!"  It was fun and made me feel less lonely out there.

The remainder of Friday was spent in full fledged pampering mode.  Lynn and I had fantastic pedicures together complete with a glass of wine and good conversation.  

We met the boys for lunch after their golf tournament and then I got to head back to the spa for a wonderful massage.  Holy Moley.....I should do that more often.  After the massage all I wanted to do was to head back to my room and take a nap....which I did....and ate pie. 

Nikki and Chris's rehearsal and dinner were so much fun.  Nikki looked absolutely fantastic and you could tell everyone was simply having so much fun.  Even Grandpa Lee was all smiles!

For the dinner we all rode this cute little trolley down into Traverse City and to The Little Fleet.  The Little Fleet is an eating area that is completely serviced by Food Trucks.  It was such a fun set up and such a great evening.

Saturday morning I found myself back on the TART Trail for 12 miles of running.  I have to say I had such a great time running.  The weather was wonderful even though it was humid and the atmosphere, location and views made it perfect.  I even took a wrong turn and ended up doing 2 extra miles without complaint.  I am without doubt a distance runner.  It is truly where I am the most at home.

I snatched Bob off the golf course and we headed back to the water for some more swimming.  Unfortunately, Bob didn't have a wetsuit so we chilled him pretty quickly, but it was a blast to swim with him and give the body an ice bath after the run.   I must say....I just love swimming in the open water.

We had ourselves a wonderful nap and then got dressed up for the wedding.  While I love to be behind my camera it was lovely to spend the evening with my husband and in 4 inch heels.  I do say....we clean up pretty well.

The wedding was a perfect party........I had so much fun and Bob and I together had so much fun.  We laughed, we drank, we danced, we ate. I planned all my training well so that I got to party hard, stay up late and enjoy every moment knowing I would get to sleep in the next morning without a workout on the books.  

On Sunday after a wedding brunch we made the long trek back home.  I may have been nursing a headache the entire day but the memories were wonderful.  

Happy Wedding Nikki and Chris! We had a blast!