IRONMAN Canada - We Did It!!

 

 

It is difficult to express the many emotions I have felt this past week.  When we left Salt Lake on Tuesday, I was feeling so discouraged because my right leg was hurting so badly I wasn't even sure how I was going to run a step much less a marathon. I had done all i could to get it better from a massage to therapy to Addvil so I just had to hope for the best.... and sit on ice on and off for 940 miles.  It ended up being a blessing that we spent so much time packing and driving so we couldn't run or bike or swim for four days because every day my leg felt just a little better.  We did ride the marathon course on our bikes on Thursday and I felt pretty good, other than realizing how many hard hills there were on the marathon course, and then we swam in the lake on Friday and I felt even better and then Saturday we did nothing... well let me re-phrase that, we didn't run or bike or swim, but we spent the day organizing our gear for drop-off which is a pretty daunting task.  You have to make sure you have EVERYTHING you could possibly need in the appropriate bags because if it isn't in the bag when you drop it off, you will have to do without it on race day.

 

 I am practicing changing a flat tire...just in case...I don't have
a picture of me praying that I don't get a flat tire

 

 So Many Bags So Little Time

 

 

 

We are at the back to avoid the crowds

As you can see avoiding the crowds is not an option



 

 

I have to say I had such mixed emotions when I realized that the event we had been training for over the last nine months had finally arrived. I was excited, nervous and a little sad that it was all going to be over in a day.  It had been such a fun journey getting here, from 20 laps in the pool,  4 mile runs,  and 15 mile bikerides to 2 laps around the lake, 16 mile runs and 100 mile bikerides.  That is the great thing about the training...little by little you get stronger and stronger until you are ready to swim, bike and run 140.6 miles.  The day of the race, we woke up at 4 AM, forced down some breakfast and headed to the race.  After having our race numbers written all over our body with marker, we squeezed into our wet suits and headed for the beach.  I have to say, when I stood on that beach and looked out across the lake at how far I really had to swim, I thought, "I am insane.  That is really far!!"  When the gun finally went off, and I put my face in the water and started to swim, I was surprised how calm I felt.  I reminded myself that I was just going to relax and enjoy every moment of this day because this was what I had worked so hard for.  I know "relax" may not be the best choice of words for a day when I was putting my body through ALOT, but I really was able to enjoy so many moments of the day.  Yes, there were times that weren't so enjoyable... like the moment I discovered that I had mis-counted how many bouys there were across the lake and there were four more than I had anticipated, or the time I realized I had overestimated my bladder's capabilities and there were no porta-potties for over 10 miles, or the last 15 miles of sitting on that bike seat.. or the first 2 miles of the run when I had to have a very convincing conversation with myself that I could run 26.2 miles if I ran them one mile at a time.  These were all moments when I had to dig deep but I can honestly say, other than that, I really did enjoy the day.. In fact, I must have had a big smile on my face because all the spectators commented that it was great to see my smile.  And really, I should have been smiling because I had set a goal and every step brought me closer to acheiving that goal.  When I finally crossed that finish line, it felt amazing.  I had done it.  I was an Ironman.. But at that moment I realized it wasn't the finish line or the medal or all the excitement that meant the most to me, it was the fans, not the fans on the side of the road, even though they were wonderful, but the fans that believed in me and encouraged me throughout this journey and followed our progress and congratulated our accomplishments...the fans that make my life worth living... my friends and most of all, my family.  That is truly the real prize. 

 

My biggest fan... John



 

We are here!!

We left Salt Lake for Canada on Tuesday and after two days of driving many, many miles, we arrived in Penticton Canada. It is such a beautiful place. There are lakes everywhere...and the lake we are swimming in is just around the corner. I have to say looking at that lake and how far we have to swim is a little overwhelming. It just keeps going, and going, and going... and then there is the bike ride. We drove 75 mile of the bike ride just to get a good look at it and I had a few moments of thinking, "Wait, I thought they said there were only two really big hills". I guess "really big" is relative or perhaps "hill" is relative. Fortunately, we did much of our training climbing some "really big hills" so I am hoping that will be very helpful on race day. And then there is the run. We rode our bikes over the run course today and it is definately not a nice flat marathon course. A few times we were going really fast on our bikes which means we will be going really slow on our feet. There are some pretty steep hills on that course.. just what we need to keep us humble after a 112 mile bike ride and a 2.4 mile swim. I will say this.. the running course is beautiful until mile 21...not good planning. I think we needed beautiful until mile 26.2. I have had so many emotions these last few days, from fear to excitement to anticipation. I am sure I will have many emotions to add to that list when I cross that finish line on Sunday.

Happy Birthday to Me

Tomorrow is my 52nd birthday. That is the strangest thought... I will be 52 years old. I have never been one of those people that got really depressed when I hit those milestone birthdays...first 30, then 40,then 50. For me, getting older doesn't encite so much a feeling of sadness as it does a feeling of surprise. I am just surprised to think that I am really 52. I think the word for this is "denial" but it really is the emotion I feel. I know every birthday I get a year older so the number shouldn't come as such a surprise but inside this body that gets older every year lives the same person that was there in my twenties... hopefully a wiser, better version of that twenty-year old, but nonetheless, I have the same love for life and adventure and people. I have the same competitive, passionate spirit (even though some of my passions have changed) and I have many of the same quirky personality traits that I keep thinking I can change. It is a strange realization that I am in my fifties and there is no going back to those earlier years but I choose to embrace where I am at...I can still do a lot in my fifties...I can still run really far and bike really far and swim farther than I ever imagined. But I do have to admit, unlike in my twenties, everything hurts much worse the next day. So, happy birthday to me! And to all of you that worry about how old you are getting, just remember, you truly are only as old as you feel.

I Know You Aren't Really Interested But....

With our Ironman race only two weeks away, I find myself talking about it alot..with everyone. I am pretty sure some of the people I talk to about it aren't really interested in all I have to say but I tell them about it anyway. I realize this is my way of working through my anxiety. If I can just talk about my goals and my plan and what I am doing to accomplish my desired results, then it is all going to work out, right? I know it sounds crazy but for some reason talking about the race makes it seem more real, more concrete, and not just some future goal that I hope to accomplish someday. It is hard to explain, but after training for so long it almost doesn't seem real that we really are going to "DO" the race. Training has just become such a part of our life... eat, drink, sleep, train...that I have to remind myself that it will all come to an end in a couple of weeks. I know I will keep doing many of the things that I am doing now but not to the same degree or with the same committment and intensity. I actually told John last week that it made me feel a little depressed to think that we were almost done with our training. I have loved the training. I love how "fit" I feel. I love that I can now do things that seemed untouchable when we started this journey. I love the sense of accomplishment I felt when I got out of the lake on Monday after swimming 2.4 miles. I love that even after one of the most difficult bikerides I have had this season, with stomach issues and cramping and an overall bad attitude, I still finished it and I finished it with a good time. I love that I am feeling better and better on every run..even when it is 98 degrees.. and I love that feeling of exhaustion I feel knowing I have worked hard and given my workouts 100 percent. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I don't love it in the moment, but when all is said and done, I feel really great about it. There have been many conversations in my head during a long swim that were less than positive, like "Why exactly am I swimming across this lake for no apparent reason?" or "Seriously? I swear that buoy looked much closer the last time I looked." You have so much time to think during a triathlon because you are not allowed to use ipods during any part of the race so you have to swim, bike, and run to the beat of your own drum which in my case is not really a drum but multiple conversations with myself. I told John one of the hardest things for me during these long races is that I can't talk to anyone for a VERY long time. That is not something I am used to.. I like to talk to people, but since I am pretty much out there on my own with no music and no one to talk to, I talk to myself...not out loud.. at least, I try not to talk out loud..but silently, to myself. This can be a good thing and a bad thing depending on the conversation. The main goal is to talk to myself about something other than the heat, the fatigue or any pain I am experiencing. I try not to allow myself to swear at John for talking me into this and I try not to think about how many miles we have gone and how many miles we STILL have to go. I am really working on what conversations I need to have in my repertoire so during those moments when I might be struggling, I can pull the perfect thought off the shelf and focus on that for several miles. This is what I will be working on these last two weeks. This will be as important to my training as everything else I have done. That said, if I corner you and tell you all about something you really don't want to know so much about, remember this, what you say back to me could be the thought that gets me across that finish line.

Our Ironman is fast approaching...only 16 more days and we will be in Canada at the starting line in our wetsuits. It seems a little surreal that is so close. We have been training for over 8 months. I definitely prefer the training over the actual "doing". I like the challenge of the workouts, the lessons learned from the days of training that don't go so well, and the joy that comes from the days when everything just seems to click. It has been an amazing journey and Now i just have to hope we are ready to finish what we started. The thing about this race is that you never really know how it is all going to come together. We have ridden many miles on our bike, we have run several miles on the roads and we have swam hundreds of laps, but the trick is taking all those pieces of the puzzle and putting them together in one day! Honestly, as I am writing this I am getting butterflies. Am I really ready for this? I have to believe I am.I have followed the plan, I have done the work. Now it all comes down to having confidence in my abilities, and I can do that. I am strong, I am persistent and I am very determined. And I just have to finish one thing at a time...first the swim, and then the bike ride and finally the run. I can do that. I have done it before... just not all in one day. So, as we wind down our training I am going to really try to enjoy every swim stroke, every stride, and every rotation of my pedals so that when I begin the actual race I can remind myself how much I love what I am doing. But just in case I forget, It will help to know you are all cheering for me...even though I know you think what I am doing is a little crazy.

Time Flies!

I am feeling a bit reflective today so I hope you will bear with me. I know it is so cliche to say "time flies" but it really is so true. Days go by so fast they are almost a blur and no matter how hard I try to slow down and embrace every moment of every day, I still feel that I miss out on so many moments that I wasn't able to capture. I really want to do better at this. I want to be able to be more spontaneous and do things that might not have been part of my plan. For example, I want to be able to leave my house in the morning without making the bed. I am pretty sure it wouldn't be the end of the world, but no matter what time I leave our house in the morning whether it be 4:30 AM or 8:00 AM, the bed will be made. I know other people have the ability to leave their houses with unmade beds so I am not sure why it is such a problem for me. I want to be like those people!! I want to walk out the door without everything perfect and feel good about it. I want to know I didn't waste four and one half minutes of every one of my days making my bed. When I was younger and shared a bed with my sister, I still got up and made the bed...that is my side of the bed, because she was still in her side...sleeping. I am sure it is hard for you to believe that she HATED sharing a room with me. My husband is very lucky because he leaves for work very early so he is gone when I begin making the bed. (Now that I think of it, that might be why he leaves for work so early.) The point I am trying to make is that I really want to be better at not worrying about the things in life that are so unimportant and I really want to focus on the things that matter. The other day when I was running I heard the song on the radio, "The Cats and the Cradle" and it really made me think; so much so that I called my son and asked him if he ever thought of me when he heard that song. He laughed and assured me that he didn't but I have really thought alot about it. I know I have made the mistake of putting off what really matters because of something "so important" I had to do but I hope all the people in my life know that what matters most to me is them...They are what makes my life complete. They are what brings me so much happiness...and, if I can squeeze in having all the beds in the house made then that is just the frosting on the cake.

The Best Laid Plans!

This week didn't end up going exactly as planned which is always a problem for me...I like to follow the plan. I am scheduled to a fault... but Saturday's make shift half- iron in the wind left me with an injury. Of course, I just thought I was tired and sore and that I would feel much better after an easy 5 mile run on Monday...yeah, right. I don't know why I am so terrible at listening to my body especially when it is SCREAMING at me! After mile one on Monday I hurt a little but not too bad so I kept going...at mile 2.5 I was in trouble which of course meant I had 2.5 miles to suffer through just to get back home and suffer I did. Everything hurt by the time I got home. I stretched a little and grabbed the ice. The only problem is I couldn't figure out which body part to ice first. I really just wished I could have climbed in the freezer. My next step was to call the Doctor and attempt to describe where I was hurting. Diagnosis...no running for a week, minimal biking until Saturday, but
I could swim as much as I would like...just an aside...I am not sure I ever really "like" to swim but since I couldn't do anything else swimming became much more desirable. I have to say, I am feeling better. I am no longer limping and I have two great swims at the lake under my belt so all is well. Saturday we have a 111 mile ride scheduled so I am hoping the week long rest was all I needed. Even though it was very difficult to scrap this week's workout plan, I have decided to focus on my bigger plan which is to cross that finish line and hear the announcer say, "Becky Suchy" you are an Ironman. And then, only then, I can start laying out my plans for some other crazy, ridiculous goal.