Couer d’Alene IM - Freak Out Moment

Yesterday I got an email from the Coeur d’Alene IM folks and the subject was ‘CDA IM 90 Days’, or something like that- I deleted the email without even reading it because it was freaking me out.  :)  Anyway – CDA IM is less than 90 days away and even though I know when it is, seeing ’90 days’ in print kind of sent me into a tailspin.  ACK – I’m not ready, Do I have enough time to feel ready?, I don’t feel physically ready...

I am very fortunate to have two very strong, positive people in my life who know/understand what I am going through, who understand the effort, dedication and time needed to train for an IM.  Pat and Matt (my coach ).

So, I called Pat (he is out of town this week) and left him a voicemail telling him CDA is only 90 days away, I’m not ready, I don’t know if I can be ready, my body is tired… (nice voicemail huh?)  :)  When he called me back, he knew exactly what to say to calm me down.  He said ‘you are ready, you are so fit, you could go do that Ironman right now.  But, guess what – you still have 3 months.  Think about how many more workouts you will do between now and then.  And in August when you do that Ironman, you will kick CDA’s A$$’!  :)  It makes me smile, he has so much confidence in me.  Sometimes, it would be nice to see myself the way he sees me. 

I also sent Matt an email, telling him the same thing – I don’t feel physically ready.  I’m struggling with hillls on the bike and run.  (Side note- the CDA course is very hilly, a big climb, and a few shorter ones – it’s a tough course).  Matt also calmed me down… reminding me to stay patient and present.  There is still a lot of time to build more fitness.

Staying Present
I have heard this phrase a lot over the years and it always baffled me.  What does that mean?  How do you do that?  I am the type of person to always be looking ahead, trying to determine what’s next.  So when I heard ‘stay present’ or ‘stay in the moment’ I really didn’t know how to do that.  But, last year while training for the Louisville IM, I really embraced this phrase and worked very hard to ‘stay present’ during my workouts and races.  Meaning, instead of thinking about the next workout, or the next part of the race, I just stayed focused on what I was currently doing.  It takes a lot of effort for me to ‘stay present’ because it’s just not who I am naturally.

 So when Matt replied to me yesterday, telling me to stay patient and present – it was just the reminder I needed to calm down, refocus, and not worry about 90 days from now.

CDA get ready for me, 'cuz I'm getting ready for you!