I'm Baaaccckkkk!
I will be blogging again for my upcoming race. I signed up for IM 70.3 Washington on 9/22/24! I have not written anything for this blog since 1 week prior to my 2017 Coeur d'Alene IronMan race. After that race/accident I spent about 3 years in recovery and rehab.
Then in fall of 2020 I took the plunge and signed up for the IM Arizona 2021! I spent the next year training for that and am happy to say that I was once again an IRONMAN! However, training for that IM was a completely different experience. I was not completely healed, I had a lot of unknowns (could my body handle the rigorous training), and I put a LOT of pressure on myself - I wanted this so bad - it was like my whole identity revolved around being able to complete this IM. The training was not fun, and I did not enjoy it like I always had in the past. I did not want to write/blog about any of the stuff that I was thinking about or going through so I just put my head down and did the training. The outcome was AWESOME! But while I did cross the finish line, in the back of my mind these past few years I kept thinking about how hard it was... the joy that I had in my other IMs was just not there.
Then I spent the last couple years (2022 and 2023) nursing a problem with my hip flexor that kept me from doing any consistent running. So while I kept swimming and biking, my running suffered and I did not race at all these past 2 years. Then late last summer I noticed I was able to run more consistently and not hurt while doing it.... It kept getting better!!! YAY! FINALLY!
So, last Fall a new IM 70.3 was put on the schedule and it was going to be in the Tri Cities, WA (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco). Pat and I lived in the Tri Cities for 5 years, and this is where I really started doing some serious biking. The thought of doing a race in my old stomping grounds kept popping up in my mind. Finally, after talking with Pat, and convincing myself that I can train for this I signed up for it late last Fall!!!! WOOHOO! What a great feeling that was - my immediate emotion was elation followed up with ... I hope my hip flexor behaves, followed up with a little fear and trepidation... You don't go into an endurance event like this without a little fear and uncertainty.
IM 70.3 is a Half Ironman (so all the distances are halved)
1.2 Mile Swim
56 Mile Bike
13.1 Mile Run
Instead of the 14.5-15.5 hours it takes me to do a full IM, the half IM should take me around 7 hours (that's a rough guess at this point)! PHEW!! Anybody else nervous yet?😟
So this past week when I was out doing a 40 mile ride, I decided I would start blogging again. I think it helps me stay positive when things get hard and uncertainty sets in. I am in a much better mental state for this training cycle - I am happy, I am positive, and I am ready and more important physically able to do the work! I also started working with my old coach again. Since starting up with Matt a couple months ago, he has challenged me with workouts that have already made me stronger and helped me gain more confidence.
So, if you want to follow along with me on this 70.3 training journey, I will provide random updates on how it's going and what I am doing, thoughts I am having, and anything else that might be relevant to this training cycle!
I'M EXCITED AND READY! LET'S DO THIS!
