What a pain in the...

foot! I have an owie. :(

My right foot has been hurting and from the sounds (and feel) of it, it's plantar fasciitis. I've had a dull pain in my arch and heel for awhile. Last Tuesday we ran hills and that's when it really reared its ugly head. My arch/heel hurt that night during and after the run, which made it a pretty rough night. I was so sad because I saw everything I've wanted and worked so hard for vanish before my eyes. I pictured myself porked up, sitting on the couch with a big vat of ice cream, watching Ironman on TV, wishing that could be me. In my already mopey state, I started thinking about my dad and how much I miss him, and deep down how much harder everything is without having him here with me. I kept thinking "I just want to talk to him again. Why can't I have just one more hour with him?" Just to be able to tell him about my semi setback, and have his reassuring voice respond back "Don't give up Christina. You can still do this." I feel those responses now in my heart, but yet, that's just not the same.

Needless to say, I've jumped on the bandwagon of trying to fix this! I'm doing lots of stretching of my feet and calves and I have gotten some inserts for my running and cycling shoes. The inserts came from a running store, although I am contemplating going to the Good Feet Store to have some custom made. I don't have a whole lot of time to mess around with this. If I can find the right doctor, I may get it checked out. I am just not sure I need to hear what they'll say. Complete rest isn't an option so I'm going to go with the next best thing... adjusting the training slightly.

I also got "The Sock"; the infamous Strassburg sock.
At first I tried a funky plastic brace to hold my foot in this position while I slept. It was really awkward and started hurting the tendons on the top of my foot, so that had to go. I slept in the sock last night and I really didn't mind it much at all! It may have helped that I started out with a boot like contraption, so moving from that, to this sock, was a 'treat'. My first few steps out of bed this morning were better than any morning I can remember for a long time.

Coach has altered my plan a bit to avoid the running and just bike more when we only do a 15 to 30 minute run after a bike. I am still running when I have longer runs on the schedule. When I run on flat surfaces, it doesn't hurt. Even last night, we ran hills again, and it felt somewhat OK. I think overall, it's only a mild flare-up. That's what I am going to keep telling myself anyway.

I also just realized yesterday, that this week is officially the start of race season! I am running the Trail Mix 25k on Saturday. Next weekend is the MN Ironman bike ride, where if the weather agrees, I'll be doing my first century (100 mile) ride. The following weekend will be my first triathlon of the season, a sprint distance. The weekend after that is the New Prague half marathon... Whew!

"Don't give up Christina. You can still do this..."

My baby's new beauty!!

Believe it or not, not everything in my life is about training for Ironman, and this blog does have "life" and "love" in the title so I have to share my latest excitement!

Stacy just bought a 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8! This is his dream car so I am just tickled to be able to share his excitement with him. I can't drive it because I am not a manual transmission girl, but I am more than happy to be the passenger!

No matter how much any triathlete were to train they could never have as much muscle as this baby:

Does it get any hotter than this!? :)

Breaking 128.

That's 128+ hours! 10 weeks in and I've put in 128.5 hours of training this year!

To put that into perspective, I have been training for 10 weeks, or 70 days. Averaging that out, in 70 days I have trained 1.84 hours EACH day! I am so happy with these numbers, and really only have my awesome Coach to thank and his 'not for wimps' training plan. With each passing week I build more and more confidence in knowing I WILL be able to complete an Ironman in September, and I will be trained exactly how I should be to accomplish that.

To know that I am training, consistently, almost 2 hours per day is amazing. It's only mid-March, we're just getting started! Coach has prepped us with a really good base the last two months and now we will be getting into more strength and stamina through May.

In no time it'll be racing season!

This week is a rejuvenation week. We just completed a 5 week 'build' phase and now we take it very easy for 7 days. Only 8-9 hours total of training this week. To think that 9 hours is a cake walk would not have been my thought back in early January, but now it sure is!

I took this picture right before the swim start of Ironman WI 2009... Ahhh, the good life!! :)

"Ride of a Lifetime."

On March 7th I participated in the 'Ride of a Lifetime' put on by Lifetime Fitness. The event had a goal to set a world record for the largest and longest spin class. They packed over 1000 spin bikes into the Target Center for the 2 hour spin class. The final total was 1052 people. Man, the Target Center was stinky at the end of that 2 hour ride! It was such a blast to be part of the Guinesss world record setting ride! Here are a few pictures from that day:

                           

The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

~Robert Frost

I have always loved this poem, mainly these last four lines. There have been many interpretations throughout the years, but I have my own. I see the woods as a symbol of temptation, a means to go off course. There are so many temptations, in anyone's life, are they worth it? I have made a promise and there is no turning back. This promise requires commitment and dedication. I have miles to go before I sleep... many, MANY more miles to go before I sleep...