On the 1 and 3 year "Anniversary"...

It was one year ago today I wrote my very first blog post. Happy birthday blog! The header needs to read more like "2010 is the year I became an Ironman!" Re-vamping the blog is on my 'Top 10 list of things to do in early 2011'.

It was three years ago today I lost my Dad. I woke up feeling SO sad this morning, just knowing what this day means and looking back to remember the whole horrifying experience of watching my hero, role model, best friend and most important person in my life, pass away. I started looking through a stack of sayings and poems that my Mom has sent me over the last few years. Reading those always help to enlighten the soul. This is one of my favorites:

God saw you getting tired and a cure was not meant to be,
So he put his arms around you and whispered "Come to Me".
With tearful eyes we watched you, as we saw you pass away.
Although we loved you deeply, we could not make you stay.
A Golden Heart stopped beating, hard working hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best.

I re-read my first post again and it is fun to see how far I've come from one year ago. Going into Ironman training at this time last year, I wasn't certain it would be something I'd be able to do, nonetheless if it was something I would truly enjoy. Little did I know, I would be beyond committed and I have never enjoyed anything SO much! I'd always wanted to do an Ironman, but the fact that it was also a goal I had shared with my Dad, made me even more determined to make it happen. One of the last things he said to me was how proud he was of me and to "just keep doing what you're doing". It brings a smile to my face to think about that as I can still hear him saying it.

Now that the Ironman #1 is accomplished, I want MORE! I won't be doing an Ironman in 2011, but 2012 is another story, that may be the year for Ironman #2. I am currently planning out my 2011 season, and am training with the same coach and team, but this time around I'm going to train harder, smarter, and work on the nutrition piece. Whatever I put into my mouth has to fuel me for performance and keep my energy up.

My 'A' race for 2011 will be Ironman Steelhead 70.3. I've heard it's a great race (as long as the waves in Lake Michigan aren't too big and the swim gets canceled! *Gulp*) and it's a fairly flat course. After a bike course like IMWI I'm looking for a flat bike for my 'A' race this time. I plan to race quite a bit this year. (My schedule is coming in that blog re-vamp I mentioned.) :) I'll be racing more than last year, since I don't feel so strapped to only Ironman training on all of my weekends. I may add a few running races into the mix which I totally bagged last year.

I'm really looking forward to the new year. Having new goals to work towards, a supportive and awesome family, great friends, great teammates, a great job, and my heart in a good place. I feel that losing my Dad, although it was the hardest thing I've ever gone through, has opened doors as well. I can see that out of tragedy comes triumph. When you think your situation is the worst in the world, there is always someone, somewhere going through much worse.

Bring on 2011!!

This is my Dad and I at the last race he ever attended, the 2007 Twin Cities Marathon, just two and a half months before he passed away (before we even knew he had cancer).

Friday Laugh - Training for an Ironman

This was posted on YouTube just a couple of days ago, and since it has blown up on Facebook. I had to share it here. So hilarious, and so true!
(Foul language warning for those of you faint of heart.) :)

Race Report - Gobble Gallop 5k!

Whoa. It's been awhile. I have not had a ton of excitement to share in the off season, and that's probably fine, as it's the OFF season. And it's winter. And it's COLD out. And it's the holidays. And it's time to shop! And oh boy, have I gotten some shopping done this fall/winter. I think I made up for not being able to step foot in a mall the last 9 months... I have done enough damage the last month to have made up for 9 months and then some. But I digress...

I realized I didn't want to drop off the face of the (blog) earth and not post a race report about my last race. A 5k people! I completed a 5k on Thanksgiving Day! It felt funny when I "toed the line" to head off on my 25 minute journey to look back to two months prior and think that the last race I had lined up at a starting line for was an Ironman. I was home in Duluth for Thanksgiving so of course had to run this race. I have done it the last 3 years and it always feels good to get in some exercise before getting lots of delicious food in the belly!

The day before had snowed quite a bit so the conditions were definitely not ideal. The race course is an out and back on Superior St. in downtown Duluth, so for those who are familiar know that means running on some cobblestone. Cobblestone seems to get extra slippery with fresh snow/slop on it. It was also COLD! Like wind chills below zero, freeze your toes, freeze your fingers within a minute or two if not covered COLD.

I started the first mile running like a bat out of hell. I do this EVERY time I do a running race, you'd think I would learn one of these days. The second mile I hung on, then the third mile I felt like I was barely moving. I didn't wear my Garmin, so I don't know how exactly I paced any of it, but my overall time was 25:06, which is a 8:05 per mile pace. I would have liked for it to be under 24 and under 8, but I also haven't been training for a 5k. For 7 weeks of XP2 we worked on a LOT of stairs, a LOT of standing on our bikes, and just overall strength. (That also included running with medicine balls, in downtown St. Paul. I can imagine how funny we all looked to passersby.) I have another 5k on New Year's Day so I better start training for that one. :)

I love being home in Duluth as I always get to see a bunch of friends and family. I was also able to cheer on one of my friends from high school who did the the Gobble Gallop 2 mile walk the same morning. He just started doing some 5k's this fall season and now he's hooked! Here he is finishing the 2 mile:

My Mom and I also went to Bentleyville while I was in town. If you are ever in Duluth over the holidays, it's an amazing tour of lights, and it just gets bigger and better every year. YOU HAVE TO GO! Just a little spoiler for you... Here's the Aerial Lift Bridge, a ship, a 120 foot Christmas tree (made of iron) all in lights, with the "real" Aerial Lift Bridge in the background:

Bentleyville. Another reason, on top of the already 8 million, that I LOVE DULUTH.

"Do Life."

This video is by an athlete named Ben Davis. It's so inspirational, I had to share it. He also has a blog and a Facebook page. You can follow along to both, but first you HAVE TO watch this video. (Water works warning!) :)

The "haps" as of late...

I have officially come down from the Ironman high. We started XP2 last week which is P2's cross training/low intensity program that will run through the end of November. It feels good to be back on a schedule. I was lost there for a month not having a set plan to go off of. I had gotten so used to that, so feel like I NEED it now.

Something I thought was cute were the comments on my coach's website. He posted results of all of his team who competed in Ironman Wisconsin. Here was mine:

How true. I smiled A WHOLE helluva lot that day. How could I not?? Actually, I could have not, due to the 112 mile headache, the blisters, the debilitating leg cramps, but when it came down to it none of that really mattered. I was out there and I was doing it, and I was SO HAPPY about it! I am glad others noticed my joy that day. :)

Although I love having a training schedule again, it doesn't require I give up 4-8 hours every weekend day anymore. I have time for other things (a life outside of Ironman!? What is that?) which is so nice. Unfortunately, the next few weeks those 'other things' will be working, but last weekend I was able to get out for a bit!

Stacy is part of the 'MN Challengers Club'. Just as the name implies it is a group of Challenger owners who all get together for various events, like car shows and cruises. We cruised through SE MN last weekend and it was a beautiful day for it. Close to 17 Challengers were out that day and some even came from as far as South Dakota!

Here's a few pictures from that day. A whole lotta horse power comin' atcha...

GREAT quote of the day.

Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be.

~George Sheehan

Race Report - TC 10 Mile.

I finished the TC 10 Mile! (There's that exclamation point that implies positivity.) :)

For starters... I have now come to terms with it, I have had a ROUGH running year. There are never great running years for me, but this one was especially bad when I was hoping for it to be the best yet, simply due to all the hard work I put in. I know when it all fell apart too, when I developed plantar fasciitis in my foot back in early spring. I ran through it for a couple of weeks until it got really painful then I finally went to the doctor to get it checked out. He did fix me up (thanks Dr. Folske at Folske Spine & Rehab Clinic!) but that was after taking a few weeks off of running. I substituted biking when I had runs scheduled. I was happy to be able to get all of my scheduled weekly training hours in, but biking and running are not the same. Only running helps running. Especially when running is your weakest of the three sports. I've only had a sports related injury one other time in my life and that was way back in my junior year of high school swimming. I guess you can't expect to be injury free your entire life, but hopefully my foot continues to heal and I won't have to worry about any injuries for another 15 years.

Nonetheless, I ran the TC 10 Mile and I had a great time. I felt pretty sluggish and slow body wise, but mentally I was just fine. I could have run for much longer, but was very glad when that finish line showed up. :) I love the course and the day was BEAUTIFUL; you couldn't have asked for better running weather in my opinion.

The highlight of the day was cheering for all of my friends and teammates who ran the marathon. Everyone did absolutely amazing. There were PR's set all over the board! I had lots of fun and was very grateful (and somewhat jealous, as I have yet to ever run a marathon in temps under 85 degrees) of the perfect day everyone had.

Here's a pre-game shot of us in the dome, and a post race shot next to "The Beast"!