Ironman Training on the Fly

I've been AWOL for a few days. There's a reason for that. Tim and I were in Columbus (as in Ohio) this past weekend, at Kitsy and Damon's wedding extravaganza. [Insert shout out for Kitsy and Damon here!]

Because we're psycho, Team Middleton woke up at 5am on Friday, wolfed down a quick breakfast, threw on some spandex and sunscreen, and went wheels up at 5:45am. Tim mapped out a course that consisted of 90% right-hand turns (because who wants to wait at red lights when you have a plane to catch?) and multiple, brutal hills. The good news is, that because I was sweating so much riding up hills, I only had to dismount once to use the bathroom. The bad news is that I had to ride a ton of hills. But I survived.

Four hours later, we both arrived back home, propped up the bikes in our garage, stumbled into our running shoes, grabbed our Fuel Belts, and hit the Back Bay for a quick run.

Less than an hour later, we were back home, tossing off our Fuel Belts, getting showers, zipping up our suitcases, downing Endurox, stretching while applying deoderant...you get the idea.

By noon, we were off to the airport to check in and, more importantly, inhale chicken sandwiches and french fries. We flew to Dallas, ate more chicken sandwiches, and boarded another flight to the C-bus. Once in the C-bus, we picked up our rental car and headed for the Best Western (it's all about the AAA discount). It was midnight on the east coast, and Tim and I were hungry - again. We pulled into the local Speedway, 500 meters from our hotel, and loaded up on chips, chocolate and M&Ms. This would be the Speedway with the 3 inch thick glass between the general public and the cashiers...

After that lovely midnight snack, Saturday morning saw us wake up to the Best Western "continental" breakfast (where we ate waffles and more carbohydrates). Then it was wedding time! Then it was brunch time (yes, we ate a LOT at brunch). Then it was run time. Then it was iced coffee time. Then it was Panera Bread time. Then it was reception time: chipwiches, beer, wine, more chipwiches. Then it was after-party time: more beer, maybe a margarita, chips and salsa, chicken fingers. Then it was: "What were we thinking? I don't know, but it's way past our bedtime" time.

Can you guess what we did Sunday? Yep, we ate. A lot. More airport food. More chips. More "what was I thinking?!" food.

So now it's Monday and we're back on the Ironman training schedule. A little gym action this morning, a 2,500 yard swim this evening, prepping for a bike ride in the morning. And...we're officially detoxing from our weekend on the fly. No more Speedway, no more airport food. Back to the hills.