Winding Down

Unbelievable: It's nearly time to wind down Ironman training. Our taper starts Monday. I mean, where did the time go? How in the world did we get to this point in our Ironman adventure?

Tim ran his last long run Tuesday. I ran my last long run yesterday. Tim biked his last early-morning ride this morning. And I've got one more meeting with the bike trainer tomorrow morning.

Saturday marks our very last intense brick workout. We'll ride about 70 miles and run for 90 minutes.

Dang. I hope all these months of crazy training pay off on November 22.

I should say that our swimming won't really taper off. In fact, our swimming yardage will increase up until one week before the race.

For instance, I swam 3,500 yards at the UCI pool tonight. Um, yeah, that's a long time to be underwater. I try to keep my mind occupied for the hour I'm in the pool. Tonight, I thought about work, what I wanted for dinner, why the guy in the lane next to me was wearing what he was wearing, what I wore for Halloween 1986 - you get the idea. I just try to tune out while I'm swimming back and forth and back and forth.

So, starting Monday, we'll be swimming more and biking and running less. And counting down the days till we dive into Tempe Town Lake and think about nothing more than the long day ahead of us - and the pH level of the water. :)

Finding Mike Reilly

Disclaimer: I swear I'm not a stalker.

It's inescapable the sway that Chris Brown's "Forever" song has over me.* Domestic violence aside, I get seriously fired up at the first beats of that tune.

When I run with my iPod, "Forever" gets put on repeat - several times.

And the song always conjures the same image in my mind: me, running down the chute at Ironman Arizona, heading toward the finish line and official Ironman announcer Mike Reilly, who, incidentally is blasting "Forever" from the announcer's box.

Then it hit me today: Find Mike Reilly and ask him to play "Forever" at Ironman Arizona!

Now, mind you, this idea came to me after several hours on my bike, so I wasn't exactly "with it." But now that the idea has firmly lodged itself in my frontal lobe, I must act on it. I must find Mike Reilly. And I don't have much time left.

So, bring on LinkedIn. Bring on Facebook. Bring on Googling up the wazoo. Bring on tweeting and texting and tri-ing my hardest to find Mike.

Yes, this is a strange mission. And yes, I think training for Ironman has finally, wholly consumed me. But, considering that the dude gets accosted by Ironmen and women on a regular basis, I bet he's up for this challenge.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some Googling to do...

*As evidenced by the fact that this is my second post devoting way too much time to this song...

One Month to Go

Oh. My. Goodness. Do you know what today is? It’s October 22nd! [Insert shout-outs here: Happy anniversary, Barb & Kevin! Happy birthday, Noah! Happy un-birthdays to the rest of you!] Do you know what happens exactly one month from today? That’s right: Ironman Arizona.

I measure time now in reference to race day. Thanksgiving feels eons away, even though it’s just a few short days after Ironman. Halloween? I’m pretty sure I missed it. In fact, if you asked me what month it was, I’d most likely answer November.

So does this attitude toward time mean I’m ‘in the zone’? Or does it mean all the Gu and Gatorade Endurance have truly, finally, successfully addled my brain?

I’m not sure, but lately, I do find myself consumed with thoughts of November 22. And my behavior shows it.

When I’m running on the sidewalks these days, I don’t allow myself to step on anything but the cement pavement. I specifically run to the edges of sidewalks to avoid those metal doors.

I wash my tri shorts a certain way. I hang my tri shorts up to dry a certain way.

After I’m done swimming, I place my goggles back in my gym bag a certain way.

Every time I get off my bike, I unclip from my pedals a certain way.

Hmm. And now I officially sound neurotic.

If this is what’s happening a month out from race day, then I can only imagine what superstitions will take hold of me a few weeks from now...

Bring on Ironman.

Ironman: Going Vogue?

I should be doing homework. But instead, I’m ruminating on this past week of Ironman training. Last Saturday, at approximately mile 77 of my 111-mile ride, I passed a male cyclist on a hill in Santiago Canyon and he said this: “Wow. Sexy.”

I was having trouble breathing (like I said, I was on a hill) and so I did not respond. But the dude made my ride. I’m not sure if the “sexy” comment was a reference to my hill prowess, my bike, or (more likely) my pink shorts.

Back home that afternoon, Tim reported a car full of girls hooted at him during his ride. Could the hooting have been prompted by his sweet bike, red tri shorts, or (my personal opinion) calf muscles?

I don’t know. But I do feel lately that Pacific Coast Highway has turned into the triathlete’s version of a red carpet.

Take, for instance, my long run on Wednesday night. There I was, shimmying down PCH, rocking out to Chris Brown’s “Forever.” I visualized myself in Tempe on November 22, being serenaded by Ironman announcer Mike Reilly as I made my way toward the finish chute, “Girl, where did you come from?” “I won’t let you fall, girl.” “Double your fun!”

And then I visualized myself giving an air high-five to Mike close to the finish line. You know it, Mike! “Look what I can do with my feet!” I mean, JK Wedding Entrance Dance – seriously, move over. Clearly, “Forever” is best-suited for an Ironman finish line dance.

And then there was yesterday. Tim and I ran 21 miles in the morning – Tim in his black shorts and white tri top and I in my running shorts and once-pink-now-gray-and-totally-smelly top – and then hoofed it over to TriZone for some necessary training supplies.

While at TriZone, we inspected the race apparel and consulted with the store manager.

Sarah: “Do you have any women’s white race jerseys?”

Store manager: “No, do you want to wear a men’s jersey instead?”

Sarah: “Um, no, thanks.”

Store manager: “Are you trying to match your tri outfit? Or is it okay if you non-match?”

Note: This was a real conversation. With a guy.

Sarah: “You know, at this point, I’m willing to non-match. I’m just trying to find comfortable race gear.”

And wouldn’t you know – I think I found it, courtesy of TriZone. Today, I biked and ran in classic blue (with purple and teal piping) tri shorts and a navy blue (with white accents) tri top. I loved it. I felt so – non-matching, yes, but so in vogue (my version) as well.

So, for the next couple of intense-training weeks, I will most likely be wearing my non-matching blue outfit, boogie-ing down PCH and over the hills of Santiago Canyon, rocking out to my iPod.

That should earn me at least a hoot – from Tim.

It's All Gu'd

I haven’t written in a while. But I have a good explanation for that: I went back to school. Ah, school. I do enjoy learning and reading and networking and the good ol’ paper-writing challenge (sometimes), but I have to admit this school-gig is a bit tougher now that I’m an Ironman-in-training. These days, I say goodbye to Tim on my way to work Monday morning and speak my next words to him Wednesday night after returning from my long post-work run. I now show up in class on Mondays and Tuesdays with wet hair (that doesn’t do much for networking, I know) and reeking of chlorine from the UCI pool (I love that smell!).

If only I could figure out how to get my Business & Government readings into a podcast, my bike rides would be so much more educational.

But as Tim reminds me, we only have three more weeks of intense workouts. And then, the almighty Taper. Tim and I are both clinging to thoughts of the Taper. Tim is looking forward to not-so-early morning bike rides and I am looking forward to a bit less rushing around from work to my workout to class or piles of homework.

It’s unbelievable how far we’ve come in training…and a bit mindboggling to know that we’re closer than ever to Race day. This month, we’re concentrating on miles and more miles – riding 100+ miles on Saturdays, followed by 60-90 minute runs, followed by long swims and longer runs on Sundays, followed by the usual mix of swimming, biking and running during the work week.

We do realize how much we’ve been focused on training. There are friends we haven’t seen. Calls to family members we haven’t made. Books and magazines we haven’t read. Haus of Pizza pizzas we haven’t eaten. And the list goes on. But we’ve got to stay in this zone just a little while longer. November 22 is looming and we have got to be ready.

I will say this for Ironman training; you spend a lot of time in your mind. Sure, you spend a lot of time building muscles in your arms and legs to carry you for 140.6 miles over one day, but you also strengthen your mental stamina. For the record, my mental stamina gets a boost every time I look at my pink tri shorts (that’s right, I went pink).

So, it’s all good. The training, the school-thing, work, our non-existent social lives, the constant aroma of sweaty racing apparel filling our apartment, the buckets of sports-drink powder that clutter our kitchen, the never-ending consumption of Chocolate Outrage Gus… We’ve only got a little while longer.

(Perhaps I should say instead: It’s all Gu’d.)