Katie Weber from Minneapolis Minnesota, way to go, you are an IRONMAN!" Those are the words out of Mike Reillys (aka the voice of Ironman) mouth that I have worked for a year to hear! And after a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a 26.2 mile run, it was my turn to cross the finish line earning the title of Ironman!
My triathlon career started 4 years ago. I was working at TGI Fridays in St. Louis Park MN. I had been working out for my general health for many months by that point and I will admit I was a good deal thinner and appeared more muscular then. (However I didn't have much for endurance and that matters more!) One of my good friends that I always looked forward to working with on Sunday nights wasn't there one week. The next time I saw him I asked him where he had been, he told me that he had been in a team triathlon (one person swims, another bikes and still another runs (this is not an option at an Ironman)). I thought it sounded so cool! I knew what a triathlon was, I had seen the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon on TV about a year prior to this and had seen the Ironman logo on merchandise such as running socks from the time I was a teenager. (I did actually have the Ironman socks by the way...kind of wish I still had that pair!) So anyway my friend Jose told me all about the triathlon he had done and told me I should do one. I have always loved biking and running and knew how to swim, so I thought, why not! So I signed up for the sprint distance triathlon at Square Lake park in Stillwater MN. I spent a lot of time working on my swimming, I mean you can die on that part of the race if you are not good at swimming so I made sure I could swim well enough to not drown! I rode my bike everywhere I could. My coworkers at the time must remember all the days I can into work drenched in sweat on the hotter days I biked to work! I ran an average amount for me! Then the 'big day' was finally here. I woke up at 4 in the morning drove to Stillwater and waited for the race to begin!
They lined us up at the water by age group. I was ready to go, however I had developed a small cough the week of the race and sadly it hadn't subsided by the day of the race. I can remember being in the water and coughing and just telling myself 'put your face in the water and swim!" That is what I did! The swim felt like it took forever, but soon enough I was out of the water and heading to T1 to get my bike. At the time all I had was a mountain bike...you can always tell the newbies by their bike!;) 18 miles later I was on the run and while I had heard about brick workouts (going from one discipline to the other) I had never really gotten off the bike and went directly to running! My legs felt like jello for the first half mile of the run. It was insane! Before I know it I was closing in on the finish line. Crossing that first triathlon finish line was such a great feeling I was instantly addicted to triathlon. My first thoughts as I crossed that finish line was "that was so much fun, I can't wait to do it again".
In the process of preparing for my first tri I learned exactly what an Ironman was. I thought it sounded like the stupidest, craziest thing a person could ever want to do, but little did I know, the seed was already planted! Like it or not, before I had even swam, biked or run one training mile for that first triathlon, I was destined to do an Ironman!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Becoming an Ironman part 2
The Ironman seed had been planted....
My second year of Multisport events included my first duathlon, second sprint triathlon and my first two Olympic distance tri's. Most significantly it also included my first 70.3 mile triathlon. I was back to the Square Lake Park triathlon to do this one. By this time I had my road bike, my 1984 Trek 520 (which is the same bike I did the Ironman on!) I was so so nervous about doing a triathlon of that distance! I just couldn't imagine being able to run a half marathon after biking 56 miles and swimming 1.2 miles! In fact I had never even run 13.1 miles before this tri! (Yes I trained on my own!) 6 hours and 20 minutes after I started the swim I crossed the finish line! I had done it!
It is very safe to say that at this point in time the Ironman seed had fully taken root as I was preparing for my first full marathon. I choose the Las Vegas Marathon as my first because it was in December and I decided it would be great to have another big event to look forward to once the summer and tri season ended! While I owned what I now refer to as my marathon bible (Jeff Galloways book "Marathon!), I hadn't followed the training plan at all and instead just ran a lot! I did survive that marathon and finished in 4:43:30! Once I passed my 13.1, that was the furthest I had ever ran at one time in my life! ( Long run....what's that???) When I finished that marathon I began thinking more and more about doing the Ironman.
Six months later I would do my second marathon here in Minneapolis. I followed the training program in the book "Marathon" this time and finished that marathon in 3:54:47! I had improved significantly in those six months raining my belief in myself that I might be able to do the full Ironman! A week after my second marathon is where the dream of doing an Ironman started to come true! (This was also the start of my third summer of triathlons!)
I was volunteering at a Duathlon, which I almost didn't get to because I got so lost trying to find the Dam in Coon Rapids, but I didn't give up and I got there! I was wearing my Minneapolis Marathon finishers jacket and was still pretty excited about having done it so well! I spotted some other people in their finishers jackets and went to congratulate them and such. This is when I met a man named Jeff Peason. I was going on an on about marathons and du's and tri's. He told me that he had done the Ironman and I nearly fell to the ground to worship him! :) Somehow I kept my composure...he went on to tell me about a friend who was there volunteering with him and that she was wanting to do an Ironman tri as well. That is when I met Christina Meier! Within minutes of meeting each other we were friends having already shared our dreams of being called an "Ironman" with each other. It was pretty much right then and there that we promised each other that we would both do it in Madison WI on September 12 2010. My fate was set! The journey towards becoming an Ironman finisher had officially begun.
My second year of Multisport events included my first duathlon, second sprint triathlon and my first two Olympic distance tri's. Most significantly it also included my first 70.3 mile triathlon. I was back to the Square Lake Park triathlon to do this one. By this time I had my road bike, my 1984 Trek 520 (which is the same bike I did the Ironman on!) I was so so nervous about doing a triathlon of that distance! I just couldn't imagine being able to run a half marathon after biking 56 miles and swimming 1.2 miles! In fact I had never even run 13.1 miles before this tri! (Yes I trained on my own!) 6 hours and 20 minutes after I started the swim I crossed the finish line! I had done it!
It is very safe to say that at this point in time the Ironman seed had fully taken root as I was preparing for my first full marathon. I choose the Las Vegas Marathon as my first because it was in December and I decided it would be great to have another big event to look forward to once the summer and tri season ended! While I owned what I now refer to as my marathon bible (Jeff Galloways book "Marathon!), I hadn't followed the training plan at all and instead just ran a lot! I did survive that marathon and finished in 4:43:30! Once I passed my 13.1, that was the furthest I had ever ran at one time in my life! ( Long run....what's that???) When I finished that marathon I began thinking more and more about doing the Ironman.
Six months later I would do my second marathon here in Minneapolis. I followed the training program in the book "Marathon" this time and finished that marathon in 3:54:47! I had improved significantly in those six months raining my belief in myself that I might be able to do the full Ironman! A week after my second marathon is where the dream of doing an Ironman started to come true! (This was also the start of my third summer of triathlons!)
I was volunteering at a Duathlon, which I almost didn't get to because I got so lost trying to find the Dam in Coon Rapids, but I didn't give up and I got there! I was wearing my Minneapolis Marathon finishers jacket and was still pretty excited about having done it so well! I spotted some other people in their finishers jackets and went to congratulate them and such. This is when I met a man named Jeff Peason. I was going on an on about marathons and du's and tri's. He told me that he had done the Ironman and I nearly fell to the ground to worship him! :) Somehow I kept my composure...he went on to tell me about a friend who was there volunteering with him and that she was wanting to do an Ironman tri as well. That is when I met Christina Meier! Within minutes of meeting each other we were friends having already shared our dreams of being called an "Ironman" with each other. It was pretty much right then and there that we promised each other that we would both do it in Madison WI on September 12 2010. My fate was set! The journey towards becoming an Ironman finisher had officially begun.
Becoming an Ironman part 3
After that fateful day in early June of 2009 I knew I had a long road ahead of me! I spent most Sunday mornings the rest of that summer biking the hills of Square Lake Park in Stillwater MN. I did another Olympic distance tri and two more 70.3 mile distance tri's. I did my second half Iron distance tri much faster than my first, I completed the 2009 Chisago Lakes Triathlon in 5 hours and 43 minutes, nearly 40 minutes faster than my first time at that distance! I was having a great time swimming and riding with Jeff and Christina and the rest of the gang on Sunday mornings! It grew my confidence in my ability to go all the way!!! :)
Soon we were back to the month of September and while it was time for the 2009 Ironman triathletes to be settled in Madison getting ready for their big day, I was back to Stillwater for my third half Iron tri! I still did well, coming in at 5 hours 54 minutes, a bit slower than earlier that summer at Chisago but stll much better than my first time on that course. I learned the valuable lesson of having enough water and sports drink during the bike ride. I remember my legs being so shot at the end of the bike ride, I just wanted off that bike so bad! This was the tri that as soon as I finished I threw off my shoes and jumped right back into the lake to cool down! It was that hot!!! Once I was cooled off and fed it was time to get in the car and make my first drive to Madison to cheer on the 2009 finishers and get myself registered for 2010!
The drive to Madison took forever! But I eventually got there! The energy at the finish line area was amazing, it was the best party I had ever been too! Getting to see all these people come in and earning their Ironman title...there was no turning back for me now!
The next morning I got up and nervously stood in line, praying I would get my chance to partake in the 2010 Madison WI Ironman! Obviously I got my chance! I drove home that day very very excited but also scared out of my mind about what I had just most officially committed too! I had one year to do whatever it took to become an Ironman myself!
( story to be continued in the next note)
Soon we were back to the month of September and while it was time for the 2009 Ironman triathletes to be settled in Madison getting ready for their big day, I was back to Stillwater for my third half Iron tri! I still did well, coming in at 5 hours 54 minutes, a bit slower than earlier that summer at Chisago but stll much better than my first time on that course. I learned the valuable lesson of having enough water and sports drink during the bike ride. I remember my legs being so shot at the end of the bike ride, I just wanted off that bike so bad! This was the tri that as soon as I finished I threw off my shoes and jumped right back into the lake to cool down! It was that hot!!! Once I was cooled off and fed it was time to get in the car and make my first drive to Madison to cheer on the 2009 finishers and get myself registered for 2010!
The drive to Madison took forever! But I eventually got there! The energy at the finish line area was amazing, it was the best party I had ever been too! Getting to see all these people come in and earning their Ironman title...there was no turning back for me now!
The next morning I got up and nervously stood in line, praying I would get my chance to partake in the 2010 Madison WI Ironman! Obviously I got my chance! I drove home that day very very excited but also scared out of my mind about what I had just most officially committed too! I had one year to do whatever it took to become an Ironman myself!
( story to be continued in the next note)
Becoming an Ironman!
I drove home from Madison feeling as excited as I imagine I would be after having been asked to marry the man of my dreams. But I also thought that maybe this was better! ;)
I knew from training for two marathons and several shorter triathlons that I had a lot of work ahead of me. I knew that not only had I committed myself to a 140.6 mile race to be held in a year from the day I signed up, but I also committed myself to hours upon hours of training.
I had also been registered to run the Las Vegas marathon again in December of 2009, so I was still training for that in September. I was much more disciplined at my marathon training at this point in time. I had figured out that long runs are an essential part of marathon training. Somehow one of my long runs got pushed back to a Tuesday in early October....a Tuesday which just happened to be my birthday! I had plans for dinner that night and so I thought I would take care of that pesky long run that day. It was raining slightly as I was preparing for my run, it was also getting chilly as well, so I layered up in what I thought was the appropriate weather proof running gear. I was wrong! I was also wrong about how much it was going to rain! I had been in races with worse weather and I thought I could handle it. At this point in time I really thought that 22 miles in the rain and some cold would not be a big deal, had I kept believing this I would have been totally fine. Problem was when I was about 6 miles from home, I stopped believing I could handle finishing my run in the elements of the day. I decided I would take the bus home and figured I would be home and dry and warm in maybe a half hour at the most! I was wrong, about the most wrong I had ever been in my life. I am not the most familiar with the bus routes and got myself on the wrong bus more than once. I ended up in downtown Minneapolis waiting for the right bus to get me home. At this point in time I was no longer moving my body and my clothes were totally drenched so I was starting to get very very cold. Actually to be honest, to say I was cold is an understatement! I was chilled to and through the bone. What really sucked was that it took me more than two hours to get home on the bus. It is safe to say that this day was the lowest point I have ever reached in my years of training. The very worst part was knowing that I gave up on myself that day. I could have survived the rain. I could have either finished the run or just turned around and ran home and in either case would have gotten there faster, and warmer! While I felt so down on myself that day, I learned a huge lesson, I learned that quitting when you are doing something major in your life like this, is never the correct answer. It seems so much easier to take the "easy way out", but the thing I learned is that there is no such thing as "the easy way out". "The easy way out" always leads to something much harder than having had stuck out the original challenge. This is something that applies to life as a whole...not just marathon/triathlon training!
I did re-do that long run two days later, and this time I succeeded!
In the end I ended up not being able to afford to go to Las Vegas to run the 2009 Las Vegas Rock-n-Roll Marathon. It killed me to make that decision, but it was what it was. There will be other marathons and I will get the chance to do that marathon again in the future!
When I knew I was no longer facing a marathon in December 2009, I backed off my training a little bit. I knew I would have plenty of time in the gym and on the trails in the coming months!
I knew from training for two marathons and several shorter triathlons that I had a lot of work ahead of me. I knew that not only had I committed myself to a 140.6 mile race to be held in a year from the day I signed up, but I also committed myself to hours upon hours of training.
I had also been registered to run the Las Vegas marathon again in December of 2009, so I was still training for that in September. I was much more disciplined at my marathon training at this point in time. I had figured out that long runs are an essential part of marathon training. Somehow one of my long runs got pushed back to a Tuesday in early October....a Tuesday which just happened to be my birthday! I had plans for dinner that night and so I thought I would take care of that pesky long run that day. It was raining slightly as I was preparing for my run, it was also getting chilly as well, so I layered up in what I thought was the appropriate weather proof running gear. I was wrong! I was also wrong about how much it was going to rain! I had been in races with worse weather and I thought I could handle it. At this point in time I really thought that 22 miles in the rain and some cold would not be a big deal, had I kept believing this I would have been totally fine. Problem was when I was about 6 miles from home, I stopped believing I could handle finishing my run in the elements of the day. I decided I would take the bus home and figured I would be home and dry and warm in maybe a half hour at the most! I was wrong, about the most wrong I had ever been in my life. I am not the most familiar with the bus routes and got myself on the wrong bus more than once. I ended up in downtown Minneapolis waiting for the right bus to get me home. At this point in time I was no longer moving my body and my clothes were totally drenched so I was starting to get very very cold. Actually to be honest, to say I was cold is an understatement! I was chilled to and through the bone. What really sucked was that it took me more than two hours to get home on the bus. It is safe to say that this day was the lowest point I have ever reached in my years of training. The very worst part was knowing that I gave up on myself that day. I could have survived the rain. I could have either finished the run or just turned around and ran home and in either case would have gotten there faster, and warmer! While I felt so down on myself that day, I learned a huge lesson, I learned that quitting when you are doing something major in your life like this, is never the correct answer. It seems so much easier to take the "easy way out", but the thing I learned is that there is no such thing as "the easy way out". "The easy way out" always leads to something much harder than having had stuck out the original challenge. This is something that applies to life as a whole...not just marathon/triathlon training!
I did re-do that long run two days later, and this time I succeeded!
In the end I ended up not being able to afford to go to Las Vegas to run the 2009 Las Vegas Rock-n-Roll Marathon. It killed me to make that decision, but it was what it was. There will be other marathons and I will get the chance to do that marathon again in the future!
When I knew I was no longer facing a marathon in December 2009, I backed off my training a little bit. I knew I would have plenty of time in the gym and on the trails in the coming months!
Ironman Madison 2010 training
140.6 miles....140.6 miles.....140.6 miles. 2.4 mile swim "dang, I just committed to being able to swim 2.4 miles...I get sick of being in the water for 1.2 miles doing a half Iron, how am I ever going to swim 2.4 miles???" 112 mile bike ride "my goodness that is a long long long way to bike...I don't even like driving that far! Guess I will be spending a lot of time of the bike this year, everyone is saying to work on that the most" 26.2 mile run " I am a runner, I've done 2 marathons and will have completed my third by then, not to worried about that"
140.6 miles..." I guess I better get on the trails and to the gym!"
Training for an Ironman triathlon is one intense process, then again life itself is an intense process and life doesn't stop because you are in training. Men don't become less complicated or at times frustrating. Money doesn't automatically end up in your bank account. Nor does your house clean itself, if anything doing laundry becomes more of a priority! However you somehow find the time to get it done. I wish I had a training log to share here, but I didn't ever get around to keeping one. It would have been great to have been able to look back on it, but I just don't think I will forget the numerous hours I spent in the spinning room at my health club over the winter. There were also endless miles spent on the treadmill and so many laps in the 25 yard length pool that I am surprised that I am not still dizzy! The biking was never too thrilling to report when I was training on the spinning bikes. I didn't have anyway to track the 'miles' so I would just go by time, 3 hours in the spin room by myself was the longest I would ever make it, guessing that was a good number of miles! From the gym only training I would have to say that the swimming is what I got most excited about. Everytime I was able to increase my number of laps I would excitedly text a friend to help me convert useless yards into miles....a distance I can understand. Once I reached 2 miles in the pool and didn't totally hate doing it, the belief that I may actually survive 2.4 miles in under 2 hours and 20 minutes began to grow.
Eventually spring came and it was time to take part of the training outside. I had been taking my running outside for a while as I was getting ready to run the second annual Minneapolis Marathon. I don't mind doing daily running on a treadmill, but refuse to do my long runs that way. Weather wise we were blessed this year as we never got the 'last snowfall' in April. So I was able to get outside on the bike by mid April. The other significant thing about April (25th to be exact) was that I did my first century ride!(Aka 100 mile bike ride) I partook in the MN Ironman bike ride. Was I just saying that we were blessed weather wise this past spring? I was wasn't I? Well April 25th would be the exception! It rained on and off all day long and the wind, oh the blasted bloody wind. It was a head wind in every direction. It wasn't an easy day, but it was a day filled with milestones! Well once I passed mile 65 everything after that was a milestone. It did take me all day as I did stop at all the food stops and eat and stretch and send out a few text messages to friends to let them know how I was doing. Eventually I made it to the end! I had done it! I had biked my first 100 miles!
My swimming was getting stronger, I knew I could handle 100 miles on the bike, my running was still good and I was injury and illness free. What more could a budding Ironman triathlete ask for? :)
With all the training I was doing the month of May was here and gone. Before I knew it, it was the first of June and I was staring down my thrid full marathon. I completed the 2010 Minneapolis Marathon in 4:11:57! Not my best marathon, but I also wasn't going for a personal record as I didn't want to push to hard and have to interupt my Ironman training to recover from a super intense marathon. (However come the Minneapolis Marathon for 2011...I am going for it! Goal is set at 3:30!!! Training starts in January and I admit I am already looking forward to it!)
I only did one other triathlon this summer. I did my fourth half Iron distance tri. (so 70.3 miles total). This race brought me back to Chisago Lakes. This was not my best day. A majorly important part of endurance sports is keeping yourself in a positive mental state. This day I failed at that. I had an ok swim, but didn't feel good about it because I felt like it should have gone a lot better, so right there I already started to lose the mental challenge that day. The bike course was hard. I didn't fully realize it until after the race, but they had changed the bike course from the previous year and had made it much hillier and harder. I got off the bike, looked at my time and told myself how horrible it was. "I should be stronger on the bike by now, how can I be so slow?" Not willing to fully give up I headed out for the 13.1 mile run. Still the negative thoughts prevailed, when I was out to mile 3 and 4 I was seeing other runners coming in on mile 8 and 9. They all looked very happy and strong, like they could go all day long. I didn't feel that way. There was no turning off the negative thoughts by now. All I could think was how much better than me that they were, and not just on this day at this triathlon. I was certain that they were better than me at life in general. That they all had great jobs and great relationships. I was sure they were looking at me wondering what the hell I was doing out there 'with them'. Let me tell you, this kind of mindset is no way to do a 70.3 mile race, hell its not even a way to go through a normal day in life. I did reach the finish line, I did do it. While it was hard to go through that, it sent home a super important lesson, that I could not, under any circumstances let that happen during Ironman. If I did there would be no way I would reach the finish line and earn my Ironman title. So I added another element to my training...staying positive.
Soon enough it was the end of July and I was off with my friends to check out the dreaded Ironman Madison bike course. All anyone ever spoke of was the endless hills and they were not lying. The saving grace of the course is that while it is hills all day long many of them are gradual. (Many, not all) The worst of them wind upwards! The second worst is a long steep hill that is a straight shot up. Not fun to deal with at any point, but especially not when it is your second time dealing with it. Gotta love a two loop bike course! I made it through the training ride on the course and was happy to have done my second century plus ride. I got 106 miles done that day. I went for a short half hour run after all of that, not a great run, but the point was to have done the ride! On the way out to Madison we stopped outside Wisconsin Dells in Devils Lake State park. An absolutely beautiful lake (and park)! Somehow I hadn't gotten myself out in open water much at all up to this point. Actually my only other time in a lake before then this summer had been at the Chisago Lakes tri! But I had been doing a good amount of work in the pool. I made it all the way across the lake and back! That is a big lake, but I did it. That swim really helped my confidence! :)
Suddenly it was the month of August and the clock was really winding down. Every Sunday, every time I would look at a clock I would wonder where I would be on the swim or the bike or the run. Looking at the time in the late evening had to be the most scary. It would get to be between 9 pm and midnight and I would think, I could still be running! Uggh! I decided to up my time in the open water and luckily my location in Minneapolis made that easy. I live within walking distance of Cedar lake (and Lake Calhoun, but swimming for extended periods of time in Lake Calhoun isn't really recommended and it smells horrid!). Cedar Lake is a spring fed lake and is about the best place to swim! So I got a lot of swimming done there in August!
Before I knew it, it was time to taper. No more long bike rides, no more hard running. I had done it. I had trained on my own for an Ironman! Now the question was did I do it right? Had I set myself up for success? I had only done two 100 mile rides, not many long runs. Was I really ready??? Could I really do it???? Would I be an Ironman?
140.6 miles..." I guess I better get on the trails and to the gym!"
Training for an Ironman triathlon is one intense process, then again life itself is an intense process and life doesn't stop because you are in training. Men don't become less complicated or at times frustrating. Money doesn't automatically end up in your bank account. Nor does your house clean itself, if anything doing laundry becomes more of a priority! However you somehow find the time to get it done. I wish I had a training log to share here, but I didn't ever get around to keeping one. It would have been great to have been able to look back on it, but I just don't think I will forget the numerous hours I spent in the spinning room at my health club over the winter. There were also endless miles spent on the treadmill and so many laps in the 25 yard length pool that I am surprised that I am not still dizzy! The biking was never too thrilling to report when I was training on the spinning bikes. I didn't have anyway to track the 'miles' so I would just go by time, 3 hours in the spin room by myself was the longest I would ever make it, guessing that was a good number of miles! From the gym only training I would have to say that the swimming is what I got most excited about. Everytime I was able to increase my number of laps I would excitedly text a friend to help me convert useless yards into miles....a distance I can understand. Once I reached 2 miles in the pool and didn't totally hate doing it, the belief that I may actually survive 2.4 miles in under 2 hours and 20 minutes began to grow.
Eventually spring came and it was time to take part of the training outside. I had been taking my running outside for a while as I was getting ready to run the second annual Minneapolis Marathon. I don't mind doing daily running on a treadmill, but refuse to do my long runs that way. Weather wise we were blessed this year as we never got the 'last snowfall' in April. So I was able to get outside on the bike by mid April. The other significant thing about April (25th to be exact) was that I did my first century ride!(Aka 100 mile bike ride) I partook in the MN Ironman bike ride. Was I just saying that we were blessed weather wise this past spring? I was wasn't I? Well April 25th would be the exception! It rained on and off all day long and the wind, oh the blasted bloody wind. It was a head wind in every direction. It wasn't an easy day, but it was a day filled with milestones! Well once I passed mile 65 everything after that was a milestone. It did take me all day as I did stop at all the food stops and eat and stretch and send out a few text messages to friends to let them know how I was doing. Eventually I made it to the end! I had done it! I had biked my first 100 miles!
My swimming was getting stronger, I knew I could handle 100 miles on the bike, my running was still good and I was injury and illness free. What more could a budding Ironman triathlete ask for? :)
With all the training I was doing the month of May was here and gone. Before I knew it, it was the first of June and I was staring down my thrid full marathon. I completed the 2010 Minneapolis Marathon in 4:11:57! Not my best marathon, but I also wasn't going for a personal record as I didn't want to push to hard and have to interupt my Ironman training to recover from a super intense marathon. (However come the Minneapolis Marathon for 2011...I am going for it! Goal is set at 3:30!!! Training starts in January and I admit I am already looking forward to it!)
I only did one other triathlon this summer. I did my fourth half Iron distance tri. (so 70.3 miles total). This race brought me back to Chisago Lakes. This was not my best day. A majorly important part of endurance sports is keeping yourself in a positive mental state. This day I failed at that. I had an ok swim, but didn't feel good about it because I felt like it should have gone a lot better, so right there I already started to lose the mental challenge that day. The bike course was hard. I didn't fully realize it until after the race, but they had changed the bike course from the previous year and had made it much hillier and harder. I got off the bike, looked at my time and told myself how horrible it was. "I should be stronger on the bike by now, how can I be so slow?" Not willing to fully give up I headed out for the 13.1 mile run. Still the negative thoughts prevailed, when I was out to mile 3 and 4 I was seeing other runners coming in on mile 8 and 9. They all looked very happy and strong, like they could go all day long. I didn't feel that way. There was no turning off the negative thoughts by now. All I could think was how much better than me that they were, and not just on this day at this triathlon. I was certain that they were better than me at life in general. That they all had great jobs and great relationships. I was sure they were looking at me wondering what the hell I was doing out there 'with them'. Let me tell you, this kind of mindset is no way to do a 70.3 mile race, hell its not even a way to go through a normal day in life. I did reach the finish line, I did do it. While it was hard to go through that, it sent home a super important lesson, that I could not, under any circumstances let that happen during Ironman. If I did there would be no way I would reach the finish line and earn my Ironman title. So I added another element to my training...staying positive.
Soon enough it was the end of July and I was off with my friends to check out the dreaded Ironman Madison bike course. All anyone ever spoke of was the endless hills and they were not lying. The saving grace of the course is that while it is hills all day long many of them are gradual. (Many, not all) The worst of them wind upwards! The second worst is a long steep hill that is a straight shot up. Not fun to deal with at any point, but especially not when it is your second time dealing with it. Gotta love a two loop bike course! I made it through the training ride on the course and was happy to have done my second century plus ride. I got 106 miles done that day. I went for a short half hour run after all of that, not a great run, but the point was to have done the ride! On the way out to Madison we stopped outside Wisconsin Dells in Devils Lake State park. An absolutely beautiful lake (and park)! Somehow I hadn't gotten myself out in open water much at all up to this point. Actually my only other time in a lake before then this summer had been at the Chisago Lakes tri! But I had been doing a good amount of work in the pool. I made it all the way across the lake and back! That is a big lake, but I did it. That swim really helped my confidence! :)
Suddenly it was the month of August and the clock was really winding down. Every Sunday, every time I would look at a clock I would wonder where I would be on the swim or the bike or the run. Looking at the time in the late evening had to be the most scary. It would get to be between 9 pm and midnight and I would think, I could still be running! Uggh! I decided to up my time in the open water and luckily my location in Minneapolis made that easy. I live within walking distance of Cedar lake (and Lake Calhoun, but swimming for extended periods of time in Lake Calhoun isn't really recommended and it smells horrid!). Cedar Lake is a spring fed lake and is about the best place to swim! So I got a lot of swimming done there in August!
Before I knew it, it was time to taper. No more long bike rides, no more hard running. I had done it. I had trained on my own for an Ironman! Now the question was did I do it right? Had I set myself up for success? I had only done two 100 mile rides, not many long runs. Was I really ready??? Could I really do it???? Would I be an Ironman?
Ironman Madison 2010 Race Day!
"Will I be an Ironman?" "Did I do my training right" " This is the biggest test of my life and for the most part I taught myself..."
Training was done. Tapering was done. I had visited my family and hopefully didn't make them too annoyed with my nervousness. I was in Madison WI and finishing getting my mindset where it needed to be so that I would be successfull. Finally on Saturday afternoon, the day before the race, I reached the point of calmness that I had been needing (and that everyone else in my life had been praying for me to reach so that I would fially be relaxed again!)
On Friday September 10th all the athletes had to be at the pre-race meeting to learn about all that rules. I was aware of the fact that we had cut-off times to through each event by. What I did not know was that there were mid-point cut-off times as well. Not only did I need to be done with the bike ride by 5:30 PM, I needed to be to the half way point of the bike ride by 1:30 and to the halfway point of the run by 9:00 PM. Pressure!!!
On Saturday September 11th I went for my second quick swim in Lake Monona, the water temperature was still cool, but the water was much less choppy than it had been on Friday when I went for a swim. That made me feel so much better. Then I went for a quick bike ride to make sure the bike was ready to go, had one problem with the chain, but other than that everything was in perfect working order. After I got cleaned up it was time to take my bike to bike check in and drop of my transition bags in the transition rooms. Once this was taken care of there wasn't anything left to do but eat, relax and wait for bed time so that the final hours of waiting would go by unnoticed so I could wake up and take care of my final race preparations and go get er' done!
Watching Pretty Woman helped me stay relaxed and talking to each of my siblings and both of my parents helped me to get the final bit of belief that I could really do it.
Sleeping on Saturday night was easier than I thought it would be. My alarm went off at 4:20 AM, time to put my tri suit on and go get my body marking done and drop off my bike and run special needs bags.
Thankfully Christina had gotten us a hotel room that was near enough to the start (and end) of the race that after getting body marked we could go back to the hotel room to take care of any last minute "business"!
By 6:30 AM I was in my wetsuit and inching my way towards the water start. 20 Minutes later with the National Anthem sung, the cannon went off and the pro's were on their way!
I stayed towards the back of the pack of the swim start as I know that I am not the worlds fastest swimmer. Ten minutes later, at 7 AM the cannon went off and it was my turn, along with 2500 others, including 1200+some of which who were Iron-virgins like me! If you have ever seen pictures of an Ironman swim, it looks scary! Bodies everywhere, all face down, most with only the back of their heads showing. It really wasn't as bad swimming with that many people as I thought it would be! The swim course was a two loop course (as would be the bike ride and the run). My plan had been to swim from buoy to buoy...however that requires being able to sight and swim totally on course! ;) I did end up swimming a bit further out from the buoys than I needed too, but the groping and the kicking let me know that I wasn't the only one! While I didn't always have the buoys to track myself, I did have Monona Terrace. I kept track of how I was progressing by how "quickly" I was able to get the building to go by.
I am sure that each Ironman location has it's own quirks. Being in Wisconsin, Ironman Madison is very much cow themed. You can get cow print bike jerseys and anything else you would want with the Ironman logo and cowprint on it. So on the swim course, you don't have to do this, it won't get you disqualified if you don't, but at the pre-race dinner I learned that it is a tradition to Moo as you pass the kayacker on the first turn...I am happy to report that I did remember to look up and Moo!
When I completed my first loop I looked at my watch, 46 minutes! Once more around and I would have done it, and I knew that I would make it too. About 40 some minutes later I was approaching the final stretch of the swim. Everyone had told me to have fun and make memories through out the day. I thought that was crazy talk, how could anything like this but fun all day long? However by the end of the swim I was having fun, and I was as happy as I have ever been. I stopped in the water for a brief moment to take a mental picture of the swim exit, I had a matter of mere meters to go and I had survived the Ironman swim!
The coolest thing was all the spectators! They were lined up solid from the water exit to the entrance of the building where we went to change to transition to the next event. We had to run up a parking garage helix, again it was fully lined with spectators and suddenly I heard my name from a familiar voice. As promised my friend Jeff Pearson had made it out to cheer Christina and I on! I turned to him and yelled " I did the Ironman swim!!!!" He had to have thought I was nuts to be so excited about having simply finished the swim as I still had a long long way to go! But being largely self taught as a swimmer, this was a huge victory.
I kind of took my time in transition. After all this was not a sprint tri and transition times don't really make or break an Ironman! Once I was changed into my cycling gear, I headed back outside and let the volunteers slather me in sunscreen. I then went to grab my bike, once I reached the bike mount line I was on and the trusty steed and I were off on a 112 mile journey through the streets of Madison to the hills of the countryside of Verona and Mt Horeb.
I knew from my training rides what was in store. Hill upon hill upon hill, not only that, but two loops of the same hills. However I was still having fun, so it didn't feel that horrible, well for the first loop anyway. While there was not a solid wall of spectators on the bike course there were still more than I had expected that there would be. They didn't make the first loop of hills disappear totally, but the distraction really helped! By the time I made it back to the worst hills on the second loop, the majority of spectators had gone back into Madison to watch the run and the finish. The only problems I had with my bike for the entire 112 miles were my chain falling off twice...easy fix. And a few times the front gears wouldn't change as fast as I wanted them too. I did a few hills in a harder gear than I would have liked, so the other few times I could sense that would happen after that, I simply jumped off my bike and hand cranked the peddle much faster so that the gear changed for me right away. It may sound silly to totally stop and get off the bike to do that, but I couldn't trash out my legs on the bike ride, I would still have a full marathon to run once I made it back to Madison! I did not have any problems with my tires all day, which is always a blessing, but even more so for me this day as I did not have a spare tube with me or anything to fix a flat. I am not saying this is a smart move, I would not recomend doing this. I did it because I had that much faith in my bike and am a risk taker. It was nerve racking and I won't do that again, but I was right in that I woudn't get a flat.
I did have a bit of a weak tummy on the bike. I was eating and drinking every 15 minutes or so and as is advised. My stomach didn't care for the intake as much as I thought it would. First time my stomach rejected the nutrition, I went to the right (still riding...you don't stop to let it out!) I hit my right arm! So now for the rest of the day I would have tiny chocolate bits of cookie dough flavor Shot Blocks all over my arm! The next few times it happened it was from the Powerade Ironman energy drink, and I went to the left and managed to keep it off myself. I felt bad for the spectators who this sadly happened in front of more than once, but I am fairly certain I was not the only offeneder of the day!
Eventually my stomach decided to keep the nutritents I was giving it in! As the miles rolled by, I started to worry a bit about making the half way cut off for the bike. I had nothing to worry about, I made it there with an hour to spare! One more loop to go and I would have survived the Ironman Madison bike course. Like I stated above, most of the spectators were long gone by now. There were some die hards out there cheering us bikers on yet and of course you can always count on the awesome volunteers to keep you going.
I am happy to report that through the entired bike ride and swim I had stayed completely positive. Negative thoughts had not been invited along this day and they knew not to even try to find me!!!
There was one point on the bike course however, where I would have done anything to not have to climb the large straight up hill in front of me. I am serious, at this point I would have rather pulled out all of my own teeth with a dirty plyers than have done this hill. Seeing as that would not have actually made the hill go away and I didn't have access to midevil dental equipment, I dug deep and made it up the hill. Soon enough I was headed back into Madison. Just after 4:30 I was off my bike, huge smile on my face heading into my final transition of the day. I wasn't near as sore from the bike ride as I thought I would be. Still once I was changed into my running gear, I stopped for a quick rub down. Next up a 26.2 mile run to the biggest victory of my life (so far)!
I headed out on the run feeling fantastic! I had completed two events I wasn't certain I would complete on time. I knew that if I made it to the run I would be an Ironman! The only time I thought of the run as a marathon was in the first mile, once I reached the first mile maker I said to the person running next to me that we didn't have a marathon left and from then on, I was simply on the run course. I felt fantastic for the first six miles! I wouldn't say I was running 'fast' but I was moving along at a decent pace. Suddenly my stomach became a factor again and I headed into the port a potty for the first of what would be many times :( I don't remember actually feeling tired once during the day or on the run. But I was in pain, but none of the usual suspects hurt. My calves were fine and so were my feet. The problems I was having were with my outer thighs...felt like I was being stabbed with every step. The back of my arms were killing me and the most worriesome of all was that my chest hurt. I promised my Dad that I would finish healthy and that they wouldn't need to come find me in some hospital. I know that sounds pretty dramatic to say, but I had never had continous pain like this before. I didn't know what it was or how to make it go away. The only thing I knew that would make it go away was to finish.
Well before the 9 pm halfway point run cut off I reached the mile 13.1. The cruelest thing about this course is you pass the finish line at the half way point...you see and hear others finishing and you still have a 13.1 miles to go! I ran through the turn around with my hands blocking the right side of my face so I wouldn't have to see it! ;) The final half of the marathon took me longer than I would have liked. I walked more than I ever thought I would, but the scary pains would not go away and I didn't want to tell a volunteer that I was having chest pain for fear that they wouldn't let me finish. My left arm was not tingling so I figured it wasn't likely a heart attack, but one never knows.
The spectators hung with us runners all night, I didn't ever go a full mile without someone cheering for me!
By mile 21 I was just wanting to 'get this bitch done'. I picked up the pace, no longer caring about any pain. I had rationalizied that I was not in grave danger and was not to tired to move faster again. Soon enough I was at mile 23, just over a 5k to go. I could do this. I could finish!
Mile 23 passed so did mile 24 finally I was to mile 25. I could hear the music from the finsih line party in the distance. I could faintly hear Milke Rielly annoucing others as an Ironman. I knew that soon it would be my turn. Suddenly I hear a familiar voice saying my name again and there again is Jeff! He was the first to congratulate me on making it.
Finally, the capital building was in sight! All I had to do to get this done was to get around the capital and to the finish line! Within the last tenth of a mile of the day, I turned on the after burners and brought it home in style. My moment was here! I had done it!!! Mike Rielly was calling out my name!!! "KATIE WEBER FROM MINNEAPOLIS MINNESOTA, WAY TO GO! YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!" It was the single greatest moment of my life! The finish line volunteers caught me and wrapped me in a blanket of sorts and handed me my finishers hat and t-shirt. They lead me over to a very good looking man from Austriallia who congratulated me and gave me my medal. Turns out it was the first place male pro finisher! Joe Gambles! I crossed the finish line in 15 hours 41 minutes and 48 seconds ( he did it in 8:38:32!) and all I could think of to say to him was "are you human?" Dork! lol, I had just completed the same distance!
I am an Ironman for life! That title can never be taken away from me! I do plan to do it again (and again), but not for at least two years!
Swim 2.4 miles, Bike 112 miles, Run 26.2 miles, Brag the rest of your life! :) I did it! It passed the biggest test of my life!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story! I know these last two got a bit long, but after all it is a story I gained over 140.6 total miles!!!
See you on the trails!!!
Love Katie 2485!
Training was done. Tapering was done. I had visited my family and hopefully didn't make them too annoyed with my nervousness. I was in Madison WI and finishing getting my mindset where it needed to be so that I would be successfull. Finally on Saturday afternoon, the day before the race, I reached the point of calmness that I had been needing (and that everyone else in my life had been praying for me to reach so that I would fially be relaxed again!)
On Friday September 10th all the athletes had to be at the pre-race meeting to learn about all that rules. I was aware of the fact that we had cut-off times to through each event by. What I did not know was that there were mid-point cut-off times as well. Not only did I need to be done with the bike ride by 5:30 PM, I needed to be to the half way point of the bike ride by 1:30 and to the halfway point of the run by 9:00 PM. Pressure!!!
On Saturday September 11th I went for my second quick swim in Lake Monona, the water temperature was still cool, but the water was much less choppy than it had been on Friday when I went for a swim. That made me feel so much better. Then I went for a quick bike ride to make sure the bike was ready to go, had one problem with the chain, but other than that everything was in perfect working order. After I got cleaned up it was time to take my bike to bike check in and drop of my transition bags in the transition rooms. Once this was taken care of there wasn't anything left to do but eat, relax and wait for bed time so that the final hours of waiting would go by unnoticed so I could wake up and take care of my final race preparations and go get er' done!
Watching Pretty Woman helped me stay relaxed and talking to each of my siblings and both of my parents helped me to get the final bit of belief that I could really do it.
Sleeping on Saturday night was easier than I thought it would be. My alarm went off at 4:20 AM, time to put my tri suit on and go get my body marking done and drop off my bike and run special needs bags.
Thankfully Christina had gotten us a hotel room that was near enough to the start (and end) of the race that after getting body marked we could go back to the hotel room to take care of any last minute "business"!
By 6:30 AM I was in my wetsuit and inching my way towards the water start. 20 Minutes later with the National Anthem sung, the cannon went off and the pro's were on their way!
I stayed towards the back of the pack of the swim start as I know that I am not the worlds fastest swimmer. Ten minutes later, at 7 AM the cannon went off and it was my turn, along with 2500 others, including 1200+some of which who were Iron-virgins like me! If you have ever seen pictures of an Ironman swim, it looks scary! Bodies everywhere, all face down, most with only the back of their heads showing. It really wasn't as bad swimming with that many people as I thought it would be! The swim course was a two loop course (as would be the bike ride and the run). My plan had been to swim from buoy to buoy...however that requires being able to sight and swim totally on course! ;) I did end up swimming a bit further out from the buoys than I needed too, but the groping and the kicking let me know that I wasn't the only one! While I didn't always have the buoys to track myself, I did have Monona Terrace. I kept track of how I was progressing by how "quickly" I was able to get the building to go by.
I am sure that each Ironman location has it's own quirks. Being in Wisconsin, Ironman Madison is very much cow themed. You can get cow print bike jerseys and anything else you would want with the Ironman logo and cowprint on it. So on the swim course, you don't have to do this, it won't get you disqualified if you don't, but at the pre-race dinner I learned that it is a tradition to Moo as you pass the kayacker on the first turn...I am happy to report that I did remember to look up and Moo!
When I completed my first loop I looked at my watch, 46 minutes! Once more around and I would have done it, and I knew that I would make it too. About 40 some minutes later I was approaching the final stretch of the swim. Everyone had told me to have fun and make memories through out the day. I thought that was crazy talk, how could anything like this but fun all day long? However by the end of the swim I was having fun, and I was as happy as I have ever been. I stopped in the water for a brief moment to take a mental picture of the swim exit, I had a matter of mere meters to go and I had survived the Ironman swim!
The coolest thing was all the spectators! They were lined up solid from the water exit to the entrance of the building where we went to change to transition to the next event. We had to run up a parking garage helix, again it was fully lined with spectators and suddenly I heard my name from a familiar voice. As promised my friend Jeff Pearson had made it out to cheer Christina and I on! I turned to him and yelled " I did the Ironman swim!!!!" He had to have thought I was nuts to be so excited about having simply finished the swim as I still had a long long way to go! But being largely self taught as a swimmer, this was a huge victory.
I kind of took my time in transition. After all this was not a sprint tri and transition times don't really make or break an Ironman! Once I was changed into my cycling gear, I headed back outside and let the volunteers slather me in sunscreen. I then went to grab my bike, once I reached the bike mount line I was on and the trusty steed and I were off on a 112 mile journey through the streets of Madison to the hills of the countryside of Verona and Mt Horeb.
I knew from my training rides what was in store. Hill upon hill upon hill, not only that, but two loops of the same hills. However I was still having fun, so it didn't feel that horrible, well for the first loop anyway. While there was not a solid wall of spectators on the bike course there were still more than I had expected that there would be. They didn't make the first loop of hills disappear totally, but the distraction really helped! By the time I made it back to the worst hills on the second loop, the majority of spectators had gone back into Madison to watch the run and the finish. The only problems I had with my bike for the entire 112 miles were my chain falling off twice...easy fix. And a few times the front gears wouldn't change as fast as I wanted them too. I did a few hills in a harder gear than I would have liked, so the other few times I could sense that would happen after that, I simply jumped off my bike and hand cranked the peddle much faster so that the gear changed for me right away. It may sound silly to totally stop and get off the bike to do that, but I couldn't trash out my legs on the bike ride, I would still have a full marathon to run once I made it back to Madison! I did not have any problems with my tires all day, which is always a blessing, but even more so for me this day as I did not have a spare tube with me or anything to fix a flat. I am not saying this is a smart move, I would not recomend doing this. I did it because I had that much faith in my bike and am a risk taker. It was nerve racking and I won't do that again, but I was right in that I woudn't get a flat.
I did have a bit of a weak tummy on the bike. I was eating and drinking every 15 minutes or so and as is advised. My stomach didn't care for the intake as much as I thought it would. First time my stomach rejected the nutrition, I went to the right (still riding...you don't stop to let it out!) I hit my right arm! So now for the rest of the day I would have tiny chocolate bits of cookie dough flavor Shot Blocks all over my arm! The next few times it happened it was from the Powerade Ironman energy drink, and I went to the left and managed to keep it off myself. I felt bad for the spectators who this sadly happened in front of more than once, but I am fairly certain I was not the only offeneder of the day!
Eventually my stomach decided to keep the nutritents I was giving it in! As the miles rolled by, I started to worry a bit about making the half way cut off for the bike. I had nothing to worry about, I made it there with an hour to spare! One more loop to go and I would have survived the Ironman Madison bike course. Like I stated above, most of the spectators were long gone by now. There were some die hards out there cheering us bikers on yet and of course you can always count on the awesome volunteers to keep you going.
I am happy to report that through the entired bike ride and swim I had stayed completely positive. Negative thoughts had not been invited along this day and they knew not to even try to find me!!!
There was one point on the bike course however, where I would have done anything to not have to climb the large straight up hill in front of me. I am serious, at this point I would have rather pulled out all of my own teeth with a dirty plyers than have done this hill. Seeing as that would not have actually made the hill go away and I didn't have access to midevil dental equipment, I dug deep and made it up the hill. Soon enough I was headed back into Madison. Just after 4:30 I was off my bike, huge smile on my face heading into my final transition of the day. I wasn't near as sore from the bike ride as I thought I would be. Still once I was changed into my running gear, I stopped for a quick rub down. Next up a 26.2 mile run to the biggest victory of my life (so far)!
I headed out on the run feeling fantastic! I had completed two events I wasn't certain I would complete on time. I knew that if I made it to the run I would be an Ironman! The only time I thought of the run as a marathon was in the first mile, once I reached the first mile maker I said to the person running next to me that we didn't have a marathon left and from then on, I was simply on the run course. I felt fantastic for the first six miles! I wouldn't say I was running 'fast' but I was moving along at a decent pace. Suddenly my stomach became a factor again and I headed into the port a potty for the first of what would be many times :( I don't remember actually feeling tired once during the day or on the run. But I was in pain, but none of the usual suspects hurt. My calves were fine and so were my feet. The problems I was having were with my outer thighs...felt like I was being stabbed with every step. The back of my arms were killing me and the most worriesome of all was that my chest hurt. I promised my Dad that I would finish healthy and that they wouldn't need to come find me in some hospital. I know that sounds pretty dramatic to say, but I had never had continous pain like this before. I didn't know what it was or how to make it go away. The only thing I knew that would make it go away was to finish.
Well before the 9 pm halfway point run cut off I reached the mile 13.1. The cruelest thing about this course is you pass the finish line at the half way point...you see and hear others finishing and you still have a 13.1 miles to go! I ran through the turn around with my hands blocking the right side of my face so I wouldn't have to see it! ;) The final half of the marathon took me longer than I would have liked. I walked more than I ever thought I would, but the scary pains would not go away and I didn't want to tell a volunteer that I was having chest pain for fear that they wouldn't let me finish. My left arm was not tingling so I figured it wasn't likely a heart attack, but one never knows.
The spectators hung with us runners all night, I didn't ever go a full mile without someone cheering for me!
By mile 21 I was just wanting to 'get this bitch done'. I picked up the pace, no longer caring about any pain. I had rationalizied that I was not in grave danger and was not to tired to move faster again. Soon enough I was at mile 23, just over a 5k to go. I could do this. I could finish!
Mile 23 passed so did mile 24 finally I was to mile 25. I could hear the music from the finsih line party in the distance. I could faintly hear Milke Rielly annoucing others as an Ironman. I knew that soon it would be my turn. Suddenly I hear a familiar voice saying my name again and there again is Jeff! He was the first to congratulate me on making it.
Finally, the capital building was in sight! All I had to do to get this done was to get around the capital and to the finish line! Within the last tenth of a mile of the day, I turned on the after burners and brought it home in style. My moment was here! I had done it!!! Mike Rielly was calling out my name!!! "KATIE WEBER FROM MINNEAPOLIS MINNESOTA, WAY TO GO! YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!" It was the single greatest moment of my life! The finish line volunteers caught me and wrapped me in a blanket of sorts and handed me my finishers hat and t-shirt. They lead me over to a very good looking man from Austriallia who congratulated me and gave me my medal. Turns out it was the first place male pro finisher! Joe Gambles! I crossed the finish line in 15 hours 41 minutes and 48 seconds ( he did it in 8:38:32!) and all I could think of to say to him was "are you human?" Dork! lol, I had just completed the same distance!
I am an Ironman for life! That title can never be taken away from me! I do plan to do it again (and again), but not for at least two years!
Swim 2.4 miles, Bike 112 miles, Run 26.2 miles, Brag the rest of your life! :) I did it! It passed the biggest test of my life!
Thank you for taking the time to read my story! I know these last two got a bit long, but after all it is a story I gained over 140.6 total miles!!!
See you on the trails!!!
Love Katie 2485!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
The Clock is Ticking!
Well the clock is surely ticking away on my days until Ironman Madison 2010. I have less than six full months to go. Whew! Talk about motivation!
The clock is also ticking down on the time until the Minneapolis Marathon. I haven't been as strict about my running as I maybe should be. But I did complete yet another long run. I hit 19.5 today in 3 hours and 24 minutes, which breaks down into a 10:46 average minute mile. Not the greatest, but much faster than my last long run which was 17.5 miles that I took 3 hours and 23 minutes to complete, so I am progressing. I can see it more so when I look all the way back to last year at this time. According to my marathon training plan. last year at this time I had the same 19-20 mile run to do. Then I only made it 15 miles and took 3 hours to do so. I remember the weather being a factor, but I can't place it all on that. I just wasn't all that far into my training yet. But now I am and it is a good feeling to know that I can finish the distances I have planned to do. I am hoping this holds true on the bike as well. Spring is officially here in a matter of days, winter and it's weather seem to be outta here which means I can really get some good miles in on the bike again.
The clock is also ticking down on the time until the Minneapolis Marathon. I haven't been as strict about my running as I maybe should be. But I did complete yet another long run. I hit 19.5 today in 3 hours and 24 minutes, which breaks down into a 10:46 average minute mile. Not the greatest, but much faster than my last long run which was 17.5 miles that I took 3 hours and 23 minutes to complete, so I am progressing. I can see it more so when I look all the way back to last year at this time. According to my marathon training plan. last year at this time I had the same 19-20 mile run to do. Then I only made it 15 miles and took 3 hours to do so. I remember the weather being a factor, but I can't place it all on that. I just wasn't all that far into my training yet. But now I am and it is a good feeling to know that I can finish the distances I have planned to do. I am hoping this holds true on the bike as well. Spring is officially here in a matter of days, winter and it's weather seem to be outta here which means I can really get some good miles in on the bike again.
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