Thanksgiving Day 3

Today I am thankful for the Monsignor Kelly High School class of 1999. We had some good times together, many of us going to school together from preschool through college. We're having our 10 year reunion this weekend. I'm not thrilled at the idea of going solo tonight but I will try to make the best of it. I just spent 4 hours baking so I hope everyone likes the dessert. I think this is the first time I've baked for this many people - 80!

Thanksgiving Day 2

Today I am thankful for my best friend in the whole wide world, Kelly. We've known each other since we were in diapers. We grew up across the street from each other in Beaumont where our parents still live and where our moms walk together in the neighborhood each morning.

I'm thankful she called last night and we probably talked for a good hour - I needed it. I'm thankful she will always be there.

Fifteen Days of Thanksgiving

So, people on facebook have been starting a thing where you say something that you are thankful for each day between now and Thanksgiving. The more days you go, the harder it will get apparently. There are fifteen days left between now and then, so we will see if I run out of things to be thankful for not (I don't think I will, but we will see).

So for Day 1, I am thankful for my mom. She's pretty awesome. I didn't necessarily always think so, but now I do.

A Happy Read

Anne must be one of the luckiest girls around.

How awesome!

What are you supposed to do when the people closest to you think less and less of you the more they get to know you? The people who know you, but don't know you well, say you are great, that you do good things for people, etc, etc. But those closest to you don't think the same. They see more and more of an ugly person the more they get to know you. They are less and less impressed and then eventually decide you aren't worth their time and energy. What are you supposed to do? When it happens over and over again? Crawl in a hole where no one else is, that way there is no one to let down or disappoint? Lose a heart so you don't care what people think? Just accept that you are never going to be good enough? I just don't know.

I do know this is a disturbuing trend in my life and I hate it. I feel disgusted at the thought that deep down I really am not a good person. I know God will not give me more than I can handle, and I pray about all of this each night. Sometimes it is just really hard to keep going and trying to be a good person when those closest see right through it.

A River Ran Through It (updated with new pics)

(as in ran through my weekend, the weekend before IMFL).

Jon and I went to New Braunfels/Gruene/San Antonio the weekend before IMFL for Tour de Gruene and Halloween at my sister's house. It was an awesome weekend - action packed and tiring, but awesome.

I did the "recreational tour" ride Saturday morning and it was the prettiest ride I have ever done. It was only 30 miles too, which made it that much more awesome! We rode from Gruene Hall out to River Road which runs along the Guadalupe river. We did an out-and-back along the river, with about 20 miles being right on the shoreline. We crossed all four river crossings twice which just added to the gloriousness of the ride. I wish I would have taken pictures, but I was by myself and just not motivated to do so. There were places along River Rd where I thought to myself that someone has had to have ridden into the river at some point during Tour de Gruene's history. The banks of the river came right up to the road in some points and if you weren't careful in controlling your speed/bike, you could have easily gone for a dip in the river, taking your bike with you. The morning started off suuuuuuper cold, in the low 40s, and I started off bitter and cold. As soon as we hit the first river crossing, I had a feeling of "ahhh, its going to be alllllll okay." It was beautiful. There was steam/fog rolling down the river at one point too and it was breathtaking.

As soon as I got back to the hotel room I told Jon he had really missed out. He didn't do the morning ride, saving himself for the individual time trial in the afternoon, but he could have ridden slow with me and taken in the beauty while also scoping out his race course. Oh well, we learned for next year. The time trial started on River Rd just before the first river crossing - not a bad place at all to have to spend the afternoon!! Several Houston-area friends were there watching and racing so it was a fun afternoon. Jon did great, but was maybe a bit too nervous at the start (as in his heart rate was 170 at the start...ya...that's high). As soon as he finished we raced to San Antonio to partake in my sister's family's Halloween activities. We had two Pebbles' and a Harry Potter kid to follow around. Bennett fell asleep on me after she went trick-or-treating and I loved every minute of it. She is every bit of a two year old and normally wants nothing to do with me.

We woke up Sunday morning and headed back to Gruene for Jon's team time trial and my last (short) long run before IMFL. I met up with Monica and Nikki and we ran from Gruene Hall to the circle in downtown New Braunfels and back. It was just shy of 7 miles and one of the prettiest runs I have done. We crossed both rivers in town twice, ran by Schlitterbahn, and the tube shoot where Kelly's life flashed before her eyes when she was about 6. We had one issue on the way to New Braunfels though...we noticed we had not really run up any hills but down several...meaning the way back was going to be fun. There was one huge hill on the way back that we were all convinced we were going to walk, but somehow we all ended up running it and were glad we did. The weather was crisp and beautiful, which helped us keep up a rather brisk pace. I'm glad we ran there - it was a new place to run with new scenery, but having familiar faces to experience the new terrain with always helps too.

We got back just in time to see Jon off on his race. I sat in the warm sun waiting for familiar races to come back towards the finish line and just soaked up the rays...ahhhh. It was so nice. Jon said day 2 of his adventure went much better and that he thoroughly enjoyed it. The course was longer (27 miles as compared to 16 the day before) and had one very hard climb in it, but with a team mate you can take turns pulling and drafting and it seemed to generally have a more relaxed atmosphere about it. After the obligatory burger at the Gristmill (one of the best I've had in a while) we headed back to Houston and I spent a good 3-4 hours starting my IMFL packing. Gees there is a lot that goes into one of those things!

So, even if you are a new rider, I highly highly recommend doing the Tour de Gruene next year. It was awesome.

Since when did my age group get so tough? It may not be very big, but gees, there are some fast ones. Looking at the FL results, you had to go 10:22 in my age group to qualify for Kona (darn, I was only off by a few minutes...), which is the fastest qualifying time of any female age group. Also I didn't even crack the top half in my age group with my little 12:47. My time in any other age group would have been top half no problem. Oh well - good thing I am not anywhere near trying to qualify for Kona, or placing, or anything other than just improving my own time - it could get pretty frustrating!

I guess all the age groups just change with time. M35-39 used to be by far the biggest group in the first ironmans I did, but at IMFL M40-44 had 402 men while M35-39 had 385.

Quick Numbers Update and Pictures

A full IMFL race report will be coming soon, but I always like to wait to get all the pictures first so I can put them together with the report. I probably should start on it soon though because I may forget everything.

I have, of course, run a few numbers though that I think are pretty neat.

Here is a comparison of my finish times for my ironmans and how I finished compared to the rest of the field:
IMAZ 2007, finish time 15:31, 79th percentile
IMAZ 2008, finish time 14:40, 58th percentile
IMCDA 2009, finish time 13:29, 61st percentile
IMFL 2009, finish time 12:47, 54th percentile

So, obviously finish time/placement can vary greatly from race to race. IMAZ '07 was my first and I was happy to finish, regardless, but looking back at it now, I realize that race still had some pretty rough conditions (winds 20-25mph with gusts over 35mph). For comparison, the 79th percentile at IMFL this year was around a 14:25 finish.

IMAZ '08 was the year of the awful heat - as in 97 degrees. The wind was bad as well, but not as bad as it was in 2007. I finished over an hour faster in CDA in '09, but my IMAZ '08 finish time was faster relative to everyone else.

I am almost surprised to see that my 42 minute PR this time over CDA was enough to move up from the 61st to the 54th percentile. Both races had good conditions, relatively speaking, but CDA is obviously a tougher course. I will take it though - watch out top half, I'm out to get you! (but not for a while...no ironmans on the schedule for 2010).

Here is a sneak peak at some of the race. Jon took awesome pictures of many of the Houston-area racers. He borrowed his sister's camera and now has the same one on his Christmas list.

Show time is almost here...

The big day is almost here!
Long it will be, but have no fear.
You have put in miles and miles
And will finish amidst numerous smiles.
The hard work is over and done.
Now is the time for nothing but fun.
May your spirits be high throughout the day,
And may nothing come along to stand in your way.
Ironman is as much about the journey as the destination,
And you will be rewarded for all of your determination.
At 7am the cannon will blast
But be sure not to go out too fast.
Before you know it, you are diving in,
Barely believing this race is about to begin.
The cool water will run over your face,
As you are now committed to the race.
Those turn buoys will seem so far away
But keep those negative thoughts at bay.
2.4 miles will be over before you know it,
And you will start to realize your thoughts of Iron are truly legit.
On to the bike, for the ride of you life you go,
Be sure to give your friends a very loud “Yo!”
Your legs will get tired and your body will get hot,
But think of giving up? You certainly will not!
The coastal sun will shine down bright
But will not deter you in your fight.
Once your 112 mile ride is through
Only a marathon stands between Ironman and you.
Your feet will never be so happy to touch ground,
And a new love of running you will have found.
Look around you and take it all in,
“I’m really doing this” you’ll think with a grin.
Two loops on the run, round and round,
Not a lonely spot to be found.
Your family and friends will be cheering for you,
Along with random strangers you never knew.
Thank them all, the volunteers too!
As they are all out there just for you.
One final stretch to the end
Only one last little bend.
You can see the lights, you can hear the roar.
Just a few steps to go and you will soar.
Into the finishers chute you go,
Feeling greater than anyone else will ever know.
Raise your arms high above your head
As your fear of the day has just been shed.
You are finally there – the finish line.
Now the time is yours to shine.
When you dare to cross to the other side,
The person you once were is left behind.
What can never be taken away
Is the fact that you became an Ironman today.

I'm as ready as I am going to be...

I have swam, biked, and run more over the last 10 months than I ever have in my life. But then again, there are a lot of people who will be toeing the line on Saturday who can say the exact same thing. I guess for me I can say my base heading into IMFL is probably twice as big as it has been for any of my prior three ironman races. I guess I will know come race day how much, if anything, that is worth.

I have ridden three century rides during the 8 weeks leading up to this race, and for me, I think that is about the perfect number. I know people do more and people do less. Any more and I'd go insane. One less and I'd still be okay, two less and I may start to doubt myself a little bit. My last century was three weeks out, right where I wanted it. My longest runs were awesome this time around, with my 21 mile run being four weeks out and an 18 mile run five weeks out (the day after the awful Lufkin ride from hell). If I can run anywhere near the pace I ran those training runs for the entire run at IMFL I'll be kicking some major butt...but I know it does not usually work that way.

As far as the swim goes, I have 45% higher yardage over the 30 weeks leading into IMFL as compared to the 30 weeks leading into IMCDA. That could set me up for a great swim or it could mean nothing at all. In the least, I hope I come out of the water ready to bike and run, not too tired from the swim. The Gulf is a tricky creature. You have no idea what you are going to get. The three times I have raced half ironmans there, it has been violent and raging, and it was all I could do to keep the contents of my stomach where they belonged. Yet, last November when I went to watch IMFL, it looked like a glassy lake. Beautiful, calm, inviting. Add in the little extra buoyancy of salt water, and you have the potential to fly there. I guess the same goes for the bike. It it flat and could be blazing fast, but the wind could also come in and have a completely different idea for me and everyone else that day. The run is the run and the sun will be down for over half of it for me, so I am not too worried about it. It will be hard, no doubt, but there will be nothing tricky or unknown about it. All I have to do is run. Sounds so simple right now but I know it will be anything but.

Anything can happen on race day. You are guaranteed nothing when you line up at the start line. Each mile you complete is another reason to be thankful, and one mile closer to the finish. I have learned to take nothing for granted on race day, and know that even the best trained, most prepared athletes are not guaranteed to have the day they wish for.

IMCDA was about as perfect of a race as I could have wished for on that day. However, that race also raised the bar higher than I ever thought possible. My biggest goal for the day was to have fun, and fun I did have. The thing is I think most of that fun was because I was doing so well. So now I find myself a little stuck...my #1 goal again for IMFL is to have fun...it is just that my definition of fun may have changed a little bit after having so much fun getting a PR by over an hour at CDA. I can say with about 99.9% certainty there will be no hour+ PRs at this race; a PR of some size though? Yes. I do want that. How could I not?

A typical day at my work

Jon and I took a quick trip to the Nike outlet in San Marcos on Saturday. As usual, I didn't find anything for myself, but as I walked towards the men's side, on the way down the women's clearance sizes, I spotted them. Nike Lunartrainers in a women's size 5. Do you know how tiny a size 5 is? They looked like "model shoes" that I should put on my bulletin board or something. They are precious...and the perfect size for my niece Molly who started running cross country this year. They were also a very good price too, so Molly is the new proud owner. She is going to tear up the Beaumont Turkey Trot - watch out! Jon got a matching pair too.

I was soooooo excited to give them to her - her first pair of "real" running shoes. She was a little more preoccupied with finding her friends to trick-or-treat, but I think she still liked them.

Now, not to forget Kate, I needed to pick up a pair of shoes for her too because I couldn't leave her out of the shoe love. Jon actually picked the pair for her, and they were silver and pink. We gave them to her after she got back from trick-or-treating and she was beyond excited. It is so fun to give them gifts they get so excited about. I think she may have been the most excited about the fact that they were a whopping size 1 as opposed to her current size 13 shoes, but as long as she's happy, I'm good.

The Eight Day Roller Coaster Ride

I'm trying to be the best girlfriend, aunt, sister, triathlete, MADD advocate, tri club president, employee and friend that I can be right now. I think I'm doing okay at some of those roles, but failing miserably at others.

I think the emotional roller coaster we call Ironman is about to take off on its fastest and final ride before the race - an 8 day ride! I have not slept well in 10+ nights (but who is counting?). I needed to swim, run, and get my oil changed/car wash today but I think the rain is going to have other ideas. I woke up this morning to see Kristi's best friend donated $500 to RADD. Wow. That made me cry. Then I got on the trainer to ride my bike for a bit (only my 2nd workout this week....not okay) and started watching the 2006 Ironman World Championships on DVR. That made me cry too! I have always said it is hard to cry and run at the same time...you end up not really being able to breathe...I don't recommend it. I learned the same goes for the bike...bike or cry, don't try both!

Now I have to go to work and try to be awake and not distracted by this little race I have coming up. We are up to 162 donors. Gulp. No pressure.

Pretty Neat Stuff

Years ago when my sister danced the lead role in Cinderella (three years in a row, but who was counting?), her pictures graced the cover of the Weekend section of the Beaumont Enterprise. I was so proud of her and would always take the paper to school to show all my friends that my sister was essentially a total badass. At the same time though, I knew in the back of my head that my roles as a mouse, a bird, and Cinderella's ugly stepsister were most likely never going to land me the same kind of spread that playing Cinderella landed my sister.

Well, here we are some 15 or so years later, and watch out Beaumont, today, I "grace" the cover of the sports section. I say grace loosely as there is nothing graceful about it and I'm not exactly sure they got my best side, but oh well. It is all for an awesome cause and I am beyond flattered they even wanted to do an article on my Race Against Drunk Driving at all. The online version of the article was posted last night. I sat in my car (at Zoe's, big surprise?) bawling as I read it last night, riding a quick roller coaster of emotion over the 5 minutes or so it took to read it.

This morning I purchased the e-edition of the paper to see what it looks like in print (oddly, the Beaumont Enterprise doesn't deliver to my apartment in Houston?!). You can see it for yourself here.

UPDATE: Links should be easier to read now

Countdown: 11 days

Ironman Florida bib numbers were just posted a few hours ago. I'm lucky #88. I think I quite like it! I was #99 in IMAZ in 2009, but 99 was closer to the air temp that day than anything else. I really wouldn't enjoy 88 air temp either, but we shall see what happens there.

I have 11 days left until the race, but just a week left until I leave. I'm just a little stressed out right now, and we're also going out of town this weekend, so busy is certainly an understatement. I haven't slept well in about a week either, so that is not helping anything. I'm on the verge of sick but really think (and hope) I just need sleep. My to-do list is growing by the second but I think I will be able to get everything done that I need to. The good thing is that once I actually get to Florida, there will not be a whole lot of things to do. Since we are staying basically at the race site, much of the pre-race stress should be eliminated because everything I need to do will just be a few steps away (instead of the usual car ride and parking stress over and over again in the few days before the race).

Ugh - reading what I just typed stresses me out! Time to go make more lists!