Ironman!

Ironman Maryland 2014 in pictures::

Getting registered

All the bikes lined up

Freaking out a little bit

Getting my bags all ready

Morning of

About to start!

I found my mom in the crowd!

The swim

The bike

Starting the run

I'm glistening from an anti-chaffing rub-down. Just in case.

I finished!! I finished!! I really did!! 

Finisher swag

Some aftermath

And finally relaxing on the beach with my new tan line!

Climb to the Clouds

Why I decided this would be a good starting century - I don't know. But I did it. Never mind that my Ironman is all flat. It started off with a pretty breezy 20 miles, then I had difficulties for the next 20 miles, but I summited! I climbed Mt. Wachusett! And then the last 20 miles were pretty nice. When I was at mile 36 - I didn't know if I would be able to climb to the top. I'm not a great climber. I was going REALLY slow. But I made it! And I felt GREAT throughout the whole thing (except for my legs being on fire and my lungs wanting to be bigger for that hour climb). I made my own nutrition (I got a new book called Feed Zone Portables about making your own, whole food for workouts instead of relying on bars and gels loaded with artificial things and sugar). So now I'm feeling really good about Ironman! If I can pump this out in 8 hours, then I should be sitting pretty in Maryland. :)

Day 4

I woke up to a bright and sunny morning, put on my sunscreen and headed out for a 40 minute run with 6 x 20 second sprints. I ran through Boston (Allston really) and it was chock full of exhaust and stop lights and busses. It was awful. From now on, I'll only head out.
Then I cycled home, and cycled down to Newbury street for lunch, then cycled home again. Not a workout, but fun. :) However, I am definitely moving into a first floor place in the summer - I HATE lugging that bike up 3 flights of stairs and all those doors! It's awful.

Day 3

Today I swam 1200 meters, with 4 x 100 m sprints. The pool is really small - but it's warm and there wasn't anyone else there. I just bought a waterproof iPod!! So Friday I will be able to swim with some music (it can get a little dull after a while). I showered off, and immediately got on the bike at the gym. I went to the spin room and put on some music. After 30 minutes, the lights shut off automatically - I guess I wasn't moving around enough! I had to get up and walk around the studio until they turned on again. I was focusing on getting into an aero position and pumping my legs. Then I did some stretches and core work. Great day! Before my workout I went for an hour walk along the Charles, and it was GORGEOUS! And there were baby geese. So fuzzy! I love springtime!

Day 2

Today was a 6 mile run - just under an hour - I have a lot to improve, but I feel great! It was sunny, and I realized I need to start wearing sunscreen! I'm so happy to have that problem after this long, long winter!

I also biked to work, because it was beautiful. Although it did start to sprinkle on me a little bit. :/

It's Official

I have just officially done something I will almost surely regret. I just signed up for Ironman, Maryland. I have wanted to do an Ironman, but never felt like I was strong enough, or fast enough, or whatever enough. I have only done a Sprint Triathlon and an Olympic Triathlon. Then a few weeks ago I decided to sign up for a century. I have biked about 85 miles before, and it's hard, but I can do it - so I thought a century was the next logical step. Then I started thinking about Ironman. I checked out a few books from the library and realized people a lot less fit than me have undertaken the journey. And I've been getting more and more comfortable with my fitness level. So I started thinking about it. And I realized this is the perfect time.
I am only working 2 days a week, so I have the time. It's springtime, so the weather is conducive to training. The race is about 5 months away, which is almost the ideal amount of active training time. The race is in Maryland, which is only an 8 hour drive, making travel feasible.
I might be a little crazy, but lately, I have been wanting to finish something. Something real. Something big. So here I am, training for Ironman. I am really, really excited about this.

I will be posting my workouts every day as a way to hold myself accountable. This is just for me. I don't expect anyone to follow along, but I want to do it this way.

Today was a work day, so I didn't get a lot accomplished. I biked for 45 minutes at a moderate pace. Tomorrow is a running day.