Ironman #2 - wrap up

My day began at 4am on Sunday. I got to the transition area shortly after 5am and my nerves began to build as the morning progressed. Brief moments of doubt crept in my head. It seemed so different this time around. Just one year ago I was standing in the same place having never completed an Ironman triathlon - it definitely was nice being less of a rookie.

1950 athletes entered the water around 6:45 where we all had to tread water until the cannon went off at 7. I got clocked in the head a few times, but managed to avoid any kicks to the face. It took nearly 30 minutes for us all to spread out and find our own pace and space. At that point I just tried to swim in as straight of a line as possible and avoid those crazy-crooked-swimmers that zigzagged amongst me. I worked really hard this time to improve my swim, and found that it paid off. After 1 hour 33 minutes (an 11 minute improvement from last year!), I exited the water and had two volunteers kindly peel me out of my wetsuit.

It was a different source of evil this time. I didn’t have to battle 30-40 mph winds on the bike this time; this year I encountered high 80 to low 90-degree temperatures with crosswinds of 5-10 mph. Pick your poison... Out of the 1950 athletes, there were over 200 that did not finish and were likely victims of the heat.

Over the course of 112 miles I saw many cacti, endless desert, and obsessed over whether I was getting enough fluids and calories. I enjoyed the bike part most out of this race, I felt as though all the hours I did in training really paid off. I saw several cyclists along the side of the road fixing flats, but thankfully I did not have to fix any myself. I finished the bike in 7 hours 5 minutes (a 30 minute improvement from last year). I can’t help but wonder how I would have done had there been no wind this year… And next time someone really needs to tell me if my helmet is on crooked - I rode for 112 miles looking like that!

I experienced some minor hydration issues early in the run (I’ll spare you the details) and had to walk through it for a bit. Along the way I met many people, heard stories about their day, and offered supportive words to some that were not looking too good. The cloud cover came in late in the afternoon and the temperature dropped to the low 80s. I was on track to meet my race goal up until about mile 10 of the marathon, that’s when I started slowing down, walking a little more, and running a little less. The amount of negotiation that your brain and body goes through at times like this is really amazing. I resolved that as long as I improved my overall time against last year’s race, I’d be happy.

I crossed the finish line at 15 hours, 8 minutes, and 59 seconds, taking 24 minutes off of last year's finish time. It was not quite the 2 hour improvement I was hoping for (maybe that was a lofty goal?) but I can guarantee you that I left it on the course, specifically between miles 86 and 112 where I averaged 21.5 mph. Not even an hour after the finish, all the symptoms of a cold crept in - I feel very fortunate that I was able to stave it off until then. I did get my burger after the race, but I skipped the beer this time. I will drink plenty of those in the weeks to come. ;-) And next time, (yes, I again said next time) I will finish a little earlier in the evening to enjoy that beer afterwards.

I’m not ready to retire from Ironmans just yet, but I definitely would like to get more than a 12-month break between this one and the next…well, there is an exception to that statement. I’ve signed up for the Kona Ironman World Championship lottery slot. There are 200 lottery slots given out and I will find out whether I am one of the “lucky ones” on April 15th. I will keep you posted! Third time is alway a charm, right???

Thank you all for your encouraging words and support! As much as they say this is an individual sport, I attribute my successful finishes to those who have individually touched my life and motivated me to challenge myself time and time again.

Here we go again - Ironman #2

Well, in about 115 hours I’ll be getting the number 1768 painted on my legs & arms, zipping up my wetsuit, and getting ready to jump in the water to start a 2.4 mile swim, followed by 112 miles on the bike, and a marathon run of 26.2 miles. How has one year possibly passed by this fast? And did I really sign up for this again?

It’s a bit different going into this race for the second time, I’m a bit less anxious, a bit more confident, but I also have higher expectations to live up to for myself. All I can hope for is continued good health over these next 4 days (as Bryce is sick with a cold right now – argh!), no kicks to the face in the swim, no 30 – 40 mph winds on the bike, no flat tires, and a smooth run through the finish line. Last year my goal was to finish with a smile; this year it will be to leave it on the course and finish two hours earlier so that I can go get a beer and burger afterwards…priorities, you know… ;-)

The following website will offer live coverage and updates: www.ironmanlive.com
You’ll click on the Ironman Arizona icon that indicates it has live coverage (it will be toward the top in the center of the page). That will bring up an extra window that will give you some text updates and have various tabs across the top. Then you can select the “Athlete Finder” tab and input my bib number (1768) or last name. The “Video and Audio” tab will allow you to see live camera footage of various parts of the race. As the day progresses, they keep a camera on the finish line, up until midnight, where you can see everyone finish. There's also course information on www.ironmanarizona.com.

I'm heading out to Arizona on Thursday around noon. Here’s to another good race and I hope to send you all an update of how things went early next week!

23 weeks, 6 days

until IMAZ 2006. It snuck up on me, just like I knew it would. We just went to Kona and watched the Ironman World Championships which was incredibly inspiring. These athletes, both pros and amateurs, were amazing. It made me want to train harder, eat better, and continue to improve in the sport of triathlon. As I sit here today and think about all of this now, for the first time in my life, I was able to openly admit to my husband yesterday that I have a calling to pursue this triathlon thing further, to see just how far I can get. I guess I'm talking a bit cryptically right now...I feel that the minute I actually put it in writing, then it actually becomes a true goal that I'll need to strive for...so here it goes: I am feeling as though I was put here on earth to become a professional triathlete, to spread the word that 'Anything is Possible' (the Ironman motto). I had barely even run 3 miles just four years ago, so wouldn't it be incredible to actually qualify for the Kona IM World Championships? And make a name for myself??? So, there, I've said it.

I just happened upon an email about PowerBar looking to add new athletes to their sponsorship, so I'll start there, and who knows where it all will end up.

My plan was to train for IMAZ for 22 weeks, so I have just under 2 weeks to get my training plan together. I bought new tires for my bike yesterday, as a result of the three flats that I suffered about three weeks ago. I'm planning to buy some cookbooks to inspire my diet and give me a better nutrition strategy...if I'm going to get anywhere near to being competitive, I likely have to take off about 30+ pounds off of this frame...baby steps, baby steps.

Here's to those who dream!

I'm back...well sort of

Nearly six weeks ago I completed my fourth stand-alone marathon (five if you count the marathon within the Ironman race) I set a new PR with 4 hours and 53 minutes...zero seconds. I was hoping for a 4:45, but in my heart of hearts, I really knew that I didn't train very hard for this race so I'm very satisfied with the 4:53. I'm glad to have that monkey off my back, I think I was still burnt out from the Ironman race.

I started back to swimming on June 15th and feel as though I'm nearly back to where I was with speed, maybe not endurance just yet. I honestly can't believe that I swam for an hour and forty five minutes straight! I am just fatigued as ever after 45 minutes of swimming right now!

Just this weekend I finally got back on my bike and did 30 miles along the coast. This was my FIRST time back on my bike since IMAZ!!! By the last 8 miles I was pretty ready to get off the bike and looked forward to breakfast more than anything. My legs actually ached worse than they ever did during and after the Ironman.

I'm now on my journey to lose some weight - started the South Beach Diet last week, July 5th, and officially fell off the wagon this morning when I had a bagel with cream cheese. It's just that I felt like I was majorly dragging this morning, I barely have enough energy to type, so I decided to experiment and see what a carb-ridden-bagel could actually do....whether good or bad. So, we'll see...

I have the AFC 1/2 marathon in just a month, with the hopes that I can complete it in less than two hours. I need to really kick my running into gear over this next three weeks!

So, I'm back to old habits, good habits, and hoping to improve, continue to gain more confidence in my capabilities, and ultimately find that structure in my life that I had when training for IMAZ. I've missed it, my body has missed it, and I think my well-being has missed it too.

Another marathon?

So after the hoopla was over from IMAZ, I decided I needed to stay on the path of fitness and continue, so I signed up for RNR marathon again, this will be my third San Diego RNR marathon, but my fourth marathon overall, and if you count the marathon within IMAZ, then it's really the fifth.

I haven't been very motivated with the training for this marathon, and am really not sure what the marathon Gods will bring me on Sunday. I only hope to beat my best time of 5:01.

IMAZ 2006 seems like an eternity away, but I'm sure it will sneak up fast. I'm planning to run a half marathon in sub-two hours in August, and then might just try and get my base back in gear for triathlons. We're going to watch the Kona IM Championship on Oct 15th, and when we return from Hawaii, that will be the kick-off to my training for IMAZ - should be very motivated at that point!

So, in four days my feet will meet the pavement once again...and we'll just have to see if that 17-miler 'long run' I did about 3-plus weeks ago paid off. All I can tell myself is that I've felt worse 'pain' and done more miles than 26.2....oddly though, I'm not recalling any pain from IMAZ...I really don't know how that happened.

Brenda Gibson, you are an Ironman

10:30pm, 15 and a half hours, and still smiling