A Spartan Race??!?

I'm thinking of doing a "Spartan Race" in August.  I've only recently learned about it but it sounds like so much fun......also outside my comfort zone, which is a good thing.  I love trying new things.  Basically it's a 5km obstacle course race.  You climb, crawl, balance, throw things etc.  My only concern is that this will be 2 months before my half ironman in Miama and I would hate to injure myself and jeopardize my race.  Hmmm.....I'll have to think about that one.  

Speaking tonight

So tonight I am speaking at a church women's conference about my Ironman experience.  I have titled it, "Lessons Learned in Ironman".  I put together a power point slide, so that I can share lots of pictures because I think that makes a presentation so much more interesting, don't you??

I have really enjoyed reflecting on this experience as I prepare.  Yesterday as I sat at the kitchen table, typing out some things, I got really teary because as I describe the experience I can just remember how it felt to be in those moments.  Those moments of training and racing are so special to me and always will be I think.  I can remember running up a hill in fish creek park, the sun had already set so it was dark and peaceful and maybe a little creepy and I was listening to Andre Agassi's autobiography on my ipod.  I can remember cycling west on 22x and going over the bridge at Macleod Trail where the pavement is awful and one of my water bottles fell out, so I darted quickly in between cars to grab it before it and I got run over.  I can remember swimming in Midnapore Lake one day when it was really windy and felt like it was about to rain.  There was a strong current and I was able to time my breathing with the waves, which felt amazing because I felt like me and the water were a team.  I will never forget that experience of training for and racing in Ironman Cozumel and I'm looking forward to sharing it with other women tonight.

PS I started training this week for Kona and I'm LOVING IT!!!

Amazing story.

This video clip is the story of Matt Hoover (from the show Biggest Loser) competing in his first Ironman.  It is truly inspirational.  I was emotional watching his difficult run in the dark because it totally brought back memories for me of my Cozumel experience. 


My favorite line is at the end when he says, "there's something about pushing yourself beyond your limits that people need to do once in their life.  They need to take the chance one time to see what they really can do and once you do it, you're never the same."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTPpXpoF54s

We signed up for Hawaii.

Last night we made it official and signed up for the Hawaii 70.3 (half Ironman) on June 2nd.  It was a huge thrill to actually fill out the forms online and hit the "register" button.   With both this race and Cozumel, I have taken some time to decide if it's what I really want to do but then once I commit, I'm all in.  I'm not actually going to start official training for a week or two because I feel like my feet need that time to ease into it.  Plus, I feel like the weight training I am doing is providing an excellent muscular base that will give me power in the race that I otherwise wouldn't have.  I have been focusing especially on developing my lats to give me strength in a high elbow pull on the swim.    I created a little routine using the cables at the gym to simulate a swim stroke.  I can already tell I'm much stronger.  I've also been doing an insane amount of squats and lunges to strengthen up my legs for the bike and run.  It's been SO MUCH FUN to do something different for awhile.

There are several things I LOVE about this race in HAWAII:

• It's on a SATURDAY.  (It's very hard to find races on a Saturday, most are on Sunday which is a religious day for me and my family.)
• It's in a beautiful tropical location.  (Neither of us have been there before.)
• It uses the same bike course as the Kona full Ironman world champsionship, which is iconic for a triathlete.  Maybe some day we'll actually race in the full there.
• The timing is perfect because it's just the right amount of time to train and prepare for. (Just under 5 months).

Some things I don't love quite as much:

• The bike and run have hills.
• It's going to be hot!  Like, crazy stinking hot.
• Ok, that's about it....I mean really, it's Hawaii....hard to not love it.

I talked to a girl at the gym today who did Canada Ironman last fall and she said that in the 3 months she took off from exercising, she gained 20 pounds and lost all her fitness. Yikes!  I am happy to report that I haven't gained any weight, have been really careful about my eating and feel like I'm in a good place to get back into training soon.  Thank you Wild Rose Cleanse for helping me clean up my eating after indulging in sugar over the holidays.

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope your goals are going well!

What to do?

Adam and I are still deliberating about what to do with triathlon this year.  Here are our options:

- Ironman Texas in May:  It might be fun to have another try at a full.  Course is nice.  Lake swim, rolling hills on the bike and flat run.  Hot weather.  Cost is kind of high because of high entry fees (for registering late) and flights aren't cheap ($900 each + bike fees).  Not sure that I am mentally and physically ready for another full distance tri at this point.

- Half Ironman in Kona, Hawaii in June:  World famous beautiful course and great place for a vacation.  We've never been to Hawaii before.  Flights are $700, which is pretty good I think. We could get a resort condo for about $100/night (not bad).   Ocean swim (which I'm now a pro at right??), some hills on the bike, HOT HOT HOT volcanic rock climate, rolling hills on the run too but apparently it's VERY scenic.

- Local Races:  There's a half ironman distance race in Calgary in June and several sprint and olympic distance races in the province.  Advantages: easy for child care for our kids, familiar courses, we could place really well in the shorter distance races, minimal costs.  Disadvantage: kind of boring.


So, what to do, what to do????  If you asked me last week, I would have told you that we are leaning towards IM Texas.  But we didn't register because I feel like I need to be excited about training and racing before I commit....and it's just not coming.  Because this is a hobby and not something I feel like I "should" do, I feel like if I'm not going to REALLY enjoy myself and be excited about it, then I'm not going to do it.  So even though it kind of makes sense to do Texas since we have the conditioning in place and it might be our last year for awhile that it works with family life, I just don't know that we'll do it.  That being said, it kind of feels like my best friend is dying when I think about not doing a full....I am so bonded to that lifestyle in some ways.

Adam just suggested the Kona option yesterday and we're definitely looking into it.  My feet still hurt when I try to run and I may not resolve my GI issues in time for a full, so it's definitely a safer choice.  The course is still challenging, which is good because really, who likes easy goals??? Not me :)
Here's some pictures:

IM Texas

Part of the swim is in this canal with spectators right next to you.  Pretty cool!

Apparently the bike is really scenic. Ok, maybe not this scenic:

Half Ironman in Kona

 These shots show where you bike along the coast.

The run is all through this golf course, which they call breathtaking, scenic and HOT.