"I like you. I'll gladly sit down and have dinner with you after the race. But when the gun goes off, I pretty much hate you, and I want to stomp your guts out. That's racing." -J Rapp



"the best night of my life.....
...in the most beautiful place on earth"



"It's just one, long, tedious conversation with yourself" -Paula Newby Fraser






"Have faith- trust in the plan - the breakthrough will come. I promise. " Woo




"You can keep going and your legs might hurt for a week or you can quit and your mind will hurt for a lifetime.” -Mark Allen




“The only time you can be brave is when you’re afraid.”


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Next Stop....Marquee 70.3!

It's finally time for our first "fit test" of the year with the Marquee half Ironman coming in less than 3 weeks (April 10, 2011).  The coolest thing about this race is that it's basically a short version of Ironman Arizona---same swim venue, same bike course (well, the loop is a bit shorter and we only do 2 loops---the climb towards Shea is omitted, so the bike will be VERY fast ;), and the run is basically the same as well, but even easier without the run through Papago Park (hilly).

Chris (AIMP Coaching) has really been laying it on the past two weeks (a good challenge!  it's making me miss my family time though :(, with 18+ hour training weeks including back to back long rides on Fri-Sat of 3+ hours each with intervals built in (kind of daunting when I think that averages to 3 hours a day for 6 days of the week!).  After suffering a bit with overtraining syndrome, I'm back healthy again....hopefully ready to race!  This is my first full tri season back (last year my broken clavicle and the Tempe Town Lake Dam break wiped out the season except for IM AZ), and I haven't competed in any local races here at all, so I am looking forward to sharing the course with many of my "new" tri friends---hopefully I can stay focused on racing versus "shout outs" to them!  This is also the first race of our "Elite Team" with all 5 of us competing (4 in the Half Ironman, 1 in the Olympic)...it's really a great group of people/athletes!!  

This coming weekend our ONE team (coordinated with Red Rock Co) is having a Triathlon clinic at Bartlett Lake catering to people new to triathlons--this should be a really fun event--we were all new to the sport at one time, and having someone to show newbies the ropes is a great opportunity to learn the "tricks" versus learning by feel.  Sophia's birthday party is on the same day, so I will be out there just for a morning swim, but kudos to the rest of the ONE team for volunteering their day to help!

The only other thing on my mind all the time is my family time---budgeting running/working in the dental practice, helping with ONE, training, and having enough time for home life is a challenge.   I don't know how long I will be able to train this way as the self imposed guilt I have from training versus being home gets to me, and it's not getting better.  Yesterday was a typical day during a build week:  up at 5:30, work till 4, home at 4:30, on the trainer at 5, off the trainer at 8:20, quick shower, quick eat, lay down with Sophia in bed, read her books, watch her fall asleep, then jump into bed at 9:30---Jenny already sound asleep...and repeat that pretty much every work day.  Then, fridays I'm up early, on the bike till 12, then a run (sometimes), finally done at around 2, then family time the rest of the day---repeat that for saturdays (the workouts change, but the time away doesn't).  Luckily, right now Sundays are more of an "off" day with a swim or a run only, but that will change inside of the 16 week build to Kona.  I guess I am writing this part for me...it's on my mind all the time, and when Sophia peaked her head into the "Pain Cave" last night 30+ times, I was feeling like I was depriving her of her father.  Jenny and Sophia have been VERY supportive of me and my selfish hobby...they are amazing!  I have played that game in my head where I think that I wouldn't be who I am without triathlon in my life (I'd be lazy, unmotivated...), but I think I need to change me---I don't HAVE to compete at the level I am trying to compete at.  Just getting that through my head is another thing---those who know me well understand this!

Without knowing what it is like to race in Kona, I am somewhat scared/overwhelmed by that place, and i think that is why I keep pushing for more.  The heat I can handle, but the humidity will be a whole different beast (it doesn't help that I watch the IM WC DVD's every time I ride the trainer).  Last summer the heat won on a few of my workouts, and I am thinking I need to be stronger going INTO the summer so I am better prepared for those really hot months--all of which lead directly to October 8th!

So I guess that's enough "open book diary" for today---thank you Jenny and Sophia for all of your support...you are amazing in every way ;-}

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