You better be ready for the conversation

When I started this blog I thought I would be a more prolific writer.  Turns out, training for an IM, working full-time and trying to see your family all take away from your ability to write random musings.  It has been almost 6 months since I finished (yes, finished) the Wisconsin Ironman.  I thought I would put down in words a story that many people told me deserves some telling, so here it is.

About a week before IM Wisconsin, my team coach sent an email to the team.  It had a lot of good advice in it - things like, "You've put in the time", "Feeling crazy is normal now." It also included one statement that, at the time, made no sense to me at all:

“Ironman is patient.  But eventually she looks you in the eye and you’d better be ready for the conversation”

Now, what kind of cryptic BS is that?  We had been working our butts off for a year, and in the end, we get some coded message?  What conversation? How is 'she' patient?  Exactly what is that supposed to mean?

Does it mean at some point I'm going to be talking to myself?  Well, that's no surprise - during training I had lots of conversations with myself. Most of them not pleasant,  many of them nonsensical.

Does it mean I'm gonna wonder why I'm doing this?  There again, no surprise!  I've wondered hundreds, maybe even thousands of times.  There wasn't a single answer, the reasons were many, some selfish, some not.

As it turns out, I found out the meaning that statement right around mile 8 of the run.

You see I am the father of two amazing daughters (Hence, 'Iron Dad').  I also happen to be married to an amazing woman.  While I was training for the Ironman, my wife was mapping out the ideal route to get my daughters to as many places on the course as possible.   On the day of the race, they found me eleven times.  Yes,  eleven.  It was humbling.  It was amazing.  It was the thing that got me to the finish.  The swim and the bike were great - I literally had a smile on my face the whole time.  As I started the run, I felt amazing.  My wife and daughters were waiting for me right outside of transition. I had plenty of time. I was feeling good. Then I hit mile 2 of the run.

To this day I cannot tell you why I crashed so quickly or so horribly.  I had followed my nutrition plan, I was eating, hydrating and feeling good one minute.  The next minute I couldn't keep anything down, my vision was going dark, and I could barely walk forward.  From mile 2 to about mile 8, all I could do was walk slowly and chew ice chips.  Every mile got more miserable.  Every step got harder.

At mile 8 my family found me again.  I remember thinking to myself, "Thank god.  They can take me home now.  I can't move another step." As I approached my daughters, I bent down and as they wrapped their arms around me, I said, "Girls, daddy is SOOO tired."

Then it happened. They kissed me on my cheeks.  They squeezed me tight.  They cheered so loud - "Daddy you can do this!", "Daddy you're an Ironman!"

Right then and right there I had the conversation.  I looked Ironman right in the eye and I knew - I KNEW that I was finishing that race.  I had to.  I had two amazing girls cheering me on and there was no way on earth I was going to let them down.  I stood up.  I started walking again.

By mile 14 I was able to start jogging a little.  By mile 20 I was walking/jogging.  It wasn't fast.  It wasn't pretty, but I did finish.  And guess what?  As I entered the finishers shoot with a crowd of people cheering me on, there were my wife and two daughters, screaming louder than anyone out there.

So I guess everyone does have a conversation with Ironman.  My bet is that the conversation is different for everyone.  For me, it was about my family and the kind of man I want to be.  The kind of role model I want my girls to see.  In the end, it was the most amazing experience of my life.  I'd recommend it to anyone.

Just under 250...

It really does seem like yesterday I had 350 days left to train.  That number is down by over 100 - just 247 more training days until the Wisconsin Ironman 2016.

The question is, how are things going?  The answer, it seems, is always the same - Well, mostly good, but there are some issues.

I managed to keep to the schedule fairly well throughout the holidays.  Sure, I missed more workouts than I wanted to, but when I look back, I was consistent.  I can't really complain about that.  The big, fat, scary goal kept me working out.  There were days I had to miss, but I was otherwise engaged.

Now that the holidays are over, I am back to the schedule.  This is the 'mostly good'.   I am training consistently and completing my plan.

Now for the 'some issues'.  My plan called for an 1:20 run last week.  This is the longest run by 20 minutes to-date.  It was COLD.  It was icy.  I felt as good as can be expected while running.  I woke up the next morning, however, with a lot of pain in my left knee and some sort of strain on the inside of my left ankle/foot arch.  I iced and took ibuprofen.  Those helped a lot.  I still have some soreness, but it has subsided quite a bit without having to stop, change or modify my workout schedule.  However, it leads to a disturbing question - exactly how will that knee hold up when I need to run for 2 hours? Or 3?

So that's the current status.  Still motivated.  Still working toward the goal.  Still worried about my body's ability to handle the stress of the training.

Halloween fallout

I missed my first workout yesterday.  I don't care.  I actually made a conscious decision to listen to my body and take an extra day of rest.  You see, I am not a runner.  I hope that's something that has become abundantly clear.  Even though I am not a runner, I am running 3 times a week right now.  Saturday I was scheduled for a 1 hour run.  It was cold and rainy.  I ran anyway and turned in a personal best.  Keep in mind, that means 10:24 miles.  Its still good for me.

Then the Halloween festivities began.

My wife and I have always loved Halloween and our girls do too.  This year our neighbor had a party before trick-or-treating.  I partook in the eating and drinking.  Then we took the girls trick-or-treating.  Then we sat by the fire pit, which, includes more eating and drinking.

So yesterday I was tired, and slow, and my hips actually hurt from the morning running and afternoon walking.  I was supposed to swim yesterday, but decided I needed the rest.  I thought I would feel bad, but to be really honest, I feel good about it.  I've not missed a workout since I took on this challenge, and yesterday seemed justified.

Today is the scheduled rest day.  I am already looking forward to tomorrows run.

320 to go.

Wow.  I just checked the remaining days for this post.  320 left.  I honestly don't know where the last 25 days have gone.

Here's my status update:  I've yet to miss a workout (although 1 swim came in 6 minutes short).

Up until last Thursday, no major issues.  I had a couple of aches and pains but ice, stretching an an occasional dose of Ibuprofen did the trick.  Last Thursday, however, the swelling on the top of my right foot returned and hurt.  I had to start back on the cream from the Podiatrist.  I was mortified.

I didn't miss a workout.  In fact, I ran 5 miles on Saturday - that foot cream is amazing.  My neighbor - you know, the one who actually finished the 2015 version - he ran with me.  I told him about my foot.  I told him it was the first time since I signed up that I was actually somewhat discouraged.

He told me about a couple of really dark moments he had while training last year.

I'm not sure why, but just hearing that he had troubles somehow lifted the entire weight of the injury.  I know its gonna suck. I know there will be more.  I know I will have my dark moments. Here's the thing I also know:

I will keep training.  I will race my race. I will finish.

And I'm In Over My Head

330 days to go.  Its been 2 weeks since the last post and boy how things have changed.  Remember that training team I told you about?  The one that starts January 1st?  Yeah, about that.  It started Tuesday.

I am officially on a team.  Its only the first week, but the team itself seems very good.  I haven't actually met anyone, or even either of the coaches, but I have a training plan in TrainingPeaks and have had an email conversation with one of the coaches.

The only thing I know for sure at this point is that I'm in a little over my head right now.  Don't get me wrong, the training plan is pretty awesome.  The goals, however, are not.  I knew when I registered that I had a long way to go before I was in 'Iron Man' shape.  I was also honest with myself and defined 'Iron Man' shape as simply finishing within the time limits.  Now that I see the schedule, I feel like I am even further behind than I thought I was.

I'll give you an example of my first scheduled training. Its a run.  Its supposed to be 40 minutes in Zone 2 (ie, very easy) and you're supposed to be able to run 4+ miles.  You see, that last part is the hard part.  In Zone 2, I'm running 12 minute miles (yes, THAT slow).  So I was able to go about 3.5 miles in the 40 minutes, but spent most of my time in Zone 3.

Now, I don't think that's a long-term issue.  My fitness will increase.  My weight continues to go down.  I expect to get to those numbers in the next couple of months.  But is that fast enough?  Do I have enough time to build the fitness I need?  15 days ago I would have said, 'Yes'.  Today, I say, "I don't know."

So the wild ride continues....

345 days to go.

345 days to go.  It just doesn't seem like enough time when I say it that way.  I'm off to a good start, though.  At least, I think I am.

This brings me to the fundamental question I keep asking myself - how, exactly, do I know I'm on the right track to be able to do this?  I've looked up training programs, looked into a training team, and read a lot about it.  Everything suggests I'm 'on the right track'.  But how do I know?  At this point the shock of my commitment has worn off and the excitement of the journey has kicked in.  Still, I just can't shake that one question.

The last week and a half have been busy.  I've set a goal of working out 6 days a week and have thus far achieved that goal.  I've started running, and its going well.  I got my gym membership.  I bought my swim cap.  I've decided on a team that I am going to join - it officially starts Jan 1 (Happy new year?).  I've adjusted my diet and am already losing the 20+ lbs I will need to lose.  Things are looking and feeling good.

I'm off to a good start.  At least, I think I am...

A Sample of the Highs and Lows

Yesterday was the first day after I had recklessly signed up for the 2016 Iron Man.  It was also a taste of things to come.

Seeing as how I'm NOT a runner,  I decided that the very first thing I needed to do was to start a running regimen,  so on day 1 I thought I would do a little run/walk.  On my way out, I asked my 10 year old if she wanted to go with me (I have no illusions regarding my running shape, I knew she would keep up and probably push me).  To my surprise, she said, "yes".  We took off moments later with the sun setting.  I can tell you this was the single best run of my life.  As we slowly jogged along, this 10-year-old, who rarely gives me any details about her day, in spite of my constant inquiries, just started chatting me up.  I heard about her class, her teachers, her goals.  As the sun went down and we rolled along for 2 miles, I almost forgot we were even jogging.

That was a preview of a 'high'.  I expect I will experience many of these along the way.

Later in the night, after we put the girls down and went to bed, my thoughts started getting the best of me.  I ended up thinking about the race, stressing about it, wondering about it.  Late into the night my wife rolled over and told me she couldn't sleep because she was worrying about it.  I eventually had to get up for a while and just sit - what about the costs, the time, the commitment?  Am I too old? Will my body hold up?  

That was a preview of a 'low'.  I expect I will experience many of these along the way.