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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

It's Inevitable

"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. " ~ Christopher Reeve

Like many people, when I first watched Ironman on television it seemed like an impossible dream. Gradually it moved to improbable - how could a person who had never clipped into a road bike, never done any open water swimming, never participated in sports growing up, complete an Ironman?

This Ironman dream is not something I am willing to walk away from. It's not something I'm willing to leave undone. Since the word "willing" just showed up in the last two sentences, I believe it is time to summon the will, to step fully into my Ironman dream.

  • I have a wonderful "Iron Grandma" sweatshirt given to me by two of my daughters for my 2007 Ironman attempt (a knee injury 10 days out from race day kept me from completing the bike portion , although I did get through that scary 2.4 mile swim with 2000 friends in the mass start). It has my two beautiful granddaughters names embroidered on it - Ella & Madison. Now two more grandchildren will be here before Ironman 2009 and their names will be embroidered on that sweatshirt as well. Perhaps my sweatshirt was waiting for 2 more names.

  • It is time to let go of the fear and step into trusting in my self and the training.

  • Who says a grandma necessarily smells like fresh-baked cookies, old soap, and hairspray? This grandma is perfectly ok with smelling like lake water, Gatorade and, at times, sweat.

  • I now know that there will be times (many of them most likely) when I'm not sure I can do this. In those moments I can choose to believe in those people around me who do believe I can complete Ironman 2009. Those moments of doubt will pass.

  • I know what to focus on in my training this year - more weight training in the winter to gain strength, continue yoga (1x per week) throughout the entire training to prevent injury, lots of time in the pool and on the bike.

  • Get outside on the bike earlier in the season.

  • Remember to appreciate my friends and especially my family who are supporting me. Ironman is not an individual sport. Once I signed up to participate, my entire family has signed up along with me. I couldn't do it without each one of you. Thank you. I will make you proud. It's inevitable.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Ironman Wisconsin 2009 Participant


After lengthy discussion with my family, I have decided to sign up for Ironman Wisconsin (affectionately known as IM-Moo) 2009. The online application was completed and "submit" button was clicked on. Training will officially begin after the Disney Goofy Challenge in January.

Good Enough is Not Good Enough

Autism 5-K Race (Sunday)
Time: 26:35 (distance 3.29 miles)
Pace: 8:03 per mile
2nd female overall/54 total females (30 seconds behind overall female winner)
1st in age group
16th/97 total runners


Saturday's training schedule called for a 20-mile run. I was still feeling the effects of running in Hurricane Ike, the 6-mile hill workout on Wednesday morning and the race pace run on Thursday evening. Most of the run went along just fine. I was running by myself for almost the entire run. I had one more 5-mile section to complete when I came back into the Amtrak Station. I told Howard (my husband) that I was thinking 19 miles might be "good enough". He replied; "Good enough is not good enough". Of course those words stuck with me. And naturally I completed the entire 20 miles not a mere "good enough" 19 miles.

We all have (and need) those people around us who encourage us to stretch more, challenge ourselves more, or reach higher than we may be considering in the moment. A question I might have considered on Saturday morning, would have been:

"If I knew obtaining a Boston Marathon qualifying time depended on completing 20 training miles rather than 19 miles, which would I choose?"

Now all that's left to do is to get that time.

One additional note - I followed up Saturday's 20-miler with a 5-K race on Sunday. To my surprise I was able to run fairly hard. I placed 1st in my age group and what I believe was a pretty good pace. (I don't know for certain what my time was yet. The distance was long according to the race organizers - 3.3 miles rather than 3.1 and the official results have not been posted yet.) This is encouraging to be able to run fast the day after a long run. I've done three road races this summer (Park to Park 5 mile, Dog Days 5-K and the Autism 5-K this Saturday), placing 1st in my age group each time.

So, thank you Howard for challenging me to do more.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Running With Ike - Part Three

Final Results:
10 mile time - 1:40:33 (10:03 mile pace)
Age group place - 6/51
Overall place - 1470/2977

Humorous sights/noticings along the way:

  • The man at the hotel who stepped outside and stuck his outreached hand out to check the rain status. Here's a clue - if it is coming down in sheets, you probably don't need to reach your hand out to check if it is raining.
  • The woman who came back inside the lobby area and announced; "I just don't think this is me". (In regards to whether or not to run the race.)
  • The man running with a large golf umbrella (closed) - what exactly was he planning to do with that?
  • The fact that after drinking my cup of water, I politely dumped the excess on the pavement, so as not to splash anyone around me. I realized the absurdity of that after the first couple of water stations.
  • Most of the mile marker signs that were blown over or blown completely away. There was really no way of determining where you were on the course.
  • The volunteers offering "hurricane water", or "Sports Ike", or "rain water"
  • The porta-potties that were blown over (I hope no one was inside at the time)
  • The amazing number of runners heading back out on the course after crossing the finish line, determined to get some extra miles in
  • The cheery spectators along the course - especially those holding up signs for their athlete, with the writing washing off the posters
  • The incredible spirit of the volunteers who did not have the advantage of moving to stay warm
  • The comraderie of the runners - we all had the attitude of "we're in this together"

Running With Ike - Part Two

So, we stood at the start line with the wind howling, trees bending over, signs blowing over and waited for the start. And waited. And waited. My rain jacket was no longer keeping the rain out. Rain came in through the neck area and through the vents in the sides of the jacket. I began to shiver. The shivering continued. 10 minutes went by. 15 minutes passed and still no start. People began to leave and walk to their cars in the parking lot. The rest of us stayed huddled together, shivering and noticing the conditions were deteriorating, not improving. Finally after a 25 minute delay, the race was underway! We were just glad to be moving with hopes of warming up.

It was a very difficult race. At one point I nearly blew off the race course. I blew right into a man on my left. I apologized for hitting him and he grabbed my shirt, saying; "I was afraid you were going to blow away". Running over the suspension bridge over the Mississippi River was a tad scary. It was quite windy on the top of the bridge.

By mile 7 or 8, conditions had actually improved a bit. The rain had let up, it was still very windy, but at least it was better than the first hour of running. I decided I could complete the full marathon. So, I maintained a comfortable pace (not that any of this race was comfortable), that I felt I could keep for all 26.2 miles. Pushing into the wind had taken its toll already.

At mile 9, we began to see runners coming from the opposite direction saying the race had been called for everyone. Everyone would finish at mile 10. Really? Now, I wished I had known that, because I would have run faster. I ran hard that last mile. Once at the finish line, I looked around for friends or family. I couldn't find anyone, so I decided to go back out on the race course looking for Carolyn and Danny. I ran the opposite direction for 3 miles. Along the way, I told volunteers at the water stops (who did not know the race had been called) to please let runners know about the official call of the race.

I ran back to the suspension bridge (up to the center of it for a better look for my friends), and then turned around and ran back to the finish. So, I managed to get a 16 mile run out of the day. It's probably the most difficult 16 miles I have ever run.

Once through the finish area again (still not able to locate anyone), I made my way to the food tables and the gear check. The entire area was flooded. The ground was covered with water and/or mud. Most people were slogging through with their shoes on. I decided to wade through the mud and water barefoot. After all, my feet were already cold and wet. At least I wouldn't add mud to my shoes.

I found my way to the shuttle bus and hopped on board with all the other muddy, cold and wet runners. The shuttle buses took us back to the start area parking lot. As the bus began driving, it passed by 3 runners. The bus driver opened the door and asked if they needed a ride. They replied; "No, our car is down there". Down where? We all peered out the bus windows. All we saw was a very large tree which had fallen. Oh! And a very smashed car underneath. Now that's a bad day.

Once back at the start area, I wasn't sure where to pick up the hotel shuttle bus from there. The parking lot was flooded in many parts. Many of the racers appeared to be disoriented, looking for their bearings. I was doing the same, when much to my delight, Howard and Shelley pulled up in the car. I was never so happy to be in the safety of a warm car!

As we left the parking lot, they pointed out the cars with water up past the wheel base, and the one car submerged in water up to the windows. Apparently, the car was unable to distinquish pavement from a grassy area because of the rain. Once off the solid pavement, the car quickly sank into the rising water. The driver appeared to have escaped through the driver's side window.

Here is what the race directors put on the official website this morning (Monday, day after the race):

"When the event started, we had every intention of allowing everyone to complete the entire distance. Both courses were runnable and we believed given the latest weather reports that they would continue to be so. Unfortunately, the combination of (1) the storm dropping over 5" of rain (as compared to the 3" that had been expected) and (2) much of that rain falling immediately before the start of the race (in part due to the delay that resulted because the police were understandably late getting to their positions because they were busy working a multitude of traffic accidents) caused a flash flood that swamped a long stretch of the north section of our course just minutes before the first runners were to arrive.

When we received the reports of the flash flooding approximately 30 minutes into the race, we immediately responded by safely altering the course to avoid the flooded area. We wish we could have re-routed to another 13.1 mile course, but for many reasons that was not a viable option. We apologize for not effectively communicating the mid-race course change to you via our aid station volunteers, but the storm knocked out our radio communications, leaving many of them ill-informed, as well. To make matters worse, our finish line sound system was also put out of commission by the storm, so information could not be effectively delivered post-race, either.

As for the marathon course, we received word soon after the flooding report that the wind and rain had caused two large branches to fall onto and across our course - obviously a dangerous situation. In addition, the medical station on the south end of the marathon course could not operate effectively in the dangerous conditions. As a result, we felt we had to stop all of our competitors at 10 miles."

Running With Ike - Part One

I was awakened about 3:50 AM on Sunday morning to the sound of heavy rain. Very heavy rain. Torrential rain. It was hard to ignore the sound of the rain and wind and simply go back to sleep, even though my alarm was not set to go off until 5:15. Eventually at 4:45 AM my sister Shelley and I got up. We threw on some clothes and went down to the breakfast area at our hotel. (The hotel was very accommodating and started breakfast @ 4:00 AM for the runners.) There were a few other runners drinking coffee and eating a light breakfast while looking out at the tropical storm going on outside.

We went back upstairs and checked the Weather Channel. Hmmm.... The radar showed a beautiful depiction of the eye of Hurricane Ike (now considered a tropical storm) wrapping around the St. Charles/St. Louis area. We were actually in the eye of the storm as it moved up and across from Texas. Foreboding to say the least.

By 6:15 AM, Howard, Shelley and I were in the lobby looking outside at the continuing storm. Fortunately there was no thunder or lightning. We stepped outside to evaluate the conditions. It was surprisingly cool - the temps had dropped from 74 degrees to around 64 degrees. With the heavy rain and strong winds it felt very cold!

I made a quick trip back to the room to get a cycling rain jacket. When I came back to the lobby, people started to straggle back into the lobby. Some had ventured out intending to run to the start (less than 1/2 mile away), some had already gone to the start on the shuttle bus and decided to return and some had just stepped outside briefly. Many were deciding not to run. Some of the runners who had actually gone to the start area, came back with reports of ankle deep water. I stepped outside again and decided I would at least head to the start.

I did another quick check of my clothing options. If I actually had to run in my plastic rain jacket, I knew it would chafe my bare arms terribly. So, I went back up to the room for a second time to get a long sleeve technical running shirt. Now I was ready. Was I ready to run in a tropical storm? I was about to find out.

Shelley and Howard decided not to run. So, with a quick goodbye, I boarded the shuttle bus. Once on the shuttle bus, it became apparent that we were in the middle of a tropical storm. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. I waded through the ankle deep water to deposit my gear check bag (containing dry clothes for after the race) and joined some friends in the start area.

Because the visibility was so poor, it was difficult to judge how many people were lined up. It was far less than the 5,000 originally signed up for the 1/2 marathon and full marathon. For the most part the group seemed to consist of die-hard runners, experienced runners, with a sprinkling of some first-timers.

After singing of the National Anthem, we prepared to start our adventure.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Lessons From a Turtle

Sunday is the Lewis & Clark Marathon in St. Charles, MO. The weather forecast calls for heavy rain - the remenants of hurricane Ike. Running a marathon in a heavy downpour is not the most enjoyable thing, Shoes and socks become saturated with water, blisters tend to form, and the finish line can seem even further away than usual.

I'm still planning on running the marathon even if the weather is as bad as forecasted. The weather may change my goals a bit, but I still plan on running.

Today was an interesting day to stumble across an article written by a runner heading out the door for a run in rather miserable rainy weather. She contemplated turning around and returning home when the rain picked up almost as soon as she started running. However, a slow-moving turtle managed to convince her of the importance of continuing the journey. She first encountered him trying to cross from one side of the road to the other on her trip out. When she returned back along the path on the trip home, she was surprised to see him just about to complete his daunting journey from one side of the road to the other. Below is the story of "Pete" (the name bestowed on this snapping turtle by the runner):

"Even though for my turtle the unknown was not the sea, but a lake, his destination was unknown just the same. Suddenly, instead of seeing his crossing of the road as a mundane task, I recognized it for what it was: a small adventure within a larger one. I realized that every moment, every day, is a journey within a journey within a journey. No challenge is so insignificant that it adds not to the grand masterpiece of our lives. Embracing the adventure of each road we must cross, we keep our eyes focused on that wonderful, mysterious beyond.

That afternoon, I realized that in my silly petulance, I had flippantly tossed aside the adventure of my run and missed the beauty of simply crossing the road. As I left Pete the Turtle to continue his journey across the miles, I pushed a strand of wet hair from my face and headed back home."