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Ironman #9. Wow. Six months ago I wondered whether I had run my course in this sport. I wondered if I had learned all that I had to learn and if it was time to scale back. But as the year got going I took my hard knocks and changed directions. I wasn’t ready to lay down but I knew I needed some changes in my own head if I was going to keep doing this sport.

So, here are a few of the changes this year that I think helped.

#1 – More Community. I got away from training by myself and just with Michelle and I took on new challenges. Coast Rides, camps, new friends, new training partners. This got me back to my tough girl independent roots, because the truth is, Michelle and I take care of each other. Getting left behind on the Coast Ride by the group of girls I was trying to ride with tested my positive attitude. Getting dropped repeatedly on Hamilton tested my ability to keep pushing on with a smile for my own good. When I found people who I really enjoyed training with, I made the time and spent the money to go train with them. I followed positive energizing people. And it brought out the best in me, it brought out the fighter.

Post drinks bus ride with the Chura, instant friendship! Man were we lightweights!

#2 – Less Expectations. To say that I dropped my expectations completely wouldn’t be entirely true, but I definitely dialed everything down a huge notch. I did not plan anything after Brazil and I did not expect to race for a Hawaii slot. I wanted one, and I wanted to get back to the island, but I am done training day in and day out in hopes that one day of my life will go well. So I focused on making every day a good day, on having as much fun in my everyday training as I would on Ironman day. No more sacrifice, no more expectations that Ironman day will be any different than any other day. And honestly, as awesome as Ironman Brazil was, I can say that I  had a few handfuls of training days that were even more fun and fulfilling.

#3 – I said F-U to the scale. I could, and probably should write an entire blog post about the scale, but let’s just say that the “race weight” bullshit that is everywhere is just that. Bullshit. I started EATING like a teenager. I did a good job at camp keeping up with two pro males in the eating department. I ate whatever sounded good and whatever was put in front of me. There was lots of ice cream, and chips and salsa. Also lots of the good stuff, but I did not calorie restrict, or watch what I ate, or weigh myself. When I got home from Brazil after 2 days of dysentery I stepped on the scale and was 141. So I would say I probably raced somewhere around there or higher. This is 15 pounds higher than I have stepped on the line in Kona at. I embraced the bull dog. Couldn’t be happier. It’s a little hard to look in the mirror and see the extra pounds, but I’m more healthy, and my immunity is so much stronger. And bottom line is that I allowed my legs to get stronger by not calorie restricting so they were cuter. That’s the honest truth.

#4 I said F-U to the data. Let’s face it, I sit around and geek out on my athletes data a fair amount. The last thing I want to do is look at mine. I haven’t uploaded any of my personal data to Training Peaks since November. I have trained with my Garmin to know how far I’ve gone, and I wear my HRM about 50% of the time. I race with my HRM and Power on the bike and that helps me pace appropriately, but for a run I ditch it and just go on feel. It’s Ironman #9 and I’ve done it all. No data, race solely on data, mix the two, etc etc, I’ve tried it. So as a way to get back to the fun of the sport, I dropped some of the details. I have no idea what sort of weekly hours I trained on average, or weekly mileage. I just did what was necessary and I had a lot more time for recovery and rest because I wasn’t hindered by data geekyness (not a word) and worry.

So here I am, looking back on my best race to date. I can’t help but attribute it to the change in attitude and outlook over the last few months. I feel like at this point in time I am on solid footing. I finally got to a place where I didn’t need to go under 10, didn’t need to get back to Kona, and not needing it anymore is part of why it happened.

Last year in Hawaii I remember feeling afraid to race well because that would mean that everything that felt wrong was actually right. This race was the opposite. I cared less about the results because I knew the journey was right. I love this sport. I love being out there racing and being a part of other peoples journey whether through coaching, being a friend, wife, or new acquaintance.

My favorite Quote, it’s on my bedroom wall.

“Results happen naturally when motivation is pure”

Motivation was pure, and results just happened naturally.

The day following the race we went to the Kona Roll Down and I paid for my 4th Kona slot (they keep getting more expensive). I get to go back to the big dance, but this time I’m going to enjoy the journey. The WHOLE journey. I’m taking as many of my athletes who want to come. I’m surrounding myself with people who love the sport as much as I do. Whatever happens this year in October will simply be a natural extension of the training I do between now and then. No more, no less. I’m just excited for another day of fun in the sun.

I want to thank Troy and Annie for their patience and understanding through the years. It’s so nice to hear Troy say “You are so happy this year” I’m lucky to have him in my life. Annie is excited to go back to Hawaii, it’s her favorite place on Earth. She’s such a life force in my world and I want to thank her for allowing me to chase my dreams. You wouldn’t think a 7 year old would encourage her mommy as much as my little one does.

I have to thank the boys for getting me strong this season. Mud oh Mud, this was you, you knew what to do all along,. Jim, Stephen, Gui, Chuck, Jeff. You boys pushed me and took me under your wing. I owe so much to you. Dave and Jen, thank you for your love and support as well. Operation Banana!

I also have to thank PIC, she is my sister and always puts up with my shit. Love her to death. Carolyn as well has really helped me with my run and has been my comedic relief the last few months. I love having strong women in my life. I could shout that from a rooftop!

A huge thank you to the companies that have believed in me. Kompetitive Edge always has my back. Amrita has been so generous in making sure I never BONK. I have been using their plant based bars on rides all year long, and I can’t tell you what healthy fuel does for the body. It’s magic! PunkRockRacing and Ron support me tirelessly, and QR! oh dear, another fastest amateur bike split…i think?, Nuun, Osmo, Fuel4mance, Dina and Stacy are helping me daily on my race nutrition. I am so blessed.

After the race we went to the Amazon! I’ll blog about that next!

Troy and I are less than 2 days away from a HUGE CIRCLED DATE in our calendar. See below!

12 weeks left! This is the first Ironman that we are really really traveling for. My first one was in Canada. But we actually flew to Spokane, rented a car, and drove over the border. No Visa, English speaking, and really easy, we didn’t really even have to change currency. Cozumel was IM #6 and that was international, but we flew direct on Frontier from Denver to Coz. Bikes were free, no Visa, and they took dollars as well. We had to speak a bit of Spanish, but after 24 hours we were in our groove.

Now, Brazil. First off, we don’t know whether to spell it Brazil or Brasil. So, we’re not even sure how to spell the place we are going. We are headed to the town (town?) of Florianopolis. It sounds like a fictional land, and there is a little mark over the last “o” that I don’t know how to make that happen typing. We have also decided that if we are going all the way to Bra(s)zil we should see the Amazon (not the one where you pay $89 a year for Prime to get free shipping).

IM Bra(s)zil has a two loop bike course with apparently 4 VERY LARGE climbs per loop and the rest is flat. I’m not sure what this means or where said climbs are, but I’m going to find out because it seems like that’s something I should know! I do know that last years overall amateur rode a 5:33 and that seems pretty darn fast.

So, we are also going to this Amazon place, to see it…we’ll report back in 13 weeks. I’m expecting birds, crocks, pirañas (yes with a squiggle above the n…it did that all on it’s own), maybe a sloth or two. Oh and it’s very hard to do research on said Amazon without continuously running into the Prime one! I just recently found out the Amazon is not near the Ironman. I now understand that it’s like saying…we’re headed to Hollywood for the Ironman, but if we are going to Hollywood, we might as well see Mount Rushmore….it’s like that…

Amazon is in Manaus (AKA Mount Rushmore). So we go: Denver to Dallas to Sao Paulo to 6 hours of thumb twiddling in Airport where we will probably stay at one of those Fast Sleep places so we can make out to Florianopolis (with a mark over the “o”) to rest relax taper to IRONMAN to Golden ticket (unknown) to Florianopolis (still with the mark) to Sao Paulo to Manaus (Mt.Rushmore) to Amazonian adventure on a boat with hammocks and birds and bugs to Manaus to Miami to Chicago to Denver.

Whew! This is SO not your domestic Ironman. The flights alone for all this travel were just under $1600 per person. Lodging in Florianopolis is another $1600 and the Amazon adventure is another $1600. I have planted a $1600 tree in the back yard. I thought it would bear $1600 fruit but instead I am merely out yet another $1600.

Having both Troy and I doing the Ironman has added some expense over just one of us racing, but in reality, it’s not much. He would already be there spectating, so at this point, why not have both of us race? I think I’m honestly MOST excited about having him racing with me. When I think about lining up with him, going through race morning with him, and feeling the race anticipation with him, I get really darn excited. I wish I could say that I’m going to swim on his feet, but in reality, he will go out too fast for me to hang on and I will lose him.

Getting a VISA for Brazil is no small feat. My drivers license address is not our current address because the CO DMV doesn’t issue new cards for change of address. So today I hiked it down and stood in line for an hour to get them to issue me a new card just so the address on my card matches the address on my Visa application which is a requirement. Step 1 of 40,000 is done. We need notarized copies of all sorts of stuff, we have to provide passport photos…even though we already have passports. They need current photos that are within 6 months. It’s crazy sauce.

Troy and I sat down before I knew this was so crazy and divided up some tasks. I got flights and Visa, he got immunizations, and budget. So yesterday he comes upstairs and tells me, he just had to make 1 call to our doctor and we have appointments for our shots. ME, I’ve got a 40,000 point to do list, and his task is done in 3 minutes. He did say that after I got all the Visa stuff done he would reward me with an ipad. I asked him if he know how much the visas were going to cost? ($280 per person) No more ipad….

The more I plan for this trip the more I understand that this is going to be a once in a lifetime trip. It’s not just another Ironman for us, but a really cool chance to share an adventure together, all for the affordable price of 10 grand. While we are bleeding money right now, I know that once it gets here, it will all be worth it! Memories last as long as I do, whereas money…wait…I think I got that wrong…

So, the next 12 weeks are about getting myself in great shape to race hard, but also about making sure that we really live in the moment, and that we are prepared and ready to enjoy our trip (of a lifetime) to the utmost!

5 things that I used the heck out of this year and I’m so glad I bought them:

My Klipsch headphones. I have 3 pairs because I lose things a lot. I get the nice ($$) ones because I like good sound and I’m already deaf enough. The toggle button works really well and it stands up fairly nicely to sweat, which is a major problem. Sometimes I have to dry them out for a few days to get the buttons to work again, but the sound is worth it and they are comfy as all get out.

Teavana. Oh dear, this was a pricy find! I’ve always wanted to be a tea drinker, but I wasn’t really actually fond of tea, until I discovered the herbal stuff at Teavana. My french press has been working overtime in combination with a mix of the Blueberry Bliss and the Kona Pineapple Pop. I like to add a little rock sugar and pour it over ice. Total treat, but not a caloric one.

Dude, I love my Flylady calendar. We get one every year. This calendar is about FUNCTION. There are no pretty pictures, it’s a work horse…like me (hahaha I crack myself up)

See how big each day is? We have found here in the Wieck house that we have to keep 2 calendars. One is electronic and is on every one of our mac devises (we are up to a house count of 7…we have a problem) , and the other is a paper copy on the Flylady calendar. Annie isn’t going to check the electronic calendar because she’s still learning to read…although it’s on her ipad mini, but she has learned to check the paper one every day. She likes to cross out the days too. She decorates with stickers as well when I’m not looking. She was actually crossing out things for a few months this summer and I kept thinking things had been canceled, but she just got black marker happy. So now the rule is “no using the black marker on the calendar without moms permission.” This thing has saved me so many times.

My darling ukulele. I don’t get to play it as much as I like, but I absolutely love it. I don’t see myself ever buying another ukulele, this one was made for me. Annie is now taking lessons and I need to sign myself up for some, but until then, I’m at peace when I’m strumming along.

My indoor outdoor temperature thingee. Why did I not get one of these years ago? Since we don’t have a TV (just 7 mac devises) we don’t have the morning weather. 95% of the time I just want to know how cold it is right now. This little guy tells me the outside temp and the inside temp. I use it when I’m getting dressed to go run or ride. It makes for super quick decision making. Love!

There ya go, 5 things that have made the year easier, healthier, and more fun. When I was writing this blog I asked Annie what her favorite 5 things were. She said…verbatim: “Toys, the roof over my head, you mommy, oh and daddy too, oh and blankie.” I was cracking up over that one.

3 – the number of triathlon coaches I’ve worked with, each complete opposites

2 - the number of times I’ve been to Kona, my favorite place in the world

7 – the number of Ironmans I will have stood on the start line of come Sunday morning

327 - if you are into literature

327 – or more into facts

327 – or possibly food

Facts:

Our airplane departs bright and early Thursday morning. I’m checking a bike box and a huge bag and carrying on a backpack. Troy and Annie are each carrying on a tiny backpack.

We are staying at the cheapest motel in CDA. But we stayed there 2 years ago and cheep is how we roll. Home is where your husband and your daughter are…and where your bike box is. So what if the room needs a little airing out?

I am 100% healthy. Not a niggle, not one issue, nothing standing between me and my best effort other than the space between my ears. This is the 7th ironman start line I have stood on completely healthy.

I am really on the starting line because so many of my friends signed up for the race and I didn’t want to miss the party or their finishes. I will be there!

I will go to the midnight finish…because I will still be there.

I will cry at the midnight finish…always do.

I will wear my finishers medal and cap to the midnight finish.

There is a little hill in the middle of the CDA run course that I will visit and spend some quiet time there… doing who knows… not during the race though.

I have two athletes racing, it’s both of their 1st Ironmans. They are both scared and excited and I know how they feel.

I love Troy and Annie more than I ever thought was possible.

I will give all I have to this race. Every last ounce.

The number of words in this post?

327

I’m knee…no thigh..no waist…no shoulder deep in Ironman training these days. My time is pretty evenly split between coaching and training and I’ve been overwhelmed. Yup, there, I’ll admit it. The hours I was begging Dirk for have arrived and I’m trying to embrace them the best I can while keeping the other balls in my life in the air.

The main change this year from past ones is the feeling of pure grumpiness. It’s been bad this year. I am in the middle of seeking a solution, which really just means I’m trying to not be grumpy but it’s not working.

Last year we headed to Boulder a few days a week and now looking back I realize that this made life easy. I was just “gone” for two days and all I had to worry about was getting myself there and ready to ride. The rest was decided, where to go, what the workout was, where to eat, etc, etc. It was just easy, it was routine.

This year every day I am planning, and backing up times schedules, accommodating others schedules, and asking Troy to pick up Annie from school, or take her, or help her with homework while I finish schedules or answer emails. I’m constantly writing lists and daily plans, and often enough I am not getting everything done, and I am dropping balls, and I’m underfed, and cut short on time, and sleep. However, all the training save for 1 workout in the last 5 months has been checked off. Every darn one. But the stress has been high these last few weeks and it’s not ideal (or even close).

I’ve been grumpy.

The training I am doing is new to me. It’s a lot of time on the bike but the vast majority of it is spent slowing down so that I don’t bust over my heart rate cap. Constantly slowing, slowing, slowing. Even the hard workouts, Michelle is miles up the road while I play master and slave with my heart rate monitor that constantly tells me the same thing…slow down.

I’ve been grumpy.

When I am grumpy, I tend to play a pity party. I feel like I do everything, like nobody ever helps me, like I’m expected to keep the house clean, food in the kitchen, athletes happy, make the plans, set the tempo, remember the workouts, plan plan plan, execute execute execute, lead lead lead. I look around and wonder where all the people went that said they would bring me lunch after a hard training session. I feel like I’m not fit, have to ride slow, get dropped by EVERYBODY and no one even cares. I’m expected to take the high road, have low expectations, and smile a lot.

More grumpy.

But then today I had a ray of hope and perspective shine down on me. These are typically quite rare when I am in this state. Usually I get pissed and get myself in trouble with everyone around me, or I disappear for 5 days. This ray of hope and perspective was a good one. I was reminded:

Choices. Responsibility.

Those are the two words of the moment. We all make choices. I don’t have to listen to Dirk. I choose to listen, I choose to get dropped, because the truth is, and I’ll be quite honest here, there are not a lot of female triathletes in the US that could drop me if I didn’t let them drop me. I know that in my heart. But I listen to Dirk because I have decided that this man can help me get better. He can help me break 10 at Kona, he can help me get stronger and faster.

I chose to be a leader, to train with others. I may get taken advantage of, or treated badly in that role. I have high expectations of those around me. These are all my choices.

I choose to eat healthy and locally. I want good food in the house, I want help making it. I choose to get my training done, to let other things slide when I have work to do. I chose these things.

Which leads me to RESPONSIBILITY.

I have to take responsibility for my choices. What happens to me in life is a direct result of the choices I have made. If I am grumpy, and that makes me feel like crap, well, I can change that. Don’t be grumpy, don’t feel like crap. If I get dropped, I can change that. Ride alone, ignore Dirk and do the dropping, be okay with getting dropped. They are all choices that can lead to different results.

Taking responsibility for my choices is crucial if I want to change the outcomes. Only when I feel responsible can I recognize that I am in control of different outcomes.

If I am overwhelmed I can make different choices that will free up time in my life. I can turn my coaching business into a reality show and kick someone off the island every week. I can have meals delivered. I can ride alone when I need to go slow. These are all options in front of me.

REASSESS

Sometimes I have to STOP and STEP BACK and reassess if my current choices are leading me in the direction I want to head. Maybe not. Maybe I have taken on too much and I am paying for that choice. The truth is I am the one that pays for my choices and I am alone in making them. I can’t expect others to help me with them, or to take responsibility for them. My results are my responsibility.

This is clearly the lesson of the season. I went one direction for a few years, and now, feeling the sense of freedom, I have gone in the other direction. I have to pull things back to the middle and that is going to require some different choices. Bottom line. And I’m okay with that.

I’ve never had an official bike fit before! Chuckie tweaked my bikes over the last few years and I was pretty darn comfy as a result, he knows his stuff. However, I can’t very well drag my bike down to Tucson and beg CV to make some minor tweaks here and there so I was in search of some help. Kompetitive Edge was always recommending Scott of Fit and Tri to me and I figured why not!

Oh, also, there was another reason. I got new bike shoes this week and I was really nervous that I would transfer the cleats over wrong to the new shoes and then be sore for my next three rides (no, I’ve never done that in the past…never..who me…??). The reason for new shoes was strictly Kona. In Kona last year do you remember those big nasty blisters I had on the bottoms of my feet? They were in places that I have never had blisters before. I know why they happened and they actually started on the bike. When my feet got swollen my bike shoes crunched the balls of my feet creating a crease down the middle of the ball. That combined with the heat of the asphalt and I came off the bike with blisters. Those blisters just got worse on the run, and also I added in several busted toenails to the mix. No fun.

I tried on the LG Tri-300 shoes when the [super cute] rep was in speaking to the KE team and the demo pair just happened to be my size. I was SO stoked, they fit correctly in all the right places out of the box, AND they are moldable! Yes, you put them in your oven at 150 and then wear them for about 20 minutes and WHA LAH…they are molded to your feet. So excited!

Lastly, they make a cooling and a heating insole for them. They come with the cooling ones and I ordered the heating ones. The insole actually changes temps so in the winter you can pop the warm ones in and in KONA you can pop the cooling ones in. They work too…not a gimmick! One thing I have learned is if something isn’t right, and you know how to fix it, you GOTTA fix it. Winter is the perfect time to make all those changes, don’t make the same mistakes twice. Get each season started on the right foot.

Okay, so Scott…the bike fitter. He’s is really cool. I knew my fit was “close” but that there were a few tweaks that needed to be made. Here is an approximate “before” shot.

I get so nervous going to people who you are paying to judge you. I always feel like I’m going to get reamed for the way I’ve been doing things. Scott is not like that. He 100% understood exactly why I was on 165 cranks, why my set up is like it is. He just “got me” and was able to make me a bit more comfy, and just a bit “better” but not an overhaul. He also loves QRs which makes me love him. Did you know Kompetitive Edge now carries QRs. So rad!

Scott listens. He listens very attentively and he lets you get settled into your ride and for the first while, he just watches you. He pays attention to all these little details and he asks some questions here and there. Before you know it, he is measuring you, chatting with you, and all the while, he knows what changes need to be made.

I have a couple issues with my riding style. ONE…I’m a masher. Despite working on my cadence A LOT, I still gravitate towards 82. I love 82. TWO…I sit to one side or another of my saddle. I always have since Steve Pye taught me to scoot up and sit way on the nose of my saddle. Now I seem to be completely unable to just sit straight on any saddle, I’m always to one side or another, and  I switch. THREE…because of the one side or another, I scoot up all the time on my saddle to where I almost fall off the front of it. This helps me enable my mashing habit.

Scott made some changes, actually moving my saddle foreword. This made me sit back on my saddle but in a comfy way. I’m still sitting on one side, but I’m back a little farther. Also, I was really running out of room in the cockpit. When I would go to climb out of the saddle I would hit my knees on my elbow pads. I would even hit my knees on them riding in aero. I was rather crunched. So we put a little longer stem on. Thank you Ryan…oh and the new stem is WHITE!!  I love it!

Once we did that, and I got back on, I was like “YES!” I was sitting farther back and my elbows were no longer digging holes into my elbow pads. This was so exciting because after two weeks my elbow pads were already compressed so I would just ride on really uncomfortable pads since I was too cheep to replace them every two weeks. Now, a new set of pads will last me a long time because my forearms are on them. Ahhhhh. 

BEFORE

AFTER

I had a really great experience with Scott. He’s just a down to earth guy who knows that he’s talking about and he has the heart of a teacher which I love. Thank you Scott for working with me and I’m so excited that my next trainer ride is going to be so much more manageable. Here’s to more comfort on the bike without compramising power or speed.

Scott can be found at Fit and Tri and he works out of the Kompetitive Edge shop.