IMWI JITTERS

One more sleep..

It's the day before my first Ironman and I'm nervous and so excited! After talking to a guy who's completed 7 Ironman races and he said he still gets nervous...I think I'm ok, so I'm going to roll with it!!

Today started off with a quick swim in Lake Monona and a short bike ride to shake out the legs and make sure the bike was switching gears ok. Athletes get the chance to register for the 2012 race before it opens to volunteers/public on

Monday...guess I drank enough of the Ironman training juice to bite that bullet! "Silly C" (my bike!) was racked and transition bags were dropped off...now it's rest up to race!

The past couple of weeks I've been prompted with the question several times "How can you do a race on the anniversary of 9/11?". For the people that ask me, I know they were directly affected by the tragic events of that day. They work in NYC - they lost loved ones. I, like most, remember that day so vividly. And the days following. September 11, 2001 and the people that were affected will never be forgotten. Although I am not "doing" the race for any charity, I am proud of all those that are racing and raising awareness and funds that support the people that have fought to defend freedom and provide safety. I have much respect for the courageous racers wearing the special bib numbers that represent their service to this county and their communities. It's cool that the Ironman organization recognizes them on the anniversary day. No doubt September 11 is being remembered and honored by this Ironman community.

Remembering back to the day of 9/11, my life looked incredibly different. Had I known the twists and turns life was going to take, I'm not quite sure I would have signed up for the ride, but today I am so blessed for the changes that have come my way.

Tomorrow I know I'm going to start swimming 2.4 miles at 7am.

Then I'm going to bike 112 miles.

Then I'm going to run 26.2 miles.

And I'll finish before midnight.

My mind will hit hurdles, my body will hit pot holes...but the journey is a gift that I want to take to get to the finish line to hear the magic words...

If you have a couple of extra nice thoughts (a.k.a. prayers) on Sunday, please send them out to the athletes, countless volunteers, and supporting spectators for a safe race day.

If your interested in tracking me, I'm bib #569 for Ironman Wisconsin - I think these Links will work on race day:

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/wisconsin?show=tracker#569

http://live.ironmanlive.com/Event/Ford_Ironman_Wisconsin

http://ironman.com/events/ironman/wisconsin/?show=tracker&race=wisconsin&year=2011#

GPS TRACKING (not the official Ironman site, but I'll be wearing GPS on the bike, maybe run if it's not annoying me to help Susan know where I am)

http://track.myathletelive.com/VEmap.aspx?name=046792

IMOOOOOOOO....5 days!

Last week I was able to stop taking off my shoes to count...and today it's down to one hand - FIVE more sleeps until IMWI!  Whoo hoo!!

I saw these cows on my lunch time run today and just had to stop and take a picture.  Not sure if they are always there and I run on the other side of the street, but I thought the timing was P-E-R-F-E-C-T!  Cows on the sidewalk in Chicago...they must have been wishing me good luck to head up to Wisconsin.  Or maybe I just needed the laugh!

In addition to Susan (jokingly I hope?) threatening to take away my phone so I stay off the forums reading about the snakes in Lake Monona and the weather forecast every 11.3 minutes to check radar...I can easily tend to get into serious mode with this little Ironman journey.  Reality is...I'm going to win it just like I've won all of my races.  I have my own little imaginary race category, and I take the top podium spot every time!  

Since "winning" is not the issue and I've detailed all I possible can control in my multi-tabbed race plan it's now time for me to stop thinking and switch over to really trusting the process.  I'm as ready as I'm going to get for the day.  At this point it is all about executing on the physical training, nutrition, and staying mentally positive and F-O-C-U-S-E-D.  I'm not underestimating the challenge that Ironman is going to be, but if I'm going to succeed, I need to loosen up just a little bit and remember that this is not putting the roof over my head or food on the table.  It's time to for me to remember why I signed up - for the challenge and for FUN!

And it has been a lot of fun.  No doubt.  And I've learned so much.

The next couple of days I'm going to enjoy and head up to Madison Friday morning relaxed and ready.  It's time to soak up the most of this first journey before the cannon goes off at 7am Sunday and the "work" begins!

Taper Time...

Taper has started for Ironman Wisconsin, and I think the first indication it was absolutely time get recharged physically and mentally was the appearance of the "short fuse" and the feeling of everyone joined "Team-Pick-on-Lori"!

Overall, the week went well.  Heading into the weekend, I was so excited it didn't involve a hotel.  Since Racine 70.3 the weekend of July 16-17, every weekend has involved a trip out of town - either up to Madison to train and one weekend was a fun time at the NJ shore.  Being the homebody I am, 6 weekends away and coordinating Bixby duties was probably more tiring than the training.  Taking off from my front door for Saturday's last long brick seemed like an simple 4.5 hour training day without packing up the car and bike!  Granted, I probably should have head out to Barrington to ride the hills instead of riding on the Northshore, but tacking on another hour out, and another back...mentally I couldn't do it.  So I made the best of the roads I have accessible to me and called it a day.  And the couch called my name.  As much as I wanted to nap, I got sucked into not just one, but TWO Ryan Reynolds movies that I have seen more times than I like to admit...waste of time, but it was time on the couch with the pup so I can't complain!

All through the weekend, I couldn't stop watching the news and look for updates on Hurricane Irene.  I was bit worried about my family with the path of the Hurricane blowing up through NJ.  After a night of compulsively watching The Weather Channel, I was so relieved to hear they were ok.  The Sunday run didn't go perfect, but I had a good swim in before the "short fuse" popped!

A little hungry, anxious, tired .... and I really should learn by now to go to sleep!  But like always, some lessons take a little longer for me to learn.  As the days are counting down, it's even more important that I break it down to Rule #62:  "Don't take yourself so damn seriously!"

As I went down my list of "Team-Pick-on-Lori" with one of my biggest fans yesterday, it was kindly and gently pointed out that really, no one was on that team.  (I have a VERY strong imagination! :-) )  So as the countdown has REALLY begun, it's time to relax, re-charge, finish up the workouts, trust the process, stay in the moment, give myself and people around me a little slack, and get plugged into the positive people that truly fill my life up! 

I REALLY AM EXCITED!

Do Overs...

Some days I miss those days on the playground in grade school playing kickball and a bad "pitch" came in and it was ok to say "Do over!".  Everybody reset...and then came the next "pitch"...Or in golf, you hit a bad tee shot and it's Mulligan time!

This past week was a vacation from work.  And on many fronts it was a great week - got to spend a couple of days at the Jersey shore with the family, beating my sister in Zim-Zam on the beach, and boogie boarding with the lil' guys and Susie Q.  But training wise, the weather was....extremely frustrating.  The Sunday long run ended with downpour, hail, and a fried iPhone.  The other runs during the week just seemed to wake up the rain gods, but luckily we were able to enjoy some nice weather together inbetween the storms.

The end of the week was back in Chicago and got a good bike ride and run in.  I had a problem getting into the lake in Evanston with some algea stuff going on...and it seems like all of the local pools I can get into are doing some kind of maintenance.  Getting in the remaining swims the next couple of weeks is going to be some fun scheduling.

Friday came around way too quick and once again it was a trip up to Madison - the last training trip before race weekend.  I was signed up for the Madison Open Water Swim Saturday am which is a chance to swim the 2.4 mile IMWI course.  I got up at 5am and started the nutrition plan and was too damn anxious.  I have a bad habit of reading too many forums and have read one too many about the algea eating snakes in Lake Monona that were suppose to have died off, but the relatively warm winters the past couple of years allowed them to survive and get BIGGER.  Aside from the snakes, 2.4 miles is a long way...there's no black line at the bottom of the pool to follow to make it straight and short, there's no wall to push off and coast, and there's no wall to stop for a breather.  Anxiety was running high and I had "lost" my breakfast, so I just tried to keep moving forward and prepared my stuff for the post-swim bike ride and headed over to the swim.

Driving over, the sky was getting DARK.  I picked up my packet and the lightening started and it was clear there was going to be a delayed start.  I had over 2 hours of hanging around with me and my anxious thoughts looking out of the parking garage to the swim course.  I switched the iPod to some "settle-down-positive" music to get my mind set changed. 

Here's the course picture from the MOWS web site - the loop is 1.2 miles, so the IMWI course is 2 loops:

The storm FINALLY passed and prepping up with the wet suit bumped into some training buddies which settled the nerves a little and got a couple of last minute tips and popped some Endurolytes!  (Thank you Mark & Mark & Krista & Angela!)

And to describe the swim in short....I made it!  I know it doesn't exactly replicate the IMWI swim because there will be ~2500 more people starting the swim in the water, but I do have these take aways:

• I finished the distance with plenty of time to spare under the IMWI cut off time.
• i saw a snake, and I survived.
• Spelling people's names and counting keeps me moving forward.
• If the water temp is that hot, I need to do sleeveless, or get my head wet before putting on that stupid swim cap.
• I need to have more than a 1 song play list in my head "Tonight Tonight" by Hot Chelle Rae may not have been the most positive songs to be going through my head! :-)

With the delayed swim start, it messed up "my" plan for the bike ride and the remainder of the day.  I refueled while driving out to Fireman's Park and headed out on the first 40 mile loop with an alternate nutrition plan.  Like the last time I rode the course, I had another bee sting and towards the end of the first loop was starving.  I did a refueling break at the end of the first loop, tried to get calories in...had a little "clip-in" fall (yep, embarrassing!) and headed out for loop two.  After 8 miles in, decided to call it a day and head back.  The schedule of the day was off track, nutrition was off, and I was riding solo.  Just too many factors were coming into play that I didn't feel safe riding out the second loop, so called it a day. 

I drove the 2:45 hours home and put the bike on the trainer.  Nothing like being up since 5, having a non-stop day, driving for almost 3 hours, and trying to put a bike on a trainer.  But I just wanted to try to finish the day out.  It wasn't as I planned, but as several of the training days of this "first Ironman" journey have been....I'm learning more and more that it is A LOT more than just swim, bike, and running.

So that wrapped up my "Bad-urday".  Sunday was a bit better and was able to get an 18 mile run in...mostly trailing Susie Q as she is training for her first marathon in Chicago in October!  Whoo hoo!

Between all of the moments - especially the past week that brought out the frustration, fear, anxiety, and self-doubt of getting to the starting line at Ironman...I am able to go to that moment 8 years ago that I heard that I could "DO ANYTHING."  Being able to feel the challenges and face them has been such an incredible gift that I am incredibly grateful to face one day at a time.  19 days to go where I will be on that startline and I absolutely WILL get to that finish line...no matter what challenges that day presents.  I can't wait!

Loopty Loop! Loopty Loop! Loopty Loop!

Oh yeah, kids.  I FINALLY rode the "loops" of the IMWI course.  And with the theme of "one is never" enough, the past three weekends have been spent driving the 3 hours up to Madison, staying over night, biking 80 - 109 miles (and a couple of post bike runs), and then driving the 3 hours home.  The most painful part might have been my singing in the car to stay entertained.  :-)

Now I no longer have to hear from the IMWI finishers "What do you mean you haven't ridden the course YET?!?!"  Since I was suppose to ride the course in May and bailed at the last minute, I had a couple of weeks of those comments getting under my skin and the fear factor was starting to build more than I care to admit.  I kept thinking that the hills of the course were possibly worse than the Horribly Hilly course that I rode back in June - and if that was the case, I was going to have to post-pone my Ironman journey for another year.  Yep, extreme thinking at it's negative best! 

The IMWI bike course is 112 miles which consists of a 16 mile stretch to a 40 mile loop ( which is done 2 times) then the 16 mile stretch back.  Even though I had not ridden the course, I had read plenty of blogs, listened to a copy podcasts, and watched a cool video on Simplystu.com that covers the whole 112 miles in 30 minutes.  I some what knew what I was "riding" into, but after spending time on the course the past three weekends, I fully understand that the experience of the ride is immeasurable.  I have to drive an hour from my house to get off the pancake flat northshore Chicago roads and be able to switch gears a bit.  On the IMWI course, the gear changing gets a workout!  Uphill / downhill / false flat...constant descisions and finding the right gear without mashing the pedals is a bit of a challenge.

As tiring as the trips were the past couple of weeks, especially following the Racine 70.3 weekend, each weekend was worth the trip and a couple of lessons learned.  Mostly, I just need to keep my head in the game and enjoy the ride.  No doubt, it's a challenging course, but it's also pretty fun.  The last time riding the loop on Saturday I had some more positive thoughts going through my head than I had the previous weeks and I'm glad I had the chance to get familiar with the course and a couple of more chances at trying to nail down the nutrition piece.  Riding flat over the same distance just would not have given me the same frame of mind.

Heading into this Ironman training, I've had the mindset that the training will take care of the swim.  I've experienced a marathon twice to know what I'm getting into.  But my big concern was the bike - which is the biggest part of the day.  Rolling into the last couple of weeks before taper, I have a little more confidence in that area.  I'm going to finish out the next couple of weeks training "in a box" and I'm going to race "in a box" too. I'm not going to focus on what other people are doing, have done, or what their time is going to be.  I'm shooting to get to the start line and cross over the finish line.  Next year will be about setting time goals and hitting them.  This year it's about becoming an Ironman and it really doesn't matter what the heck that clock says - I will cross that finish line on September 11th and I will become an Ironman!

I had to include this photo to 1) thank SusieQ for taking care of Bixby during my playtime in the cheese state and 2) my 14 year old "pup" seems to be in her own Ironpup training!  After my long workouts she likes to try to keep extending her long walks!  Granted, the extra blocks sometimes makes me want to pack a snack...but she's such a trooper!

No Whammies, No whammies...STOP!

This week has been a blast!

I took Monday off to enjoy "my" day.  Since it was race week the training volume was lighter so it was perfect timing to get plugged in and recharged. Yes, it is true - those meeting makers DO make it... :-) 

By race day, I was ready to roll! Sunday, July 17th, 2011...hot, sunny day in Racine. WI! The pro's went off at 7am, but my wave was #19...so that meant a start time of 8:16. With temps expected to hit into the 90's...and 70.3 miles to cover ... "endurance" sport really took on its meaning.

1.2 mile Swim: 46:14 (Last year 46:08)

My time out of the water on my watch was 44min which was a lot better than Kansas. I don't know where the timing mats were, but it doesn't matter. The two races I've done this year I've had disastrous swims. And the last was a short sprint triathlon. I wanted to feel good about this swim. Heading out to the first turn buoy I wanted to keep my head down and breathing in check. As I turned the buoy and was in the straight away (~1 mile) the thought went through my head "This is like swimming with Scott." I've had a couple of good swims at Gilson in the past couple of weeks and last Saturday did my first 3 loop with Scott which nets out to a full Ironman swim. Head down, relaxed...spotting every couple of strokes...I didn't have a panic attack and got the little confidence boost I need heading into the last 8 weeks of training.

T1: 5:43 (Last year 5:10)

No explanation...free time I'm giving away.

56 mile Bike: 3:15 - avg: 17.18 mph (Last year: 3:37 - 15:47 mpg avg)
This course is f-l-a-t. One good thing about hills is what goes up, must come down which means FREE speed. Not sure what I was doing in T1, but I forgot to put on my HR strap. Since I wouldn't be able to see any spikes or drops with the HR, I really had to be smart with my nutrition plan and stay focused on how I was feeling. With the heat and hitting the run after the noon hour, I didn't want to blow it on the bike. I was 3/4 through my first bottle and saw the results of an extremely bloody bike crash and after passing, puked probably everything I had drank to that point. After a couple quick prayers, it was back to staying focused so I could have a safe ride. And it was back to starting the nutrition over and getting a gel in to make sure I wasn't going bonk on the bike. I saw several people ending their day on the bike, and I knew I had longer and just as hot rides logged that I would be good if I stuck with the plan.

22 minutes better than last year on the bike...I'll take the improvement! A little more hard work over the next year, and I think I'll be closer to where I want to be.

T2: 4:12 (last year - 4:09)
I guess I like giving away things for free...just another thing to add to the list to work on! I had to hit the port-o-potty before the shuffle...I mean run. I know triathletes "go" on the bike, but until I have a Kona spot at stake, age group win, or my bladder is about to burst because it's an emergency....I'm not doing it! :-)

Run: 2:42 / 12:23 pace (last year: 2:53 / 13:13 pace)
This was a tough one - especially within the last 1.1 mile. I could easily over analyze the Garmin file to what miles I should have picked it up or when my cadence dropped lower than target, but running with a bag of ice down my back to try to keep cool and making sure I took in fluids I needed...cadence, pace, etc. really do not matter. I got across the finish line safe, on my own two feet without having to go to the medical tent.

With temp as high as it was, and as many athletes that I saw go down...the PR (for my mom...PR=personal record ;-) ) was a huge bonus. My time was 31 minutes faster than last year on the course and 14 minutes better than my best 70.3 time (Kansas). Finishing the race safe was really good enough!

All around,it ws a really fun weekend. It was nice to have dinner with the Tri-Umph crew and see people from some of the winter training groups have some great races in the brutal temps.

8 weeks of training until IMWI!

And once again, special thanks to Susan for making the week/weekend/day easier! Awesome job getting the marathon training done on a hot day while supporting me on the course. The bar is being set very high! ;-)

And a special, special shout out to my big sister Lisa who started going after her goal on Sunday and got ZUMBA certified!!! Take that dancin' out of your kitchen and share your talents with others. Never settle for less! I'm so proud of YOU!

+ or - ...the choice is mine!

It's July and I'm known to be anti-July. One of the best things that has ever happened to me occurred in July...yet I like to focus on the memories of the bad July days.

I'm kinda sick and tired of my sick and tired attitude, so this July it's going to be different and I'm bringing "+ Lori" to the table!

Choices...yep, I've got choices.

July training has started off well with another couple of learning hurdles. On tap Saturday was a 100 mile ride plus a run. Since my work week was a bit hectic, I scratched the drive up to Madison to ride the IMWI course and headed out to Barrington. The roads are a little rolling with a couple of hills. Nothing like the IMWI course, but unlike the pancake flat Northshore Chicago!

The temp was 91 degrees with the heat index close to 100. A pothole caused me to loose a bottle as I was finishing the 2nd hour which put me behind in the nutrition/drink plan. I finished 92 miles and called it quits and hit the run.

I know "ironman-in-training" are not suppose to quit, but if quitting gives me the chance to not ride my bike in a dehydrated state off the road into a tree or an oncoming car...I'll short the workout and find out what I need to do for next time.

So once again...I got the feedback on what I should have done in that situation...and what I would need to do in a race. And I'll keep plugging forward and not get wrapped up that I missed out on 8 of the 100 miles.  Comparing the first 75 miles to a ride I did in May on the same route, I had improved A LOT.  Baby steps...I'm taking them. 

The weekend also had some swimming which was easy, uneventful, and actually relaxing.

4th of July Monday was a long run and it was long and hard, and way too slow. This week I'll do a sweat test to evaluate how much I need to be drinking on these rides and runs, because this weekend with the hot weather proved to be an issue with dehydration and cramping.

Even though it wasn't perfect and no training break throughs were made, all the training was logged and again, I was able to learn more about the process. With some of these back to back longer workouts, it just makes it clearer compared to training for the shorter triathlons how critical managing the aspects outside of the workout are becoming. I can't sit at a desk for 12 hours and think I'm going to have a great run. I can't go to sleep at midnight and expect to wake up at 4:30 for a focused swim. I can't skip meals and think there's enough energy to get through the long workouts. One of the reasons I fell in love with the sport is because it forced me to have some time management. This Ironman training is now just forcing it to the next level...and I only see the benefits of it. Balanced work/life/play/relationships...eat healthy....sounds like a good deal to me!

Just to wrap up a couple of my favorite pictures of the week...

Wednesday am swim at Gilson...

Seeing a baby deer on the Sat bike ride...(saw it's mom, dad, aunts and uncles on the ride, too!)





Having coffee on the balcony with Bixby Sunday morning...





It was the first long holiday weekend that I've spent in Chicago that I can remember the weather be amazing the entire time.  It was an awesome weekend getting training done, meetings in, getting some extra sleep, and relaxing in the A'ville 'hood.  Seems like a good way to start an awesome month ahead!