Well, I am officially in taper and the big part of training is over. My next week and a half is very light, as it should be, and my race is just days away at this point. I can hardly believe it and I get very emotional and sappy when I sit down and really think about it.
The last month or so of training was truly incredible. August and the beginning of September were truly emotional highs and days and weeks I will never forget. As I entered into the last months of training, the last final builds and heavy weeks, the race started to feel real and I started for the first time to truly feel like "I am doing this!"
As the workouts got longer, and the weeks got heavier, I started to hit points that were new territory for me. Coming into this year I had very purposely hit milestones in the years before to get myself to feel ready. I had ridden a century, I had swam 3.1 miles, I had done half Ironmans and I have run marathons before. A lot of what I was doing was not super unfamiliar to me (with the exception of weekends like the double century weekend.)
Then came August. And the weekend after my birthday I hit the milestone of riding my bike "Ironman distance" for the first time of 116 miles (the distance of the Chattanooga bike course.) Labor Day weekend, I did my first 8 hour bike ride on ITL "Big Bike Day" where I rode my bike ONE HUNDRED FORTY MILES in one day. 140 miles! I had to spell that out there because there is no way to capitalize numbers.
I suddenly became so stunningly aware that I would only be hitting these firsts ONE time. Never again will I ride "Ironman distance" for the first time. Never again will I go 8 hours, what feels like an ITL Ironman right of passage, for the first time. I became SO aware and so conscious of this that it made me feel all of the emotions and feel happy and sad and nostalgic and excited and I felt like I was truly living in the moment and enjoying every step and every pedal stroke in this process.
At this point I have run 6 marathons. In a week or so I will have to start saying "I have run 6 standalone marathons" to distinguish my marathon-marathons from Ironman which includes a marathon at the end of the race. (Yes, I am aware how ridiculous this all is. Who does any of this stuff?! Don't people know you can sleep in on weekends?!) But anyways, I have done 6 marathons and each of them are special and wonderful for different reasons. Hitting milestones like going sub-4, getting a huge PR, and even just finishing, are all special and wonderful feelings... but nothing compares to running your first. You can only do your first one time.
It has been years since I ran my first 5K. Yet I can still picture that day so vividly. The training for it, what it felt like, what I did afterwards, who I celebrated with. I can tell you those exact things for each of my "first" races. I'm not a stranger to "firsts" so to say.
So I know! I know how special it was to bike those first 116 miles. I know how special it is going to be on race day and that however many Ironmans I do in the future, this one will stand out.
The long days. The people I trained with and pushed through those long days. The friends and loved ones who have supported me and talked me through all of the ups and downs. These are people that will forever be engrained in the fabric and story of my life. You don't go through an experience like these without that carving a spot for the people along with you into your being forever.
I have been feeling overly sappy and I am okay with that. I would rather feel sappy than anxious and I'm ready for what's to come and the experience of race day. Logistically, still of tons of junk to do (Ironman requires STUFF)! But mentally, I am eager for the day to be here. Taper has been tough and I have started to feel overwhelmed, anxious, tired, and just all the emotions one can possibly feel, but trying to focus on the positives and the feelings of happiness and excitement.
Just before writing this, I reread my blog entry from my first marathon. I wrote that I wore a bracelet during the race that I had bought in Nice, France on my travels before the marathon. It said "Que du bonheur" which means "Only happiness" in French. Only happiness.
That may be my new mantra for the next week. Despite whatever happens, you can only do your first once. Only happiness.
The last month or so of training was truly incredible. August and the beginning of September were truly emotional highs and days and weeks I will never forget. As I entered into the last months of training, the last final builds and heavy weeks, the race started to feel real and I started for the first time to truly feel like "I am doing this!"
As the workouts got longer, and the weeks got heavier, I started to hit points that were new territory for me. Coming into this year I had very purposely hit milestones in the years before to get myself to feel ready. I had ridden a century, I had swam 3.1 miles, I had done half Ironmans and I have run marathons before. A lot of what I was doing was not super unfamiliar to me (with the exception of weekends like the double century weekend.)
Then came August. And the weekend after my birthday I hit the milestone of riding my bike "Ironman distance" for the first time of 116 miles (the distance of the Chattanooga bike course.) Labor Day weekend, I did my first 8 hour bike ride on ITL "Big Bike Day" where I rode my bike ONE HUNDRED FORTY MILES in one day. 140 miles! I had to spell that out there because there is no way to capitalize numbers.
I suddenly became so stunningly aware that I would only be hitting these firsts ONE time. Never again will I ride "Ironman distance" for the first time. Never again will I go 8 hours, what feels like an ITL Ironman right of passage, for the first time. I became SO aware and so conscious of this that it made me feel all of the emotions and feel happy and sad and nostalgic and excited and I felt like I was truly living in the moment and enjoying every step and every pedal stroke in this process.
At this point I have run 6 marathons. In a week or so I will have to start saying "I have run 6 standalone marathons" to distinguish my marathon-marathons from Ironman which includes a marathon at the end of the race. (Yes, I am aware how ridiculous this all is. Who does any of this stuff?! Don't people know you can sleep in on weekends?!) But anyways, I have done 6 marathons and each of them are special and wonderful for different reasons. Hitting milestones like going sub-4, getting a huge PR, and even just finishing, are all special and wonderful feelings... but nothing compares to running your first. You can only do your first one time.
It has been years since I ran my first 5K. Yet I can still picture that day so vividly. The training for it, what it felt like, what I did afterwards, who I celebrated with. I can tell you those exact things for each of my "first" races. I'm not a stranger to "firsts" so to say.
So I know! I know how special it was to bike those first 116 miles. I know how special it is going to be on race day and that however many Ironmans I do in the future, this one will stand out.
The long days. The people I trained with and pushed through those long days. The friends and loved ones who have supported me and talked me through all of the ups and downs. These are people that will forever be engrained in the fabric and story of my life. You don't go through an experience like these without that carving a spot for the people along with you into your being forever.
I have been feeling overly sappy and I am okay with that. I would rather feel sappy than anxious and I'm ready for what's to come and the experience of race day. Logistically, still of tons of junk to do (Ironman requires STUFF)! But mentally, I am eager for the day to be here. Taper has been tough and I have started to feel overwhelmed, anxious, tired, and just all the emotions one can possibly feel, but trying to focus on the positives and the feelings of happiness and excitement.
Just before writing this, I reread my blog entry from my first marathon. I wrote that I wore a bracelet during the race that I had bought in Nice, France on my travels before the marathon. It said "Que du bonheur" which means "Only happiness" in French. Only happiness.
That may be my new mantra for the next week. Despite whatever happens, you can only do your first once. Only happiness.
"no matter how many Ironmans I do" "Standalone marathons" THESE ARE REAL LIFE PHRASES FOR YOU. you win life. i love you and am so proud of you!
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