Part 1. My Road to Ironman: The Hard Way

Ironman is an epic event that tests the depths of physical and mental strength.  Taking the leap of faith to sign up will forever burn in my memory.   I was excited, proud, anxious, fearful, and giddy with the thought of completing this ambitious endeavor.  I’ve organized my personal journal into 3 posts that will take you through my not so conventional road to finishing my first Ironman.  

1 year to go.  I was a spectator at Coeur d’Alene Ironman and was inspired by the thousands of participants that seemed so ‘ordinary’.  My husband included.  After 2 sleepless nights I was officially signed up for CDA IM 2012!!

10 months to go.   

I finished Lake Stevens 70.3 in 6 hours 3 minutes and felt invincible

9 1/2 months to go.  I had all these great ideas about keeping in shape in the off-season, but my body would just not cooperate.  A friend talked me into doing a sprint tri with her.  I was somewhat reluctant and didn’t push hard, as I knew I was at prime risk for injury doing Lake Stevens just 2 weeks before.  Nevertheless 2 miles into the run my calf cramped and I limped, defeated, across the finish line.  As a PT, I wasn’t so worried about a calf cramp.  No big deal, just do some stretching, light exercise, and problem solved.  Not the case.  It lingered.

9 months to go.   Massage therapy was helping get my calf back into shape, but my overachieving self decided to do yoga the next morning.  Turns out that deep tissue massage to my hip muscles inhibited their function and allowed me to stretch just a bit too far.  About an hour after I finished I started getting excruciating pain in my left groin.  No!  Not again.  This can’t be happening.  I need to start training soon.   Turns out that I had a torn labrum in my hip.  It could have been there for years and just flared up during yoga or I may have torn it that day.  Again, I sought advice, this time from a PT.  He did a full gait analysis and gave me appropriate exercises.  I think you can tell by now that when it comes to my body recovering from injury I’m not very patient.  After a few therapy sessions and cutting back on my training my hip was feeling better.

7 months to go.  You have got to be kidding me.  On November 10, 2011 riding my bike home from work on the Burke Gilman trail in Seattle a 40 something guy walked out in front of me, I swerved but was unable to miss him.  I hit the front of my right shoulder on the outside of his left shoulder.  Pain, oh so much pain.  I cried all the way to the ER to confirm my immediate suspicion of a broken collarbone.  I wasn’t crying from the pain, but my dreams of Ironman slipping away.  Now if you’re not from Seattle you need to know that the Burke Gilman Trail is Seattle’s “bike super highway’”.  Especially at 4:30 pm.  This guy was just walking along the right side of the trail.  Just walking in a straight line giving me no reason to believe he was going to do anything differently than all the other people I was passing, but abruptly without any warning he turned 90 degrees and walked right in front of me.  I had 3 feet to react.  I wasn’t going fast.  Maybe 15 mph…maybe.  It was a freak accident.  I am a reserved person showing my deepest emotions only to those that I am closest to.  This gentleman however had a much different personality. 

We had a brief meeting in life, probably less than 5 minutes, but he has left a lasting impression on my body and soul.  I hit my shoulder to his and I believe my right brake and drop part of my handlebar hit his arm and hip.  It all happened so fast.  From what I remember, he was flung around in a circle landing on the grass hillside just off the trail.  I was miraculously able to keep my bike under control and steer it to a stop on the opposite side of the trail.  As I got off my bike, my first thought was to make sure this man was ok.  I’m not sure what his first thought was, but all I heard was screaming.  He was so angry.  I don’t blame him for being angry, but lets be adults here.

I was supposed to attend a friends wedding in Puerto Rico in four days and was so scared that I would need surgery, miss out on my vacation and my Ironman dreams. The orthopedic surgeon gave me the best news possible in that moment “The bone is in good alignment and will heal with rest”.  Yes!  Great news!  I get to go on my trip and will be back to work by the New Year.  At this point, I seriously contemplated the reality of being able to train for an Ironman in 6 months.  If I can go back to work in January that means I should start swimming then too.  Swimming is already my weakness and this little ‘set back’ is going to be an uphill battle, but I was tentatively confident that Ironman was still a possibility.  My friends and family on the other hand just assumed I would throw in the towel.  Hmm, I think not.

Icing in the airport on my way to the Caribbean!!!

Stay posted for part 2. “Surgery Loomed”

Lake Stevens Triathlon, September 8th 2012

We gathered a group of friends interested in doing their first triathlon and had them join us for a fun end-of-the season race.  

Please excuse the extreme tardiness of this post.  Ordinary Endurance’s first group triathlon experience at the Lake Stevens Triathlon was so much fun I wanted some of that emotion to settle so I can report objectively on an otherwise fun and successful day!

The morning started like most in September around here.  It was nice, but colder than what we all were used to after a warm summer.  The sky was clear, there was a little dew on the grass, but not a ripple to be found on the lake. 

All twelve of us showed up with plenty of time to pump up those tires, organize and re-organize our transition areas, let the butterflies almost educe vomiting, and then wait. 

Jumpin' in. Head first.

My wife and I have been avid triathletes for a few years now, and along the way, friends and family members have told us 'how impressive' it is, or that they've 'always wanted to do something like that too'.  Well, we're holding them all accountable and organizing a group of friends to do a triathlon in a little over a month for the first time!  It's on September 8th at Lake Stevens.  Most of us are doing the sprint distance but there are a brave few opting for the Olympic.
So far we've received a lot of positive feedback.  Many people have already signed up and even more have told us they plan to.  We've had a few group workouts that have gone really well.  Last weekend eight of us went out for an open water swim and bike ride.  For most, it was the first time open water swimming and there were a lot of unknowns to overcome, luckily the water was really calm.  Everyone did very well and is much more comfortable swimming in the open water.
After our swim, we went for a bike ride.  A few of our friends had never ridden road bikes so we took it pretty easy so they could get used it.  Afterwards, they felt much more stable on the skinny tires and narrow handlebars.  
The next group workouts will be the weekend of August 11th and 12th.  If you're in the Seattle area and would like to join us, just comment below, we'll get in touch with you.