2 Weeks....

Yes, I'm almost there. 2 weeks and counting.

I know I haven't posted in eons, but honestly, I've just been WAY too exhausted. Between work, school, and training, I have nothing left to be creative on my computer in the evenings. Now that it is taper time, and I only had a 65 mile ride this morning, I figured I could give it a shot. So, here's an update on how things have been going the past couple months!

**Note, I've posted random pictures of the few fun things I've done in the past couple months to show that I kind of (used very loosely) have a life outside of work, eat, train, school, sleep. :) **

Training

Training has actually gone quite well for me these past two months. My weekly schedule has been something like this:

Monday: 4 mile run am, ~2500 yd swim pm

Tuesday: Track workout with my coach, Mike Plumb. 2 mile warm-up, 3 mile main set, 1/2 mile cool down

Wednesday: ~2500 yd swim

Thursday: 4 mile run am, 1+ hour Trainer ride pm

Friday: 4 mile run am, Long swim (3000-4400 yds) pm

Saturday: Long ride, brick run

Sunday: Long run

Since I "officially" started my Ironman training plan with Mike on the day after Memorial Day, I have logged 166,000 yds swimming (94 miles), 1631 miles on the bike, and 616 running miles.

Epic Workouts

Throughout the past months, I have had what I would consider, some epic workouts. The first was 2 weeks after Big Kahuna. Mike's schedule for my Saturday was:

• 1 hour swim
• 100 mile bike
• 1 hour run

Let me just tell you, I was scared sh*tless for this one! Luckily, my good friend Elaine is also using Mike as a coach, and she had the same workout. We started at 7am in La Jolla Cove. Our ride took us from La Jolla, up to San Clemente (yes, that's Orange County folks!), and then back to La Jolla. We arrived back to our cars just before 4pm....102 bike miles later. I ended up cutting the run a little short (30 mins rather than 1 hour) because it was getting late....and I had places to go! I somehow managed to make it to a bachelorette party at 7pm that night (looking cute, I might add...that's been a tough one these days!) My scheduled run for the next day was 10 miles. For a long run, that's pretty short, but let's just say that after that epic Saturday, the run was not fun!

Another "epic" workout included a 100 mile ride/6 mile run brick. For this workout, we had a pretty big group. We had a headwind for the last 15 miles heading North into San Clemente, but had a WONDERFUL tailwind the entire 50 miles back to Fiesta Island. The brick run was tough as it was pretty warm out, but I managed to run the 6 miles at just over a 9 minute pace (Thanks Elaine for being my carrot)! Again, my 12 mile run the next day was probably my toughest mental challenge workout during training.

My final big weekend was last weekend. Saturday was an 80/4 brick, and Sunday was a 16 mile run. The brick went well, and Elaine...the crazy runner she is off the bike, helped us push the pace on the run. For Sunday's run, I headed to Mission Bay, and the Mission Beach boarwalk. At about 13 miles, I ran into Tina. She decided to turn around and run with me. Five minutes later, we ran into Mary, and she decided to join us as well. I ended up adding a little on to my run with the girls, and got back to my car at 18.6 miles. Having never run 20 miles before, I decided....what the hell? I finished the run in 3:03:30, a 9:11 pace. I was super excited. The hard training was done.....next epic day...Ironman!

Friends and Support

All of this training would never have been possible without my girls. Elaine, Tina, Joanne, Mary, Elaine G., Jen, Mer, Juls, Stacy. Long rides, emotional support, and post-ride food friends. They've been there for all of it.

Pat has also been my rock through training. He listens to my long, boring stories about each workout, and provides motivation, strength and confidence for the workouts that make me anxious. On my first epic workout day, I was at mile 80 on my ride, with Torrey still to climb at mile 95. I was so tired! And then I got a text from Pat, simply saying "You're doing great." That was all I needed to kick it into high gear and finish my workout. Thanks Pat, I love you!

So...

Here I am! 2 weeks from now, I will be embarking on the greatest physical challenge I have ever put my body through. Although I have moments of nervousness, I know I am ready. I've put in the hard work, and now I'm ready to roll!