Last Weekend

We are just six short days away from the big day! You bet I am NERVOUS!!!!

This past weekend, Jus and I headed back to Walden Pond for a swim on Saturday and a short bike on Sunday. I know people say to never change anything up in the weeks leading up to a race but I needed new goggles and I didn’t really see what the big deal was… I can try them out Saturday and in Mirror Lake when I get to Lake Placid. Bad idea.

I got a new pair and tried them out on Saturday. The first stretch of the swim my left eye kept filling with water. I tried to fix it once but when it refilled, I was frustrated and decided to just keep swimming with my eye closed. I fixed it when I hit the first turn point where it’s shallow enough to stand. Only to frustrate me more, it refilled during my next stretch to the second turn around point. In an attempt for one last fix I stopped and adjusted the goggles. I drafted off Justin on the swim back to the start and the goggles seemed to have stuck – perfecto! Though, as I crawled out of the water to go grab my old goggles for loop two, my left eye started stinging. I stopped and just held it, tried to tear up to make it feel better and maybe get whatever felt was in it out but no luck. We ended our swim there and picked up some eye drops which help tremendously. On the positive side, we felt great swimming and we both broke this seasons swim times for a 1.5 mile swim which is a good way to end things.

Our ride on Saturday was nice, though nature is against us. For the whole two hours we rode, the sun was beaming down on us, not a cloud in the sky. Once we were done, we headed to the pond to relax a little and try to fix our awkward tans. First off, Walden Pond is a zoo when it’s nice out – police enforcing number of people allowed on the beach and all. Jus and I snuck in on a back trail and hiked around to the beach and found a spot. I’m not kidding though, the very second we sat down, a huge cloud rolled in and many more after that. This is not the first time this has happened - we kid how something or someone is against us. Our stay was short lived, also due to two creepy little girls that just stood and stared at me the entire time we were there. They made me feel really uncomfortable!

The weather for Sunday is looking good, good, good. I just need to make sure I finish before those PM storms roll in! : )

3 days till departure!

Making progress

We're making progress. Now the weather calls for an overcast day with a thunderstorm in the afternoon. OK with me. I'll be back up and posting weather updates next week! ; )

A Good Omen???

I'm taking this as a good sign...though Liz will probably disagree...looks like the race organizers know I already have this one in the bag:

IMLP BIB #'s:

Justin: 179
JoJo: 637
Liz: 1945

Oh no...

Ok, I know I am obsessive, but I can't help it. I know a lot can change in a 10 day forecast, and I am sure hoping it does. I mean, just yesterday it was saying sunny and 83 degrees, but now its all changed. What the heck?! : ( Still crossing my fingers...

Crossing my fingers X 1,000!!!

OH! There is a God!!!! Please oh please let this forecast be accurate for July 26!!!!!!

Lots of swimming & a nice weekend!

This weekend, Justin and I found ourselves spending most of our time around the Walden Pond area. It was a beautiful weekend, nice weather, no clouds in the sky.

We got up super early on Saturday thanks to the loud beeps of a garbage truck, ate breakfast and were out the door. It’s a half hour drive to Walden Pond, which isn’t so bad. This pond is awesome, too, one of the cleanest I’ve ever seen. I think we were expecting ourselves to be the only ones out for a swim that morning but when we got there, there were groups of triathletes suiting up. We swam a triangle twice for a total of 2 miles then headed out for a run. After, we hiked around the pond as a nice recovery : )

Sunday we were back at Walden Pond for a swim followed with a bike ride. It was a really great weekend and we had fun. When we got home on Sunday we had pasta w/ homemade garlic bread – yum! There is nothing better than a simple bowl of pasta and delicious bread.

Getting Real

I’m starting to get nervous. I’ve been waking up with stomach pains and haven’t been feeling all too hungry. It seems the thought of Ironman is consistently in the back of my mind and now that the “hard” training has come to an end, it’s starting to seem all too real. Before it was just training, now it’s the real deal. There is nothing I can do from this point on that will prepare me more for Ironman than what I’ve done in the last 7+ months.

I’ve gone back to the start of this blog to see the post that Jus and I have written during our training and it brings back a lot of memories from this past year. I wonder how I ran 16 miles on snow covered grounds or better yet, how I rode for hours in the cold while my toes and fingers felt like they could snap right off. I’m amazed at how I managed to make a drastic change in my diet – no sandwiches for lunch, candy for snacks, cereal for breakfast, no this and no that and everything in between…. WHAT?!! I have sacrificed time with my family and friends… all for this one race. I have woken up before the sun has risen for a workout and have eaten dinner after my bedtime cause it’s the first moment I get. Not to mention, I have done all this while planning a wedding (which I do not recommend getting married and doing an Ironman in the same year).

It’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of changes and a lot of unwanted sacrifices but here I am. I’m extremely satisfied with the work I’ve put into Ironman. I feel that I am ready (but am I?). At the end of this week I change my diet once again so that I lose 4 lbs by race day. Am I looking forward to it? No. But, it’s just another thing you have to do for Ironman. Until the next post… I’ll be here – doing what I do.

A bonus picture of Jus from last weekend in CT: