Full Rest Day

Monday I had my first ever full rest day. What I mean by that is I was off of work and off of training and off errand duty. I was given strict instructions by my coach to do nothing active.

….

It took exactly 2 hours and 38 minutes for me to be bored silly.

Luckily I had something exciting on my schedule…A therapeutic sports massage! I headed over to the spa, very excited with anticipation for sweet sweet muscle rubs.

I have have a riddle for you. How do you make a triathlete extremely anxious?

Put her in a quiet, dimly lit room, alone, with soft soothing music.

I don't know what it was... But as soon as I was sitting there in that room, a wave of nervousness came over me. I started sweating, shaking and my heart was pounding.

I thought I was having a panic attack. It was crazy. Leave it to me to turn the most relaxing of places, into a shop of horrors.

Luckily, once I got into the massage room, it was easy to relax. The massage was amaaaazing. That girl changed my life. I love her.

I've never had a sports massage before, so it was an entirely new experience.

I did a little reading and…The purpose of sports massage is to prepare the athlete for peak performance, to work away fatigue, to relieve swelling, to reduce muscle tension, to promote flexibility and to prevent injuries. Exactly what my body was screaming for!!!

The massage was 70 minutes, and she mainly focused on my legs and back. She did work on my arms, feet, neck, etc…but spent the most time on my legs and back.

And honestly, the last few days, since the massage, my body has felt fantastic!!!

After my massage, I still had tons of time left in the day. I forgot what it's like to have time.

I had a ton of veggies and I haven't juiced in a while…so I made a giant pitcher of fresh juice.

Cucumbers, Carrots, Beets, Apples, Red Pepper

Beets are my favorite. The color is so vibrant. Plus, they give me the opportunity to dance around saying "Beets, Beets, Beets, Beets".

BEETS!

Juice time!

I spent the remainder of the day watching the entire Netflix library, reading, going for a walk with Boston. It was really great to really chill out for a day. Really great!

Well, were down to 9 days…4 workouts…2 swim races…and 1 road trip…before the big day. 

Perspective

It's funny how something can happen to put everything in perspective.

I've been freaking out about Ironman for the past 2 weeks. I'm talking full on panicking at times. Nauseous, bad dreams, not sleeping.

I've been so in my own head that I've been expending all of my energy focusing on myself and forgetting about all other significant things.

I found out last night that a friend that I grew up with, passed away very suddenly.

I no longer live in my home state, so there has been some distance. It's a natural occurrence when we grow up and move away. The distance doesn't make things like this easier.

Everything that I have been stressing about the past two weeks seems trivial. There are much bigger things happening in the world, with people that were once a very big part of my life. People that helped me and stood by me through those confusing years we call "growing up". People that we once my entire world. People that were my safe haven, during times when I felt anything but safe.

I spent yesterday evening running through memories in my head. I've been searching for the right words, to make a really tough phone call. Last night I dreamt of the fun times and the moments, over all of the years.

Suddenly, Ironman didn't make me nervous anymore. Life is a collection of memories and experiences. I should be cherishing it and basking in it, rather than worrying myself to the point of an ulcer, about something that I have trained for and prepared for. It's the things that we aren't prepared for that truly rock our foundation.

I'm ready.

What I Ate Wednesday

Well, I made the appointment to get my bike a check up, before heading for Wisconsin. I'll be dropping it off next Friday. THATS NEXT WEEK PEOPLE!!!!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!

My nerves are still a little batty, but they are calming down. I actually think my body is recognizing that this long training cycle is coming to a close, and it's trying to cut out early….because I'm SO tired. I've always have been a morning person, but the last few weeks I am struggling big time, to get up. All I want to do is sleep. And my body has been feeling really tight in the mornings. My legs especially.

Note: When you go down the stairs to get coffee first thing in the morning, and your legs ache and burn on the way down, you might need to chill.

Even though I do have rest days built in, they haven't been feeling like rest days lately, because there is always so much to do on those days. I'm much busier on rest days, than I am on normal training days. I think I need a total rest day. No work, no training. One can dream, can't she?

Anyways, on to the food.

Breakfast

Wheat English Muffin, peanut butter, grapes.

Orange

Lunch

Amy's Soy Mac and Cheese is one of my favorite things. It's very delicious.

I usually cook it and then put it on top of spinach. It makes it like a veggie mac and cheese…and it's delicious.

Post Workout Eats

Fresh zucchini (my new obsession), lentils, teriyaki tofu, orange, grapes

Dinner

Salad - More fresh zucchini, lentils, arugula, raw corn directly off the cob, and some lime juice 

Brussel sprouts sauteed with garlic, lemon, salt and pepper

I also had coffee, lots of water and gatorade. I always forget to take pictures of beverages. And I had a giant handful or two of gummy bears, which I devoured too fast to get a picture of.

Have a great day everyone.

The Dreams

The dreams are driving me mad. I'm not really sure how to calm my mind down, but it's going a zillion miles per hour. I'm so freaked out about Ironman, that I am having trouble getting quality sleep…which, when you're already exhausted and you are trying to prepare for a race that's an entire day long, is not good.

I've had a handful of dreams about course changes, and freak accidents during the race.

Then, Saturday night I had a dream that my wetsuit was choking me during the swim and no matter what I did, I could not get relief.

Last night I had a ridiculous number of dreams, and I was up every 2 hours, at least. Some were about Ironman, some were just about normal, every day things. Either way, I was constantly waking up. This morning I have a massive headache and I'm so so tired.

I've tried keeping busy, but the fact of the matter is, I'm really nervous. I've been training for this race for over 9 months. That's almost a year. That's an entire pregnancy of time. People have actually gotten pregnant and given birth in the time that I've trained for this race.

When you've been committed to preparing for one event, for so long, it just builds and builds in your mind. Now there is so much personal pressure around this one day, it's driving me batty.

Koo koo. Koo koo.

I'm totally freaking out.

Random Friday Facts

1. I had a dream that they changed the Ironman Wisconsin bike course to be 27,000 feet of climbing.

2. I also had a dream that they changed the swim to be a pool swim, and they made all 2000 athletes swim in our wetsuits, sharing 2 lanes.

3. The first time I met PJ's friends, I beat one of them in a push up contest.

4. I found out that if you are missing toe nails and you get a pedicure, it still costs the same.

5. I left myself a note to "find book" on Monday, and I still can't remember which book I was talking about.

6. I always wear watches on my right wrist. I'm not sure why...I'm not left handed.

7. I've been exhausted this week. To the point that it was difficult to get in the water for my workout on Wednesday. But, I did…and while I was swimming, a stranger in the lane next to me told me that I have great endurance. That was exactly what I needed. Thank you stranger.

8. I stand during staff meetings, because sitting that long is just crazy. I also rock from side to side while I'm standing. Now that I think about it...maybe I'm crazy?

9. I am 100% positive that I have the best job for me. It's really a wonderful feeling to enjoy being at work.

10. I need a Great Dane.

11. I ate this for breakfast today.

12. Shark week has made me decide to get cable again.

13. Justin Beiber freaks me out. He's just so pretty.

14. When I was a kid, I had 2 hamsters: Poopy and Scruffy. My grandmother accidentally stepped on Poopy.

15, I can smell people when they swim near me in the pool.

There's an old guy named Sam, who is often swimming during the same time I am. I can tell when he's in a lane near me, mid swim, without even looking, because I can smell his smell.

16. That was a weird fact.

17. I saw slap bracelets in CVS a few days ago!

They weren't as cool as I remember.

18.  Someone once told me they couldn't be my friend anymore, because I'm too happy.

Ass.

19. After getting 2 flats during the century ride, I'm considering carrying 3 extra tube's for Ironman.

20. I don't look in mirrors, when I'm in a dark bedroom, bathroom, any sort of room. Freaks. Me. Out.

Last Long Long Run

First things first. I've been laughing about this video for the past 3 days.

Haha!

Well, I had my last super long run until Ironman - 21 miles.

I can't believe I'm here.

The run itself went well, except that it felt like it was 1 billion degrees. I carried my handheld water bottle and I had to fill it up 4 different times. I was so thirsty! I stopped twice at my in-law's house (which is on the route) and even asked strangers for water, twice.

Don't worry, they were nice strangers. They didn't have van's or candy.

This week was pretty tough on my body, with training, volunteering all day at IMNYC, training, more training and other various activities. So this run was a bit challenging. Towards the last few miles my hammies were getting a little tight. I tried to do a little walking to loosen up my muscles…and it actually hurt more to walk than to run.

I feel like it's actually more satisfying to complete a tough workout with a fatigued body. It makes you feel like you really earned it. Plus, these are the workouts that you draw strength from, when things get tough (…ironman….ahem…ahem).

Either way, 21 more miles in the bank.

Speaking of IMNYC. It was an awesome awesome day! I got really lucky and was positioned right at mile 26, directing athletes towards the finish.

Athletes came up this ass kicking hill, to see me cheering and pointing them down the straight away, to the finish.

I watched the suffering and death stares, turn into smiles of relief, high fives, fist pumps, screaming, happiness, tears, everything.

Seeing all of the sacrifices they made and the endless hours of training, all come pouring out, was incredible. I got choked up a number of times, just watching.

And being right there as Jordan Rapp rocked through, making history and winning the first IMNYC, gave me chills!

I'm so pumped for Madison.

What I Ate Wednesday

Is anyone else exhausted? I woke up this morning and felt like I hadn't slept at all.

Yesterday was a great food day and a great training day. I drove up to my coach's house to meet up with her for a ride. I headed up in the early afternoon, and arrived around 2pm, so that I could get in about 20 miles before she got home from work. She mapped out a nice loop for me. It was hot out, but I was feeling pretty great.

After my first 20, I headed back to her house to meet her, and then we set out on a 2 hour adventure. We spent some time on some hilly stuff and some rolling stuff. I learned that every time she says "There might be a little climbing up here, but nothing too crazy", that actually translates to "Tami, there's going to be some serious climbing in the next few minutes, you should probably check yo'self".

During the first few steep climbs I was suffering. Bad. It wasn't making sense at all. I've done the training, I'm in great shape, I've been working on climbing. I was starting to panic. I thought that somehow I was losing fitness! I'm already freaked out about Ironman, so this was had all kinds of things running through my head.

After almost 2 hours, my right knee started to have some discomfort. We stopped to check it out. I thought maybe it just needed to be stretched. Then my genius coach suggested "What if you get out of the big ring?"

Long story short…I'm a dum dum and didn't realize that I had been in the big ring the entire time.

When I packed my bike into my car, I must have knocked the shifter on the seat, causing it to shift gears. Which explains why it was acting a little funny when I unpacked it and was getting everything set up for the ride. The entire time, I assumed I was in the little ring.

I actually felt a little better after that was realized, because doing those climbs in the big ring would most definitely explain why they were so challenging!

I have Ironman brain and it is mushy.

On to the food.

Breakfast

Wheat Bagel, Dairy Free Cream Cheese, Cucumber, Tomato, Salt and Pepper


Lunch 

Healthy Choice Pizza

Pre Ride Snack

Found this in my car. I have no idea where it came from.

Mid Ride Snack

Post Ride Snack to keep me busy while Aubrey cooked an awesome dinner

Since I spent the day sweating with Coach Aubrey, she was awesome enough to cook a delicious dinner for me!!!

Aubrey's Awesome Dinner

Zucchini Pasta (which is straight up raw zucchini that is cut like pasta), topped with a home made salsa (black beans, avocado, tomato, cilantro, lime juice, fresh corn, and some other pink and white vegetable that I can't remember the name of), Shrimp, and rice.

It was so good!

Dinner #2

And of coarse when I arrived home I was already hungry…so I ate a grilled chicken breast.


Have a great day party people!

Checking In

I've been missing in action for the past week. Training has still been going strong, but in addition to training, there was another big event this past week.

Two of my favorite people got married and I was a part of the wedding!

Pic's aren't up yet, so I pirated this one from someones fb. Arrr!

And they had a photo booth!

So fun!

Training has been going well. I'm down to 1 month, and I'm starting to have a lot of different feelings. The most prominent being "Holy crap! I'm about to do Ironman!".

The road to Ironman is extremely challenging…and not just for the obvious reasons. It's really weird to look forward to and prepare for something for an entire year. The anticipation builds and builds and eventually there's so much energy that it turns into an array of different feelings.

One month people! In less than 31 days I'll be standing on the beach at Lake Monona, with 1999 other triathletes, ready to storm the bastille.

Here is last years swim start, compliments of YouTube:

Just watching that get's me all excited. Oh the carnage.

People keep asking me what I'm going to do when Ironman is over, for the rest of this year. Obviously this is subject to change…but I have actually been thinking about:

1. Taking some time off, and just relaxing (I give myself a week, tops. Before I start to go cray from not having a work out schedule).

2. Spending the fall training for and racing shorter running races. I think it'll be a nice change. Plus it gives me a goal, which I need for regular functioning in life. After spending the better part of the past 9 months training hours and hours and hours a day…it'll be fun to do some shorter and faster training.

3. I'm also interested in seeing how fast I can get. Last year when I was training for shorter races, I had some pretty successful fast fast races. I'd like to see what I can do with that this fall and winter.

As for next year…well, you'll just have to wait and see.

What I Ate Wednesday will be up tomorrow. My 4 hour "big-ring fest" today, totally stole any energy I might have had this evening.