60 miles + 4 miles: What's going on?

A little over a week and a half ago, I received some news that was not so good. I could have just shrunk like a violet or rise to the occasion. In this case, I rose like a Phoenix rising from the ashes-cue:X-Men comics. What did I do? I ran and swam and ran some more. When all was said and done, I had did damn near 60 miles of running and 4 miles of running in a week-its what I do when I am upset, mad, stressed, have something on my mind, trying to find a solution to a problem, etc. (Hey, it's a whole lot better than punching a brick wall.) On top of that, I started creating workouts in CompuTrainer and some swim workouts (not for the faint of heart).  It's a way for me to figure things out. But one thing that I have figured out is that I am happy I have fitness as a way to work out my problems (also train for Ironman Arizona). As in any long course endurance training, you will have hiccups and bumps down the road, but don't let it deter you from your ultimate mission. For me, it's crossing the finish line but there are some other things as well that I can go on and on about, but will not. Don't let a hiccup stop you from succeeding.

Peace, Love and Soul! 

A tale of 2 Saturday training runs and a Rock n' Roll

So, this blog post is about running today. I apologize on how long it is. So, let’s talk about 2 of my training runs and then the Chicago Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon that I did (it was just a training day).

On July 5th, I was suppose to fill in for one of our marathon run sites due to a lot of coaches being out for the 4th of July. I only had maybe an hour or 2 of sleep due to everyone shooting off their illegal fireworks. I finally went to sleep around 4:30am and then wake up at 5:30am to get out the door by 6:15am to get to the gym before 7am. I got there right before the club opened and prepared everything for our 8 mile run. I get there and lo and behold, one of our coaches showed up. He indicated that he had everything and I should go home because I looked exhausted, but if I could do the warmup , that would be great. So we did our half mile warmup run to the lakefront (with my big ass backpack on my back) and proceeded with our dynamic running exercises before they left. I went home to actually get some sleep. By the time I made it to my apartment, I got my second wind. I changed tops, filled up my hydration belt and headed out the door for an 8 mile run into Evanston and back.

It was warm when I started, but so what. I started running North and was in my little groove but this is what happens while I run by myself. “Is my running skirt too short? Oh, my butt’s way too big for this shirt. Ooh, a whistle. The skirt is not too short. Ooh, here comes a runner. Am I looking strong or defeated? Oh, I’m a strong runner! Let me do the head nod as acknowledging him. Ooh, he’s cute but sloppy running form. It’s only 3.5 miles…..uggghhhh….it’s hot.” As you can see, I keep myself thoroughly entertained. It was a peaceful run along the lakefront although it was hot and humid. I even ran through a private gated community, saw a bootcamp class going on, a few people swimming in the lake and a couple of rabbits and squirrels. On my turn around back, I ended up speeding up because a raccoon scared the living daylights out of me. They’re cute and evil at the same time. By time I made it back to my place, I was a hot, salty, sweaty mess. 8 miles with an average of an 11 min/mile pace. Not bad with it being hot and humid.

Now on to training run #2: Just 1 week later, I filled in for 2 of our coaches at another location. The forecast called for passing storms. Cool, I can deal with this. While riding the bus to the gym, the skies decided to open up. No problem, we will just delay the start by a bit. No biggie, it might rain on race day. I get to the club, get everything prepared including making the Gatorade (oh, yummy) and gathered all of our runners to the group exercise studio to start our dynamic warmup exercises, listen to a speaker and explained the route. We then proceeded to head out the door. It was only drizzling-no more rain….stop the brakes, it opened on us. What did we do? We ran. I usually lead the rear because I just do. There was a lot of foul language coming from everyone, rain pouring down with everyone trying to dodge puddles. It got to the point where I had everyone go single file. You know that the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line. Our shoes were already wet, a moot point. I can truly say that every group that was out there running were probably thinking, “This is nuts!” There were times that the rain started, stop, thought about it, downpoured, repeat. But you know what, it was wonderful except I have to wear glasses at ALL TIMES (read: I’m blind as a friggin’ bat!). I really wanted my goggles but I can’t see out of those either. However coming back on the lakefront path, I forgot one key thing: The underpass was FLOODED! Yep, we ran through it. The water on me was mid-calf deep. I figured, I was wetter than Lake Michigan and this would be excellent training for the Steeplechase event (umm, no). I was never so happy to be in a scalding hot shower in my life and my Brooks running shoes (Pure Cadence) survived another run.

Now, on to the Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon Chicago on Sunday, July 20th. I treated this race as a training run. As you know, I’m racing LifeTime Fitness Half Iron Distance race in October and Ironman Arizona (again) in November so this is just training. I decided that I was going to have some fun on this course. I, of course, always think of my outfits beforehand. I was completely decked out in PURPLE! Purple running shoes, purple compression sleeves, a black running skirt with a purple tutu over it, a purple top and my purple road ID! Hey, I need to feel good, look good for my photos and have fun.

The weather was overcast which made me happy but a tad bit warm. While waiting in my corral to start, a guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked if my tattoo was indeed an M-Dot. It sure is. We chit chatted about it since he was a tattoo artist. He was running with a lot of his friends who were seriously trash talking. This trash talking was worse than watching an NFL game. So, while waiting, a friend of mine tapped my shoulder. The purple tutu helped to identify me since my signature afro was hidden under a baseball cap-don’t ask how I was able to conceal it. About 15 minutes after the start of the race, my wave finally went off. The longest wait EVER! No, not really but it was still annoying all the same.

And we're off. There's something about running that just makes me so happy. Seeing the multitude of runners in front is just freaking AMAZING! So, back to this training run. I was in my little groove and around mile 3, a guy yelled, "Hey you! In the purple tutu, is that an M-Dot tutu?" I turned around and said, "Yeah." I ended up speaking with him and 4 other Ironman athletes for another 4 miles. We are just chit chatting and running. Meanwhile, there were runners looking at us and trying to figure out how we are running and talking at the same time. It's a training run PEOPLE! Now, we were weaving in and out of the Loop due to all of the construction going on in Chicago. I ended up leaving the guys because I had to find a restroom (aka Portapotty). I get back on the course and I started to pick up the pace because someone was playing "Talk Dirty To Me"-the remix. I don't like the song but the beat was really helping me out. At this point, we are on Michigan Avenue going South. I was like, "YES! Finally no more weaving and bobbing throughout the Loop. Around 24th and Michigan, there were the Japanese drummers. Something about the beat of the drums can get you moving. I knew at this point that we had another mile or so before we turned on 31st Street and head back Downtown! As we are heading towards 31st Street, I saw a friend of mine who I had not seen in about 5 years so I did something that you should never do in a race. The shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line. What did I do? I went at a complete diagonal to go to my friend and give him a hug. (Don't do that people!).

Now we are at 31st Street running East. Yes! We are almost done...NOT! At this point, they were starting to hand out Gu (It's a gel). They had Salted Watermelon. Oh God, that stuff is gross which is why I bring my own eGels. Thank you cranksports.com! So, I took my gel and some water and kept going. I see the Lakefront and I think that we are heading back downtown. I read the map wrong. We had to go to 3500 South THEN turn North on the lakefront path. I was not to happy with this but when we hit mile 10, there was a DJ and he was playing some music with a serious base line to it. It helped. A little ways down, not only was there an aid station with water and Gatorade, but cold sponges! Oh, I thanked the volunteer. I almost kissed him because I am usually a hot, salty, sweaty mess when I do any long endurance anything. I wiped myself down and continued on. At this point, we are headed towards the underground passage way of McCormick Place. Umm, it was way too dark to the point that I had to flip the shades of my sunglasses in order to see and not trip over anyone. In particular, the two guys in front of me who were HOT!!!

We get out of the tunnel and I know we are near Soldier Field now and I ran into 2 more friends. I'm still running at this moment but people were walking. I encouraged a few folks to keep it up, you look good, yadda-yadda-yadda. It worked for some but not others. I saw the finish line, but it just seemed so far away so I decided that at mile 12.5, I would pick up the pace. It was the common game called how many runners can you pick off before the finish. I counted over 135. I crossed the finish line, my friend Tina took a finish line photo of me, I took an official finish line photo, got my bananas, ice cold towel, water and walked towards our FFC Tent. It was so far, but I made it. Plopped down on the grass and chilled but then walked back to the club to shower and change. Walking back, I didn't feel sore at all. I felt great but tired because I had to wake up so early. After I showered and changed, I went home to take a nap. I felt remakably refreshed and ready to take on the world or at least a Monday.

That day was a good day!

It is only a training day...ITU Chicago race report

On Sunday, June 29th, I raced ITU Chicago Olympic distance Triathlon. So, what's an Olympic Distance Triathlon? It's a 1.5K swim (1 mile), 40K bike (24.8 miles) and 10K run (6.2 miles). This was my first venture at this distance and I had no real expectations. I was treating this as a training day. Leading into it, I had a feeling that it would be hotter than all hell, and it was! With a start time of 10am, we were going to be in the heat of things.

A lot of things were still up in the air in regards to the venue, race logistics, etc. The one thing that I think floored everyone during the course talk on Friday evening was that we were not able to have our bags in transition. Bags were to be checked into gear check in a clear plastic bag due to security issues. Hold up! Gear check is only in road races. Whatever! I was ok with this since we had a tent. I felt ok at the time about the swim, bike (4 laps) and run (3.5 laps). I like to count. They also indicated that there would be a special needs table at swim exit for glasses, inhalers and insulin pumps. This will only be a training day.

One of the things before racing is that I realized that a lot of my athletes have never seen me race. I'm always on the sidelines coaching. But even while racing, I find myself coaching or giving words of encouragement.

RACE DAY
I woke up at buttcrackassofdawn 2am to get on the train by 3:15am to get to transition by 4:15am'ish. Transition was open from 4-5:45am for Olympic Distance athletes. There is never a dull moment when I ride the CTA Red Line, especially that early in the morning. The car I stepped in was full of folks going to work. So I popped open my Kindle and read. We got to the Addison station and a group of loud, drunk ass girls boarded. Within 10 minutes, one threw up. At the next stop (Belmont), a woman got on, looked in her purse and pulled out a roll of toilet paper. Who does that? Only in Chicago.

Well, anyhoo, I get off the train at Harrison and make the walk (long ass walk) to transition. It's funny when you are walking in downtown Chicago at odarkthirty and there are people STILL in the bars. Really people? I get to transition to get body marked where I run into my favorite hippie, Jacob. He has coffee, I have a gallon of water, the universe is in order. While setting up my transition, it starts to rain....AGAIN!!!!  So what do I do along with my teammate Sally? We start singing Prince's "1999". What? You don't sing in transition. Oh, you poor souls, I digress...

We leave transition and we head to Buckingham Fountain where our tent is...or was suppose to be. Our tent kind of had a slight accident. Apparently it was partying too hard with the other tents in the rain and it broke in 2 pieces. My thought was, "Duct tape. It solves everything!" WRONG!!!!!! My partner in crime in all things endurance had to pick up our boss who was also racing, go to our Corporate office and get another tent. So, we created FRANKENTENT! Since we did not have to go off until 10am (the race started at 6am), I just sat around and ate and drank and stretched and chilled as best as possible.

GROUP PICTURE TIME
So we all got together to do our prerequisite class, I mean team photo. OK. I'm ready. After pictures, I was on sunscreen duty...basically spraying everyone assembly style, including my girl Emily hair part and all my bald fellas. I did good deed #1: I gave a girl my spare pair of goggles for her very first Sprint Distance triathlon. Good Karma comes back!

SWIM START
By this time, it is hot as F$%&! I had my wetsuit partly on, walking over to see the other competitors. I ended up getting called by a friend of mine to see if I could help her with her wetsuit: I did the best that I could but her wetsuit had seen its last days. But, I did another good deed. The wave before me, I helped a guy with his wetsuit. Did I mention he was a hot cutie young thing? I digress again...

Now at this same time, my vision is getting worse. I lost vision (temporarily) in my right eye. I was having an occular migraine and this has NEVER  happened. It was freaking me out. On top of that, I put my phone in my sports bra because I needed them after the swim. It was time for us to jump in the water and I sat until it was almost time. I have to get in my calm place before race day, but that was not the case. Once I jumped in, I could only see with my left eye only and I couldn't see the buoys. Panic set in! Holy F$%&!!!! The air gun went off and I couldn't calm down. I couldn't fucking see! I had to breathe to my left-I can but it is not pretty. I got on my back to get my breathing under control but then settled down when I heard my friends Fred, Becky and KD encouraging me on. Quitting was never an option. One of the things that I will say is that there was not enough buoys (large ones) AT ALL!!! I kept swimming one stroke at a time singing in my head, "Girls & Boys" by Prince and the Revolution over and over again. Finally, I was out of that damn lake! I really love swimming though, so this sucked monkey balls! Finally got out of the water, stripped my wetsuit halfway down and took my glasses out of my boobs. Hey, they were secured!
Time:  52:46 seconds
Feeling: Defeated and NOT HAPPY!

TRANSITION TO BIKE
That was the longest ass transition EVER!!!!!! Can they improve that? I finally got to Beeker, my bike. Took off my wetsuit and quickly got to my helmet, sunglasses and cycling shoes and took off. This bike course was a 4 loop course up Columbus drive, down lower Wacker Drive and back again and again and again. Did I tell you how much I hate to bike? Yeah, I do. It was hot and I took the first loop conservatively! I had so many people cheering me on which gave me some confidence. As soon as we hit lower Wacker Drive, it was game on! OH.MY.GOD! That course was FAST I tell you. It was FUN! I will never say that again. But every time you came back onto Columbus, it was hot ass Hell! But I was hydrating with water, eFuel (cranksports.com) mixed with base amino (baseperformance.com). The second loop, I started to get confident. I picked up a little speed. The third loop, more speed. The final loop, 30 km/hour. What the hell>?????? I don't go that fast. Hot damn! But unfortunately somewhere between lap 2 and 4, I lost feeling in my hands. I think it was due to gripping my handlebars too hard.
Time: Loop 1: 22min 22secs; Loop2: 21min 13secs; Loop 3: 21 min 10secs; Loop 4: 21min 12secs: TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 25 minutes 58 seconds
Transition 1: 8 min 15 secs
Transition 2: 6 min 45 secs

TRANSITION TO RUN
So I dismounted my bike (without falling y'all) and ran, well actually a slow jog, no..it was more like a slow pathetic trot with my bike back to transition. Have you ever tried to run in cycling shoes? Oh, it sucks. By this time, it was gradually getting hotter. I finally made it back to my spot on the rack and changed to my running shoes (Hello Newton Gravity's in...PINK newtonrunning.com), hydration belt and Visor. My whole thinking on the run was to NOT WALK! Even though it was hot, I was not going to walk. One of the things that I noticed on this 3 1/2 lap run was that it was not shady. Sun, sun and sun. Oh boy! So, I'm running and I'm singing in my head "Controversy. Oh yeah, I had to dig deep. I was seeing so many people that I knew on the run and in the crowds. It made me so happy even though I was in the pain cave and I know some of them were too. Deep in the pain cave and running with a blister on my foot. Never, ever happened in my life but it was due to having water doused on me. It was that damn hot. Did I say how hot it was. On my last lap, I went straight game face. Some of y'all have seen this look on me. Fierce determination, no expression or as my best friend have told me, "You look like you're gonna take someone out." I started to pick up the pace and just went for it. I crossed the finish line in 3:49:55. Not bad. I'll take it.
Run time: 1:16:13

THE AFTERSHOW
I really wanted to pass out at the finish line. My friends Shelley and Cristina were at the finish line taking pictures. I walked through the finish line but was not really feeling great but convinced myself that I was ok. I somehow made it to the tent and felt like SH&*. Thank you to my hippie Jacob, my girl Jenn S. (a lot of my friends are named Jennifer of some sort) and Perla for looking out for me, because I am stubborn and hard headed. Instead of going home, I stayed at the race to see the Men's pro race but also to sit in more sun (read: Joy is a dumbass when racing) and helped to break down our tent (read: I'm too responsible and I should have taken my ass home). I finally left to make it to the Harrison "L" stop. Bikes were not to ride on the trains due to Pride parade. I'm sorry, Pride parade ended at 3pm. It was 6:45pm at this point (do the math on how long I was up). I was going to put my bike on the train. Yep, I made it by lifting my bike up and over the turnstyle (oh, sooooo classy). I made it to FFC Lincoln Park to drop off my bike and shower/change in a span of 12 minutes flat.. Since I was hungry, I went to That Little Mexican Cafe down the street from my place and ate. I was eating a recovery meal (black bean and goat cheese empanadas, chips and salsa, chicken tacos, water, water, water and a margarita-it has salt in it!). After that, I finally went home. This is now 9:30pm. I fed my cat, dumped my bag and crashed.

Around 1ish, I called my friend (AKA ex whose dad is an emergency room doctor) and went to the emergency room. Well friends, I was SEVERELY DEHYDRATED. 3 IV bags later, I was feeling somewhat normal. No, not really. I had to get the speech on dehydration and racing in the heat. Oh yeah, I got reamed but it was good. I have an appointment next week with an opthamologist (boo!) since My ex's father was concerned about my vision. He did ask about Ironman, which I told him all about and asked about what happened with me and his son (sorry, none of your business). I finally went home at around 4ish and ended up going into work a few hours later. Yes, I was a hot mess wreck, but hey I did it.

TAKEAWAYS

1. Hydrate
2. Try to take it easy leading up to a race. Don't work an expo for 3 days
3. Still have tons of fun
4. Listen to your body
5. Stop being stubborn

So, it was just a training day. That is all. Until next time....

5 Days: This is only a test...

It's been a while. In 5 days I race in ITU Chicago. Am I worried? To be quite honest...not really. It's a training day, except that pothole that is on the bike course which is when we come back onto Columbus Drive for the first of 4 loops on the Olympic distance, oh and the potential heatwave (Thank you Mother Nature...not). To be real, I have so much on my plate now that I'm lucky that I know the day of the week.

So, what have I been up to? Well, you know the usual: Teaching, training, coaching, working out, dealing with a lot of my own personal annoyances, working out some more, drinking copious amounts coffee...you know, the usual. The not so usual: well I became a USATF (USA Track & Field) Level 1 Certified Coach and a USAT (USA Triathlon) Level 1 Certified Coach. Getting back on track....

Now as I reflect on racing this weekend (not including the clients that I am coaching, my athletes that I am training, my Pilates Clients that I am training), I'm using this as a training day. I'm in a very competitive age group (go figure, but the men have it worse) and I'm just seeing how thing are going to pan out. I have a race plan in effect (A, B and C), I can still fit in my wetsuit and I'm just going to have fun. Anyhoo, I have IMAZ in November.

I have used all of my workouts as my stress reliever. See, I don't eat when I am stressed, upset or anxious. I work out. Sometimes, a little too much. Today, for instance-I had a very bad case of insomnia. What did I do about it? I ran 10 miles before I did some work before I had my last performance review. Did I forget to say that the run happened at 3am and that I am a Fitness Professional? Yeah. I have a fitness problem, but I'm looking at Sunday's race as cheering on my friends who are racing, having fun with my teammates, cheering random folks on and making more friends. What? You don't make friends when you race? Shame on you. But, I also get to work the expo and network.Who wouldn't want to work in at an outdoor expo by Buckingham Fountain.

So bring on the sunshine, humidity and race day. Hey, if you aren't doing anything on Sunday, come to Grant Park in Chicago and check out ITU Chicago. You might be inspired to do something EXTRAORDINARY. I'm going to sign off so I can go home to do laundry (the struggle is real y'all).

I will let you know how Sunday goes.

Peace out to you and you and yours! Later!

I'm baaaaack!

Oh yes, it's true-I'm BACK! Spring has finally (not really) shown its face in Chicago after that horrific Winter that we had (Chiberia, Polar Vortex, etc, etc) it's now time to look towards 2014 and racing. Why now? Well, I had to run the entire Indoor Triathlon Series (I survived all six fueled on coffee...thank you Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts). So, let's rundown my racing for this year: June 29th: ITU Olympic Distance October 19th: Life Time Tri Soma (half iron distance) November 16th: Ironman Arizona Also on the radar (but not a race): September 21st: Northshore Century STRONG POSSIBILITY: June 8th: Long Course Triathlon National Championship (Grand Rapids,MI) Why is this list so small? Well, I do not race a lot due to coaching my marathoners and triathletes to cross either their first or tenth and I work a lot. Now you have it and may the saga continue...

I AM AN IRONMAN!!!!!!

A week ago yesterday, I became an Ironman. I joined this illustrious group of hard working, dedicated and sometimes a little nutty athletes. This has been a dream of mine since 1982. Why 1982? Well, I saw ABC’s “World Wide of Sports” broadcast of Ironman and saw Julie Moss crawl to the finish line. I thought to myself, “I will do this one day.” Needless to say, it would be years down the road before any of this would begin. I had to learn how to swim and I did. Let’s fast forward to the day before the big day with the practice swim. We get to Tempe Town Lake and it is time to squoosh myself into my wetsuit. Don’t let anyone tell you that everyone looks good in a wetsuit. It’s a lie, all lies!!!! I decided to wear my neoprene swim cap under my regular swim cap thinking that the water would be cold as it was last year but I did not have my neoprene booties due to my cat chewing a hole in them before I left. I jumped into the lake and was pleasantly surprised that the water was cold but doable. I treaded water for a while and started swimming. I got kicked, slapped and swam over but I was okay. I felt that I could have swam forever. When I go out, I decided that I would not wear my neoprene swim cap and I would just wear 2 caps and ear plugs. We went back to hotel after lunch to pick up our bikes and gear bags to drop off. I hopped on my bike and everything felt as okay as it could. Dropped off my bike and got ready for dinner with my team. To say that I was eerily calm was an understatement. I have never felt so calm which meant either everything would go well or I would crash and burn. Race Morning: I woke up at I think 4am or so and proceeded to get ready. I had my prerace oatmeal and the Skratch Labs Cinnamon Apple hydration mix (you drink it hot) and just stayed quiet like I normally do on race morning. We proceeded to make our walk to the race site and I had my iPod on listening to Jill Scott’s version of “Lovely Day” and the entire “Purple Rain” soundtrack. I needed to just ignore all of the nervous energy and get ready for an epic day. I got to my bike and had my tires topped up along with filling all of my bottles. Once I was done, I walked over to my gear bags for one final look to make sure everything was okay. Now it was time to put on my wetsuit and stand in the Portapotty line. I mean, there is NEVER enough whenever I race. I know that there is an awesome algorithm that I can created to insure that there are more than enough but alas, that’s not happening. While trying to stay calm, I ran into a friend of mine and I proceeded to almost cry. Almost. He reassured me that I would finish. Ran into another friend and I guess it was hug the crap out of Joy day because I guess I looked like a deer in headlights again. Finally, I can go to the can. Whew! Relief. But, I had to run and drop off my special needs bags. That was taken care of and then it was time to drop off the morning clothes bag and get ready for the swim. As soon as I put my goggles on, they snapped. Oh shit! Thank God I had another pair of goggles in my morning clothes bag. Thank you to the volunteer who helped me out. Got in line and was alternating between hydrating and pouring water down my wetsuit to warm up. Now, it was the moment of truth. Drop off my glasses and get ready to jump in the water and wait….. The Swim I inched my way towards the front as much as I could. I took a deep breath and got ready for battle, aka Ironman swim start. The cannon went off and it was time to rock and roll. The first 200 yards or so, I was kicked, grabbed and swam over but I held my ground. I did kick a guy in the face because I guess he thought that he could a free ride grabbing onto my ankles. No buddy! I started passing buoy after buoy and I was ecstatic. I wasn’t going the pace that I hoped but I didn’t care. I was doing this. On my 3rd round of sighting, I saw the big red blurry thing which was the turn buoy. Everything is a blur without my glasses on. It was a bottleneck. Guys were shoving me and I shoved back. I finally saw the orange buoys and it was time to head home. Now at this point last year, I was pulling due to my legs seizing up. This did not happen! I kept swimming and smiling and breathing. Oh, and don’t forget inhaling diesel fumes. Yummy!!!! This would come back to haunt me. Once I passed the under the bridge, I knew I had about 200/300 yards to go. I started picking up my pace but then it happened. A migraine hit me. I decided to ignore and kept swimming. I picked up my kick and was hauling ass. I made it to the steps. I popped my bum on the steps and was helped out of the water by some awesome volunteers. I started unzipping my wetsuit and the next set of volunteers were there to strip off my wetsuit. I was so friggin’ happy that I almost forgot my glasses. Swim done, 2 more to go. T1 (transition from swim to bike) I made the decision to not change into another pair of tri shorts. I’ll wait until T2. I did have some chicken broth because I was cold as hell. I was shivering badly-same thing that happened last year but not to where I was blue. I threw on my compression sleeves, socks, cycling shoes, camelbak, race belt and helmet and was ready to take on the bike. The Bike I finally mounted my bike and I took off. Let me tell you a secret-I don’t like the bike. Maybe it is due to having a bike that is not the right size, maybe it’s my own little insecurities, but I would rather have a longer swim and run. : P I’m riding along and after the first aid station around mile 15 or so, I heard the whoosh. It is similar to be a quarterback and hearing footsteps before you are knocked out. It was a group of professionals riding with their disc wheels in a peloton. Umm, hello??? There is NO DRAFTING IN IRONMAN PEOPLE!!! You are to be 4 bike lengths behind the closest biker in front of you. If you are in their “draft” zone, you have 20 seconds to overtake them which means that they have to fall back, which is what I did. I read the rules forward, backwards and upside down. Anyway, back to the bike. Around mile 30, I had to get off the bike...not due to being in pain, I had to throw up. Not good...Got back on the bike. I would do this 4 more times and I think it may have been from inhaling diesel fumes or my nutrition plans A and B not working in my favor. I make the first loop and it was a tight turn. Every time I had to make that tight turn, I would scream, “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit….HOT DAMN, I didn’t fall!” No really. On the turn going into the 2nd half of loop 2, I slowed down considerably, made the turn, grabbed a water bottle but proceed to see a guy kiss the pavement, literally due to dehydration and just going to fast/not paying attention to the volunteers. There were a lot of accidents on this bike course, but you have to be hyper aware of your surroundings along with staying on your nutrition/hydration plan. Once I made it to around mile 67, I stopped for my Special needs bag. Some people put special treats, extra water bottles, more Butt Butter or Ride Glide. I had 2 new water bottles, a Coca Cola (don’t judge) and Gummy Lifesavers. Can I tell you that was the best damn pop in history! It was fabulous. Now back on the bike: I made the turnaround for my last loop (3 loop course-remember) and I started doing the math and then I started to smile. I was going to make the bike cutoff with plenty of time to spare. I was the HAPPIEST BIKER in the world. Why??? I didn’t make the cutoff last year. I make the turnaround and when I saw mile 100, I knew it was just a little while longer. It was the LONGEST 12 miles ever but I was still smiling. I got towards the bike dismount line and I was ecstatic. The volunteers asked me if I wanted anything off of my bike. My response, “You can throw it in Tempe Town Lake for all I care.” T2 (transition from bike to run) I picked up my run gear and ran into the changing tent. Some of my friends were in the tent and of course I was giddy. I changed into my running skirt, visor, running shoes and socks and of course, I had to pick out my hair. I slapped on my hydration belt and it was off to run. Can I tell you how happy I was to run. I’m not fast and I’m not slow but I will get it done. I ran past the TriMonster tent and saw some more friends and was just happy and smiling. At around mile 4, I handed the clip on part to my glasses to one of my friends since it was getting dark. Up ahead, there was the next batch of friends asking me how I was doing. Of course, I was happy and hungry. Damn 140.6 miles of racing will do that to you. Being a 2 loop course messes with your head since you will see mile 18, before you see mile 6, but whatever. I was making friends on the course, finding out where people were from, singing songs in my head….you know, a typical Joy thing to do. On the turnaround for loop #2, I didn’t need my special needs bag so I kept going. Mile 15 was when I rolled my ankle. Clumsy me, and I was starting to get tired and everything was hurting. I kept going. The volunteers made everything so much better. I had to start walking at mile 18 but started to do a run/walk. Potato chips, water, banana and pop became my favorites foods at that point. I was slowing down but I kept moving. 8 more miles...Then mile 25 showed up along with my partner in crime. He was running beside me and reality started to sink in. I was going to be an Ironman. I had to walk a little, run a little but I was going to make it. He showed me wear his girlfriend had wrote in chalk on the sidewalk since I didn’t see it the first time. I almost lost it! I kept going, one foot in front of the other. My body was in sheer pain-everything hurt and then I saw the lights of the finish chute... It felt as if the whole weight of the world had fallen on me. The emotion that I felt cannot be described by words alone. It wouldn’t do it justice...just the amount of hours I spent training, working, lack of sleep, the self doubt, everything came crashing down. Once Mike Reilly said, “Joy, You Are An Ironman!” everything was all good but that’s not the best part...Mike Reilly led me back to the finishing chute and had the crowd say to me, “Joy, You are an Ironman!” and Jordan Rapp, professional Triathlete, awesome guy, placed my medal around my neck! I do have to admit that crossing the finish line was the best thing in the world. The volunteers were just AMAZING and can I tell you that I had the world’s best french fries EVER. Once I sat down, I started shivering because I got very cold all of a sudden. A volunteer gave me her sweatshirt and I was so thankful to her. But, she was thanking me for being there and crossing the finish line as a person of color. The After Show It’s the only way to describe it. After I hobbled to get my morning clothes bag and my other gear, we went to Loco Patron. We stayed for a while and it was kind of surreal on people who knew me because of my finish. I was so humbled. When we finally got back to the hotel, I had to take a shower. That is where I discovered that my wetsuit chafed the living crap out of my neck - it never did that before and that was with body glide along with my heart rate monitor cutting my wrist and the timing chip cutting the front of my lower leg. But that is ok, because I had a pint of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream waiting for me and I went to bed an a Ironman finisher. I just want to thank everyone who believed in me even when there were times throughout this year that I didn't. I want to especially thank FFC- where I work and train, TriMonster, Team to End AIDS, Chicago Tri Club, Team Dream, Sole Tri Sisters, Team Bright Pink, the Miles family (hey, I have to live up to my last name), all of the volunteers on the course and just everyone who wished me such great juju, good luck, prayers, etc. It meant the world to me!!!!! Thank you, thank you and thank you... This is the end of this blog but my new blog will be debuting soon (same URL but new title). It will still be my adventures in multisport but also will mark my return to marathon (in February) and going back to Arizona to improve on my time and changing some things up. I hope that in the new year my migraines disappear. That's all folks!

6 Days: I AM ATHLETE 995

In 6 days, I will be toeing the line at Ironman Arizona. It has been a long journey which started for me, last year when I didn't make the bike cutoff. I have been on this mission that I will train, train, train and will cross that finish line. I have learned a lot about myself throughout this journey. Along the way, this is what happened: *I have deleted people out of my life (very negative) *Met some amazingly fabulous people(very positive) *Learned to love the bike (I am a headcase while riding) *Found inner peace swimming and running *Ran through more swimsuits than humanly allowed unless you are an Olympian *Worked more hours than humanly possible (I admit, I AM A WORKAHOLIC) *Slept less than most teenagers *Have a new appreciation for Caffeine, chomps, Mark Bars (oh my GOD!!!!!) and Peanut Butter filled Pretzels I have faced my fear of the bike, I have squeezed in every bit of training on my plan, even if it meant working out at 3am. Luckily, the fitness facility that I work at is 24 hours. Currently, I am trying to cram 7 days of working (I work 7 days a week) into 4 days since I fly out this Thursday. I just came back from the USAT Level I coaching clinic so my brain is FRIED, but now it is time to refocus. Am I nervous? No-I am eerily calm. Maybe its because I know what to expect, maybe I have no undue pressure riding on me this year, I don't know to be quite honest. We will see. Just to think that all of this craziness started because I watched World Wide of Sports in 1982 and saw Julie Moss crawl to the finish line..."A champion is someone who gets up, even when they can't." - Natalie Rogers