The Iron Shecky

Don't watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going. Austin 70.3 - Half Ironman Triathlon Date of Race: 10/26/2014 Total Race Time = 7h 49m 40s Overall Place = 1780/2634 Age Group = Female 30-34 Age Group Place = 98/155 Pre-race history: It took a lot for me to get to this start line this year.  March: Bike accident - broken hand May: Surgical pins removed - all clear to start training May - August: ZERO motivation - 1 to 2 long runs, 1 long bike, little to no swimming August: HIM with ZERO training (I wouldn't recommend this) August 28: Told by doc if I did IMCHOO, I would likely end up with a stress fracture or worse. Used the new IM transfer program to officially transfer out of IMCHOO and into Austin 70.3 August 29: began 8 week training plan for Austin Pre-pre-race: The decision to transfer into Austin didn't come easy.  I wanted to get some of the value for my close to $700 entry to IMCHOO.  The transfer program allows you to transfer ou...

“If you worried about falling off the bike, you'd never get on.” March 15, 2014 started off like any other Spring, Saturday morning.  I had made arrangements the day before to meet Nick (an ATCer that I had ridden with the prior week that was about my pace) at Silk Sheets for a nice casual 50 mile training ride.  The weather was perfect and this would be my 3rd time outside on the bike this year.  I was super excited!  As we started, Carrie (another ATCer) pulled out of the Texaco station and was just starting her ride as well.  We agreed to start together and see where the day took us.  I definitely had more confidence than the prior week and I felt like once I got warmed up, this would be a good ride.   I started off with a very slow 3 mile warm up: 15 minutes at a little over 11mph.  The rest of the workout was supposed so be nice and steady. 5 minutes each at an RPE of 7, 7-8, 8, 8-9 and then a rest interval of 5 minutes...

Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential. Winston Churchill January -  Snowy Hill Repeats 2014 arrived with holiday weight gain and a severe lack of motivation.  I hired a coach to get me through Ironman and it was a new year; I had a fresh start.  It took a few weeks, but I finally decided to get back to it.  I was still in physical therapy, so there was very little swimming, but I hit the roads on foot and I hit the trainer in my living room. Swim - 3297 yards Bike - 10 hrs 5 min Run - 30.26 miles February -  Once I had a few weeks of training down, I actually wanted to get going.  The tri club had an official cycling challenge for February, so I spent a good deal of time on the bike and the trainer.  I was told my trainer selfies weren't good enough, so I tried to come up with some creative ways to keep myself motivated.  I think I did a decent job!   My run was finally pick...

"Eventually you realize that the only competition is against the voice inside your head that wants you to quit." Welcome to the off-season.  This is a triathlete's dream;  Sleeping in, eating dessert, spending time with our friends and family who we probably forgot about during the summer. My problem - I am lazy. I had no interest working out.  I let myself go for sure.  I was signed up to race a Half-Marathon in Las Vegas in November and a Full Marathon at Disney in January.  I was not trained for Vegas and I didn't feel the need to spend all the money to make the trip out there for a training run.  Instead, I ran an 11k and then a Half Marathon in Atlanta. Interestingly enough, I ran faster than I have ever run before.  I recently purchased the Adidas Energy Boost shoe and they are Magic.  I attribute all of the fast running during this time to those shoes! After months of pain training for Ironman Louisville, I finally de...