Ironman Maine 70.3

I registered for the inaugural IM Maine 70.3 last fall, and having never been to Maine, I was excited at the opportunity to explore a new state! I carpooled up to the race with another triathlete on Saturday, and the 4.5 hour drive flew by. We arrived in Old Orchard Beach around 2:30 pm, and headed straight to our hotel. I had booked a room at a small place close to the beach – The Atlantic Breeze Inn – but I hadn’t done any research prior to booking it. I really wasn’t sure where it was located in relation to the start of the race; I had just selected the cheapest place on Expedia since I figured I would barely be in the room. It ended up being perfect! The owner was super friendly, and the location was ideal. It was about a 3 min. walk to Ironman Village and a 10 min. walk to transition. Not having to worry about driving to the race in the morning was a huge plus! So after checking-in and dropping off our bikes in transition, we took advantage of the nice weather and walked around the pier and took a stroll on the beach.

We eventually stumbled upon a small restaurant on the main strip for dinner. I got my usual pre-race pasta meal (ravioli alfredo), and my friend, Phil, got the lobster mac and cheese. …  I’m not a huge seafood person, but that dish looked amazing! 

An hour or so later we both rolled out of the restaurant and headed back towards the room … we had an early wake-up!

RACE DAY!!

1.2 Mile Swim – 44:49

First off, my alarm went off at 4:30 am.

And then when I looked at my phone it was 52 degrees outside.

I was literally shivering in my bed. The LAST thing I wanted to do was wake up and swim in the ocean. This was a pic of the race start:

Just kidding. 😉

The race started at 6:20 am sharp, with 2 swimmers being released into the water every 2 seconds. They estimated it would take approximately 34 minutes for all athletes to enter the water. It was self-seed, so I just hopped into the line where I saw a little opening. Waiting for the gun to go off I was chatting with the athlete next to me, and he was AWESOME. He was over 70 – and was doing his very FIRST half-Ironman. I never cease to be inspired by all of the athletes at these events. Just incredible.

That said, this was also my FIRST open water ocean swim. EVER. Not gonna lie, that had me a little nervous. Anddd I’ve heard the waters up in Maine can be a little chilly. Whenever people told me this I shrugged and thought, “I’ll have my wetsuit; it’ll be fine.” And at 60 degrees, the water was warmer than the air temp. Still, people had said that it may be a good idea to do a practice swim in the morning right before the start to get your body adjusted to the temperature. Not going to lie, physically getting into the freezing water for a few minutes to then stand outside in a line waiting to get back into said freezing water did not sound appealing to me. At all. So, like usual, I declined partaking in that opportunity and just figured I’d be fine in the water.

And then the gun went off and I actually entered the water.

The first 5 – 10 minutes of the swim was HARD. I seriously contemplated quitting. When I first put my face in the water after I walked past the few waves that there were – I couldn’t breath. I just gasped every time I tried to take a stroke. My teeth were chattering. I was SO cold. I tried a few more freestyle strokes, but it was the same thing. Every time I tried to breath to my side I just couldn’t do it.  I then tried to swim freestyle holding my face above the water. NOPE. Too slow. I quickly began thinking of my options. Maybe breaststroke? No way. I knew I sucked at that stroke too and would likely not make the hour and 10 minute cut-off with that. I was panicking.

I kept looking at all the other swimmers. And they were doing it. Swimming. Freestyle. In the same water I was in. I was like, “Get your shit together, Erika. You can do this. They’ve adjusted. You’ll adjust to the water, too.” And so I kept trudging a long. It took a while, but I eventually got used to it. Once I did, it was actually a fairly nice swim. The water was super calm and the sun rising over the ocean was beautiful. I was run over and hit a few times by other swimmers, but overall I felt like I had a fair amount of space and the water was pretty clear. Clearer than some other murkier swims I’ve done. So clear that at one point I caught another swimmer out of the corner of my eye and swore it was a shark … so then of course I spent the next 20 min. contemplating this:

That probably made me swim faster. All in all, it was a good swim but I am aways happy to exit the water! Time: 44 minutes and 49 seconds.

 

Transition 1 – 11:57

This was my longest T-1 time to date. It didn’t help matters that the run from the beach to transition was one of the longest ones I’ve encountered, but I also made a rookie mistake. … Since it was predicted to be similar weather to Antarctica in the morning, I opted to swim with my bathing suit underneath my wetsuit rather than my tri kit. I’ve never done this before, but figured the 2 extra minutes it would take to change would be worth it if I could start the bike in dry clothes. What I shoulddd have remembered is that changing tents are only at full Ironman events and are not at half Ironman events. So, I could expose myself to the hundreds of spectators and athletes – or grab all of my shit and go change in a porta potty. … I went with the porta potty option.

That definitely tacked on a few minutes … as did just trying to open my water bottle. My hands were so cold I couldn’t grasp anything!

Any who, after I changed into my tri kit, I threw on a long sleeve shirt in hopes of staying somewhat warm at least during the early miles on the bike.

I was quite the fashionista.

56 Mile Bike – 3:30:29 (15.95 mph pace)

Similar to my swim training (I did one swim workout in 2017), my bike training this year has been subpar. And believe it or not, this was my first outdoor ride of 2017. I’ve definitely ridden, but all of my rides have been inside on my trainer – and I haven’t ridden over 50 miles. So, minus the 3 or so bugs I ate, the entire 56 miles were quite enjoyable. I hadn’t realized how much I missed riding outdoors. And it’s always nice to explore a new area that way. Having never been to Maine, I didn’t know what to expect … besides the fact that there were some hills based on the elevation chart they had posted:

With the cooler temps, I definitely drank less than I have in other races. I started the bike by sipping on a mix of water and coffee flavored hammer perputuem, which is about 540 calories. Halfway through, I started munching on a bag of Cheeze-Its I had in my front bento box. I know, I know, my nutrition is on-point. 😉 At this point, there were less hills and I was just cruising along – eating Cheeze-It after Cheeze-It. I think my pace definitely decreased at this point since the number of “ON YOUR LEFT!”’s I heard dramatically increased as people passed me. Then, this sweet old lady passed me, turned and said, “Don’t worry, you’ll probably pass me again in no time.” I didn’t know what she said at first so I just nodded, and said, “yeah.” … And then it hit me what she said. … and what my response to her was.

Yeah.

YEAH!!

Sometimes I’m a moron and really don’t mean to be!

After that the rest of the bike flew by as the second half was faster and flatter. And as the temperate creeped up I ditched my long sleeve shirt at an aid station. I felt like I was cruising and am always happy to safely finish a ride with no flats!

Transition 2 – 5:23

I quickly changed my shoes, threw on my bib number, a visor – and reapplied my lipstick.

13.1 Mile Run – 2:15:49 (10:22 per mile pace)

Like the bike, I had no idea what the run entailed other than it was an out and back that was basically flat. So I was not impressed when the run started with us just running on the side of the road next to a string of cars stuck in traffic. After running along side disgruntled looking drivers who were dead stopped for 2 miles now, I was really hoping for something more scenic.

Thankfully, my wish came true. Around mile 2.5 we entered the Eastern trail, and it was absolutely GORGEOUS. It was like a whole different world. Running on the trail was nice; it’s always nice being outside in nature away from the cars. There was an aid station about every mile and the volunteers were awesome, as usual. They were all so smiley and supportive and yelling words of encouragement. The sun was shining, but the trail offered a ton of shade.

And, even though I was running, I was a little surprised at the fact that I had an upset stomach. My race day concoction of a wheat bagel, 1/2 jar of Nutella, coffee flavored GU’s, high calorie Perpetuem, Cheeze-Its and a grape Gatorade was letting me down. I was so bloated and had shooting pains. … And of course I was on one of the most congested runs I’ve ever been on. I knew what I needed to do to feel better – but we were basically single file on the trail, and there were people everywhere.  I tried my best to exhibit some self-control, until around mile 5.

I let one rip.

This is serious TMI, I know. But it really is common amongst runners and people doing long endurance events. Better to just laugh about it and move on!

And about half-way through I was feeling so much better! I felt like my speed was really picking up!

And I was back to all smiles:

Finish – 6:48:25

Always so happy to cross the finish line!!

Afterwards, I inhaled the post-race food: a ham and cheese sandwich and an ice cream bar, stretched for a few minutes and then we headed to transition to pick up our gear. We made the crawl back to our hotel before we packed it all up and headed home. (I was scheduled to work at 6:45 am on Monday, so we weren’t able to stay for another night.) We hit a lot of traffic so it took about 6 hours on the return. It was an exhausting weekend, but I wouldn’t trade weekends like this for the world!

And it always makes for a special Medal Monday:

Overall, I’d recommend this race to ANYONE. Very well organized, scenic, mostly flat, and the spectators and volunteers were the best!

Next up — IRONMAN Lake Placid 70.3 on September 10th! Can’t wait!!

2015 IRONMAN Lake Placid

There were countless times on Sunday I believed I would be starting this blog post like I did last year; as an athlete who tried her best, but just couldn’t do it.

But instead, I am starting this post as a 2x IRONMAN Finisher. I can’t flipping believe it!!! I am still on cloud nine, and so, so grateful to have had the opportunity to redeem myself on one of the toughest courses on the IRONMAN circuit!

Was it easy? It was one of the hardest days of my life.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. Pushing yourself to the brink, you find out what you are capable of. You realize you are stronger than you ever. thought. possible. You feel truly alive.

As many of you know, I failed at my first attempt in Lake Placid last year, getting a DNF with 10 miles to go. Ever since, I’ve always wanted to go back – I wanted to prove to myself I could do it. And the opportunity to do so came a knockin’…

This race sells out a year in advance. However, an opportunity to purchase an entry through my sponsor, Team Chocolate Milk, came up — so I took it, and registered about a week before the race. Did I feel even less prepared than last year? YES. I have definitely been doing less cardio than I did 12 months ago. Did I know if I could do it? I had noooo idea. But, rereading my blogs from last year, I knew I would still have an amazing experience no matter what happened. It would be a weekend filled with inspiring people I aspire to be like; a weekend surrounded by uplifting people and positive energy. I also knew that if I had an IRON will, and just kept moving forward, there was a chance I could finish. So, that was that – I was going for it!

I went up to the race Friday afternoon, went through check-in, walked around town, met up with a friend, and then checked into the place I was staying at – a $35 room I got off AirBnB 5 miles away from the start.

Saturday was also low-key and spent in a similar fashion … I relaxed, checked-in my gear and bike, and walked around town. And ate, and ate, and ate.

Both nights I went out to eat with Keith, a friend who was also doing the race. And by dinner, I of course mean carbo-loading. And by carbo-loading, I pretty much mean pizza. And by pizza, I pretty much mean this:

(I was really hoping everything went smoothly on race day for multiple reasons. But I couldn’t help but think that if I didn’t even make it through the swim, I’d be really regretting the 10+ lbs of pizza, pasta and bread I stuffed into my face the week before!)

Anyways, after dinner on Saturday, I headed back to my scary, desolate, no phone service  room to try and get as much sleep as possible. (Sleep – HA!) I was realllly hoping I would sleep well, but sleep is something I always struggle with, even more so when I’m stressed. And I was stressed to. the. max. I could only manage about 5 hours of sleep Friday night, and 3 hours race night. 3!! I wasn’t happy about that number, which was stressing me out even more, but it was out of my control. … I’ve raced on little to no sleep before. Luckily, my high calorie endurance formula I would be drinking, Hammer Perpetuam, had caffeine!

And not being able to sleep did have a perk. … I was probably one of the first people to get to the race start. Sooo, I basically got the closest parking spot to transition. I knew this would be extremely beneficial after the race, when I would have to somehow carry all my gear bags and wheel my bike back to my car all by myself. Sounds easy enough. But after 140.6 miles? I knew I would probably be hobbling and looking like someone beat me with a 2×4. So with about 45 minutes to chill before transition even opened, I just laid down in the back of my Jeep and tried to get a little more rest before it was GO TIME!

The Swim (2.4 miles) – 1:34:14

There was actually talk that they may have had to cancel the swim, and we didn’t know for sure until about 5 am race morning. The night before, there was a large building fire on Main street directly in front of Mirror Lake.  It raged for hours, but thankfully no one was hurt (the first responders were incredible and worked tirelessly through the night!) . However, race officials were concerned about unsafe levels of ash and runoff in the water. Luckily, DEC tested the water and it passed – the swim was a go!

Over 2,300 athletes were at the start, and I positioned myself somewhere in the 1:21 – 1:30 expected swim seed. The cannon went off at 6:30 am sharp, and the fastest swimmers began funneling into the water. The clock read 6:47 am by the time I entered the water, meaning I had until 11:47 pm to cross the finish (17 hours), or I would receive a DNF (Did Not Finish).

.

I entered the swim smiling, and finished the swim smiling. Overall, I thought it went well for me and I was happy with my time – one hour and 34 minutes for 2.4 miles. Not too bad for me considering I hadn’t swam in over a month. The water was fairly calm and I just got into my groove and kept on swimming. I swam as far to the left as I could to avoid the mass of swimmers as much as I could, and luckily I didn’t get hit or punched by another swimmer accidentally. It was pretty uneventful, but I’m always happy to be out of the water! And Greg and Carrie, friends I know from my home gym, were volunteering and were my wetsuit strippers!

The Bike (112 miles) – 8:32:07

The bike is normally my favorite. But today, it was rough. And not just because of the 6,898 feet of elevation gain. Last year, eating and drinking too little led to my demise. This year, I was determined to take in as many calories as I could. However, I learned pretty quickly that this was not the best approach, either. I started having severe stomach pains on my right side around mile 30, and by mile 40, I was hunched over my handlebars, sobbing. If I had to describe it, I would say that i  felt like my kidney’s were going to explode. I had noooo idea how I was going to be able to keep going! And at mile 40 of the bike?! I usually love the bike!

I didn’t know what to do. I ended up just standing on the side of the road for about 5 – 10 minutes, hoping to feel better. A kind group of spectators tried to help me, offering me hugs and encouraging words. And eventually a medic drove by. … He wanted to call a SAG vehicle for me! No, no, no. I was not ending my day before noon! My new goal was to just make it to the next aid station to reexamine how I was feeling. So, slowly but surely, I pedaled my way to the next aid station where I was able to talk more to a volunteer nurse. She asked me what I had been eating and drinking, and she guessed I was taking in wayyyyy to many calories. She said my kidneys likely couldn’t process all I was eating/drinking. She told me to try switching to just plain water for the next hour or so to see if that helped, but that if I started vomiting or peeing blood I should stop. (Peeing blood?! I’d be done; don’t have to tell me twice!) Her advice seemed to save the day, for as the clock ticked on, I felt better and better. I drank just water for a while, and then I slowly tried to consume about 300 calories / hr thereafter.

Feeling better, the second lap was much better for me than the first … at least in that regard! But once I hit mile 80, I was just tired of being in the saddle. My toes burned, my butt was sore – I was ready to be in a different position. But I knew it would eventually come to an end, so I really tried to take in the scenery and focus on how beautiful that bike course really is. It really is breathtaking at places!

When I eventually rolled back into town, I was sooo excited to be done and grateful to not have had any flats/mechanical issues (besides my chain popping off at mile 111). Had that been the case, I would have been tight to make the 5:30 pm bike cutoff. And even though my bike split this year was almost an hour more than last years, I’m okay with it. It was one of my toughest rides, but I fought through it and didn’t give up! For that, I am proud!

And fun fact: My max speed on the bike was 40.6 miles on the massive downhill. Wahoo!

The Run (26.2 miles) – 6:20:05

This is the part where it really became a struggle for me. Running is probably my weakest discipline of the three, and I knew my training was not up to par with being able to run a marathon. And, in the IRONMAN, you’re already worn out from the previous two legs, so its a whole different type of marathon. I didn’t know how it was going to go exactly, but I was determined. The run is what got me last year, but I had made it this far again. I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

Starting the run, it was extremely hot out. Hotter than anyone expected for the race. The heat index was probably in the 90’s. It seemed like countless people were having to rework their plan, and many people slowed to a shuffle or walk.

Since it was so humid and sunny, I decided to take a canister of Base Salt that they offered at one of the aid stations. I had never used Base Salt before, but they were encouraging it, and knew I should be keeping my sodium levels up. The volunteer told me all I had to do was lick my thumb, press it to the canister, give it a shake, and then lick the electrolyte salt off the pad of my thumb. She said I should do this about once per mile. I did as she advised.

But then I immediately thought about alllll of the disgusting porta potties I had been in throughout the day, and how none of them had Purell.

And I was licking my thumb.

Gross. For people who don’t know me, I can be quite the germ-o-phob. But, no matter how disgusted I was, I wanted to finish the race more. So, each mile or so, I kept taking the Base Salt as directed. Along with the salt, I tried to grab whatever else I could try and stomach at the aid stations. Chicken broth, water, flat Coca Cola, orange slices and grapes seemed to be all I could stomach. I was just trying to stay hydrated in the heat, and get in some calories.

I kept moving forward, talking with other athletes here and there, high-fiving others I knew as I passed. But about 1/2 way through the run, I started to have a small melt-down. Everything hurt … And as I was trying to put one foot in front of the other amidst the crowd of cheering spectators knowing I had 13.1 miles left — it dawned on me that I didn’t think I was going to make the time cut-off. I didn’t think I would finish before 11:47.

I was grateful then to see some familiar faces who assured me I had plenty of time. So, I was able to calm myself down and do some math, and figured if I kept moving at the pace I was going, I would have a nice cushion of 20 minutes or so. (sarcasm there … 20 minutes is not really a cushion!) … But I knew it was in me to make it. I just had to put my head down, and dig deep! And once I stopped crying, I returned to my happy, smiling self:

A couple things I immediately thought of when I saw this photo (that I HIGHLY debated about sharing):

1. OMG, do I really look like that? I LOOK LIKE HELL.
2. Whatttttt am I doing with my hands?! Who runs like that?!
3. Do I really have that many chins?!
4. Is that even a smile?! Like, why do I look scared?
5. Did I mention I look like hell?

Any who, it thankfully was dark at this point so not many people could see I run like a freak with my arms looking like a Tyrannasaurus Rex. As it night continued to fall, I just kept saying “I CAN DO THIS” over and over again, and kept. on. trekking. Sounds easy enough. But really, it took every fiber of my being to keep moving forward. Because this pretty much sums up how I felt miles 16 – 22:

There were countless times I wanted to throw in the towel on that longggggg out and back stretch, in the pitch black. It felt like I was never going to finish. I had hourssss left. My toes burned. My knee hurt. My legs ached. I felt sick. An athlete walking next to me said this felt like a death march. I had to agree with her.

Mile 24 was the last hill of the day, and we were finalllyyy back in the heart of town. There were some spectators and earlier finishers cheering us on. You could hear the music and excitement coming from the oval. I had 2.2 miles to go; just an out and back down Mirror Lake Drive. I was excited; I thought at this point I was going to make it. But I was also still struggling. Luckily, these two strangers on the side of the road saw me, and cheered me up the hill. They must have known I could have used a pick-me-up, because for the next 2 miles, they walked on the sidewalk next to me, blaring music from a portable boombox they had. They were playing some of my favorite songs! Beyoncé, Shut Up and Dance … I was now picking up my stride and focusing on the music as we talked and they reiterated over and over how I was going to make it! I was going to be cross that finish line! Best 2 miles of the run and I couldn’t thank these strangers enough!

The Finish – (16:48:13)

I will always remember making that turn into the Olympic Oval. The crowd was roaring. People were lined all around, cheering loudly, clapping, and offering their hands for high fives. I saw some old neighbors I didn’t know were going to be there, along with Greg and Carrie, my awesome support crew for the day! It was so great seeing familiar faces after a longggg day!

And then Mike Reilly told me as I was an IRONMAN as I finally crossed the finish. 16 hours, 48 minutes and 13 seconds after I got in the water to begin the day.

I had less than 12 minutes to spare.

I’ll tell ya, the rush you get from finishing is nothing like anything in the whole, wide world! It makes me feel like I can accomplish anything – that I am stronger than I ever thought possible!! That in itself makes the day worthwhile! And … at least after pushing myself for almost 17 hours, I can say that I have a beautiful finishing photo to remind myself of what I accomplished:

(sarcasm, again ;-)) But if you look closely, you can tell I’m smiling. 🙂 …

Thankfully, they had more than one photographer, and I do have an alternative:

Muchhhh better. 🙂

And I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling after becoming a 2x IRONMAN. I was AM on CLOUD NINE.

Proof that amazing things can happen when you don’t. give. up.

… And, to test my endurance even further, after finishing around midnight, I drove home at 5 am and made it to work by 9 am! Yeah, I guess I’m a little insane! 😉

THANK YOUS

I’m not even sure where to begin, but I am so, so thankful for this experience. I am forever grateful to my sponsor, Got Chocolate Milk, for the opportunity to give IRONMAN Lake Placid a 2^nd try, and for their continued support. I am thankful for my family and friends who wished me well and believed in me – your support carried me through some of the darkest parts of this race. For my friend and fellow athlete, Keith, who inspired me throughout his IRONMAN journey with his determination and passion for this sport; for doing long rides with me and pushing me to be stronger; for helping me with nutrition. (HE CROSSED THAT SAME FINISH LINE AND I COULD NOT BE MORE PROUD AND HAPPY FOR HIM!!!) I am thankful for Greg and Carrie, friends I met at my gym who were my support crew during the race. They had my back the whole time I was up in LP, tracked me throughout the day while constantly updating my parents back home, and cheered me on at various spots throughout the swim, bike, and run. For Andrea who gave me the pep talk I needed at bike special needs. Who told me I was doing fine and could still do this. For my other friends who cheered me on the sidelines. Thank you to the AMAZING volunteers who would literally do anything for you. To the lively spectators who lifted our spirits, chanted our names, and kept us going. I am grateful for my parents, who deal with my insanity when I announce my plans to do these races, and for supporting me even though they worry. … I feel like I could go on, and on. But basically, I can’t THANK EVERYONE enough! You all have impacted my race in immeasurable ways, and have made this race beyond special. For that, I am so, so grateful.

… And as I’ve been enjoying some R’n’R, I’ve already begun to ponder my next 140.6 attempt, with my new favorite cup:

I’m a happy girl right now. 🙂

AND HUGE CONGRATS TO ALL THAT RACED!! It was a very memorable weekend!

Seven Weeks of Workouts

Sooooo, I hate how I haven’t posted in a while. I know I have about zero readers, but still I enjoy writing for myself. And a lot has happened since my last post! But, I’ve been busy with it being tax season, and I’ve just simply been unmotivated to sit down and blog with the free time I do have. I promise to write a new post in the next few days and update you all on my crazy exciting life (thats sarcasm if you couldn’t tell 😉) … but until then, I’ll just leave you with my super interesting workout log. Enjoy! 😉

Summary:

 49-Day Total Time Working Out: 62 hours, 26 minutes 

Average Time Per Day: 76.4 minutes

9 Rest Days <— Ugh. Disappointed with that number. I hate taking rest days, but I know that sometimes they are important (like today, since my hip has been bothering me). Mainly, my reasons for rest days were due to being sick, or having to work. I was sick three times over the 7 weeks; once with a cold, and twice with a stomach bug, and had some unexpected 12-hr workdays. But tax season is almost done which means I’ll just have my normal 8 – 4 job! 🙂

Workout Log:

2/18 – Back-to-Back F.I.T. Bootcamps (2 hrs.)

2/19 – Nothing (12 hr. workday)

2/20 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

2/21 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.).; Bike Trainer (50 minutes)

2/22 – Stairmaster (65 minutes) Climbed 400 flights

2/23 – Nothing (12 hr. workday)

2/24 – Stationary Bike (80 minutes) Rode 23 miles; F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

Week 1 Total: 8 hours, 15 minutes

2/25 – Back-to-Back F.I.T. Bootcamps (100 min.)

2/26 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

2/27 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

2/28 – Sick

3/1 – Sick

3/2 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

3/3 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

Week 2 Total: 5 hours, 40 minutes <- That low number makes me sad!

3/4 – Back-to-Back F.I.T. Bootcamps (120 min.)

3/5 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

3/6 – Stairmaster (35 minutes); F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

3/7 – Rest

3/8 – Treadmill (1 hr., 45 minutes) 10 miles

3/9 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

3/10 – Stairmaster (40 minutes); Stationary Bike (35 minutes); F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

Week 3 Total: 9 hours, 35 minutes

3/11 – Back-to-Back F.I.T. Boocamps (2 hrs.)

3/12 – Eric Church Concert – No workouts

3/13 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.); Treadmill (40 min.) Ran 4 miles

3/14 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (75 min.); Stairmaster (68 min.) Climbed 400 flights; Pool (45 min.) Swam 2,000 yards

3/15 – Bike Trainer (3 hrs) Rode 48.5 miles

3/16 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

3/17 – Treadmill (80 min.) Ran 8 miles; F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

Week 4 Total: 13 hours, 8 minutes

3/18 – Back-to-Back F.I.T. Bootcamps (2 hrs.)

3/19 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

3/20 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

3/21 – Rest Day

3/22 – Syracuse Half-Marathon (2:14:06) Ran 13.1 miles

3/23 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

3/24 – Swimming (46 min.) Swam 2,000 yards; F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

Week 5 Total: 9 hours 

3/25 – Back-to-Back F.I.T. Bootcamps (2 hrs.)

3/26 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

3/27 – Nothing (12 hr. workday)

3/28 – Sick

3/29 – Bike trainer (2 hrs.) Rode 34 miles

3/30 – Bike trainer (1 hr.) Rode 16.8 miles

3/31 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

Week 6 Total: 7 hours

4/1 – Back-to-Back F.I.T. Bootcamps (2 hrs.)

4/2 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.); Run (25 min.) 2.3 miles

4/3 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.); Run (38 min.) 4 miles; Walk (10 min.) 0.7 mile cool-down

4/4 – Stationary Bike (1 hr.); at Vent Fitness, 11 Rounds of: 25 kb swings (70 lb KB), 20 suitcases, 15 jump squats, 10 push-ups, 5 burpees (45 min.)

4/5 – Bike Trainer (1 hr.) Rode 17 miles

4/6 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.); Run (50 min). No Garmin, probably 4.5 – 5 miles

4/7 – Rest (hip is bothering me :-()

Week 7 Total: 9 hours, 48 minutes

Hope everyone has had some kick-ass workouts lately! 🙂

Pushin’ Those Limits!

I’ll start with my Workout Roundup since I’m pretty happy about it!

2/6 – Treadmill (1 hr. 45 min.) Ran 10 miles

2/7 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

2/8 – Bike Trainer (1 hr., 52 min.) Rode 31 miles

2/9 – Nothing. 12-hour work day

2/10 – Treadmill (76 min.) Ran 7.5 miles; F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

2/11 – Back-to-Back F.I.T. Bootcamp classes (2 hrs.)

2/12 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

2/13 – Rest Day

2/14 – Stairmaster (2 hrs.) Climbed 805 flights of stairs.

2/15 – Stationary Bike (6 min.) Rode 1.82 miles; Treadmill (1 hr., 57 minutes) 10 miles total (Ran the first 6.5 in 65 minutes; Walked the last 3.5 at an incline)

2/16 – Bike Trainer (121 minutes) Rode 33.5 miles; F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

2/17 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

12-Day Total: 17 hours, 57 minutes

I had some a-w-e-s-o-m-e workouts in these last 2 weeks; and I feel really great! Some highlights:

• I went up my Box Jumps not once, but twice!! Since I’ve been going to bootcamp, I’ve always kept it at the lowest level, 20”. Last week I finally flipped the box up to the 2^nd level, and then on Monday I decided to just go for the 3^rd. Not gonna lie, it was nerve-wracking! And I only did it twice, but I managed to make the 30” jump and stand tall. Yeaaaaahhh baby – I was SO pumped! (Big thanks to my friend Becky for inspiring me to try – she also nailed the 3^rd level at the same time!)

• I also upped my Kettleball weight for swings and squats. Was at 44 lbs – now I grab the 53 lber. 🙂 Feels so good movin’ on up!
• I had T-H-R-E-E amazing runs. Finalllllllly. I missed my time rocking out on the treadmill lip singing to my favorite songs.
• Had an awesome 2-hr trainer ride watching the 2011 NBC IRONMAN broadcast on Youtube. Watching the Kona World Championship always get me soooo motivated, and brings back all the happy memories I have of finishing Maryland! I still can’t believe I did that! Yes, there are many times you suffer during an IRONMAN, but you also never. feel. more. alive. It is the BEST.

• The Stairmaster. I had a stairclimbing PR! For the longest time, I was going after a goal of climbing 400 flights of stairs in 1 hr. Over the weekend – I DOUBLED that! 800 flights in under 2 hours! I did intervals, alternating between level 12 and 15 the whole time, and I found it helped if I mentally broke it down into 4 half-hour chunks. As long as I spent about 8 minutes at level 15 during each 30-minute chunk, and the rest at 12, then I would hit 200 stairs in time. There were times I was huffing, puffing, grunting, cursing … anddd it looked like I had stood outside during a torrential rainstorm, but I DID IT! I didn’t get off or pause the machine once, but just.kept.climbing.

• I tackled another back-to-back conditioning Bootcamp class. And not only did I survive, but I finished both times feeling decently strong!

The Back-to-Back Class:

15 Chin-ups

20KB swings (I used 53 lb KB)

30 Dumbbell Push Presses

20KB swings

45 burpees

60 walking lunges (30 each leg)

20KB swings

75 XT Knee-Tucks

20 KB swings

15 Dumbbell Thrusters (each arm)

Down and back bear crawl

30 XT Pike-ups

Down and back bear crawl

45 KB Goblet squats

Down and back bear crawl

60 hand-release push-ups

Down and back bear crawl

75 wall balls

Down and back bear crawl

** I had a GU energy gel in between the classes before doing it all over again. The second time took me a little longer to finish; (and the 2nd round of 45 burpees totally sucked) I had to stay about 5 minutes past the time the class ended to finish my wall balls. But I finished! 🙂

Some other highlights:

• My coworkers came over on Friday the 13^th, and we had an absolute blast. We ate tons of pizza, drank wine, laughed, and watched this movie:

It was SOOOOOOO good! It’s in theaters now, but you can also rent it on Demand, which everyone should do! it is now seriously one of my f-a-v-o-r-i-t-e movies! It’s a musical (And if you know me, you know I loveeeee musicals), and the two characters pretty much sing to each other the whole time, but it is just amazing! The acting, the actors, the music, the lyrics, the storyline. So, so good.

• Speaking of coworkers, oneee of them (I wont name names) thought they’d try and be funny during my runs. We go to the same gym, and she happened to get on the treadmill next to me. So what does she do? She hits MY little red stop button!

Granted, I was only about 0.06 miles into my run, but stilllllll. I laughed, but I also gave her the stink eye at the same time. I think she learned quickly, because she didn’t do it again. 🙂 (And she’s not really rude, shes one of my favs and one of my only readers!)

• I’ve been digging Jesse J’s album Sweet Talker. She has an amazing voice, and it’s made these last few runs flyyyyyyy!
• And I almost forgot Valentine’s Day was in there!

That holiday was just splendid, like it is for most single people.

Joking. It was pretty great. I ate a boatload of chocolate and watched The Last 5 Years a few more times. 🙂

• I signed up for two races, both of which I’m stoked for.

Race #1 – The Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Marathon on March 14^th. HUGEEE thanks to my sponsor, Got Chocolate Milk, for the complimentary entry. Can’t wait to meet new teammates and attempt Marathon #5!!

Race #2 – My 5^th Ragnar – Ragnar Chicago June 12-13^th! I got invited to be a part of a 12-member team with some Team Chocolate Milk buddies. Some very speedyyyyyy buddies. Hopefully I don’t slow the team down that much. 🙂  But nonetheless it will be a fun filled weekend living in a van, running, eating, running, eating, running and not sleeping. Besides lots of choco milk, I also expect there to be a stop for some deep-dish pizza at some point!

How was everyone’s workouts this weeks? Sign up for any races?!

 

The Tough Dodger?!

Superbowl Sunday

-Started with a 2-hr sweatfest on the bike trainer watching the Pink concert on Netflix…She is one talented person.

-Went to my Uncles annual Superbowl party @ 2

-Ate my weight in spinach artichoke dip, garbage bread and cheese and crackers before the game even began

-Continued to gain another 10 lbs. during the game with platefuls of ziti and more garbage bread

-I mayyy have had a drink.

-I think I found my next race: The Tough Dodger

We replayed that commercial like 3 times … and I still laugh.

That poor guy on the bike!

-Managed to lose every single one of my football pools. And I was in 5. FIVE!

Bridesmaid Shopping

Tuesday night I realllly wanted to at least make it to bootcamp since I didn’t do anything on Monday (stupid snow), but my sister asked me to go look at Bridesmaids dresses with her for the first time. Can’t really say no to that.

Her wedding is in October, and I am sure the time will fly! I am honored to be her Maid of Honor, and then there are 6 other girls in the bridal party. Just 4 of us went shopping this first time to help my sister get an idea of what she wants. Besides my sister, my mom, Becky (a bridesmaid), and I went. We hit up two different stores and tried on a few different dresses, but man does she have some tough decisions to make! There are so many gorgeous dresses out there, and she still hasn’t decided on her colors. But whatever she chooses, I have no doubt it will be an absolutely beautiful wedding!

Afterwards, we headed to a fancy restaurant, Tala, for some drinks and food. We ended up just splitting two small pizzas amongst the four of us: a margherita and a white broccoli.

When they came, my sister immediately went for a slice of the white broccoli, which the waitress had placed in front of Becky and me.

I looked up just in time to see the slice tumble off her knife and slowllllllyyyy summersault into my drink, a fresh Gin and Tonic filled to the brim.

I managed to get out most of the broccoli chunks, but the ricotta cheese skid mark? Yea, that baby was stuckkkk on that glass.

Anyways, we laughed for a while, as I choked down an interesting cocktail with my 6 slices of margarita pizza. It’s slightly embarrassing when you manage to consume basically an entire pizza while the three others can happily share one.

When the waitress brought the bill, everyone reached for their purse, and I quickly put my credit card on the table, assuming we were all splitting. Across the table, my mother started waving at Amanda and Becky, saying, “No, no girls. Put your credit cards away. …” I reach in to slowwwwwwlyyyyyy grab mine back, and then I hear it.

“Erika and I got this.”

At first, it was like:

But then I was all like:

*We all thought it was hilarious and joked about it, but really, I’m happy to treat my sister, especially during this special time. 🙂

My First Double Bootcamp:

Since Monday and Tuesday included ZERO workouts, I knew Wednesday had to be intense. And it just happens to be conditioning day at F.I.T. So, instead of taking one class and going to my other gym in hopes of getting a machine (I’ll vent about that in another post), I decided to push myself and take two back-to-back classes.

Oh. My. Gosh.

After a 10-minute warm-up doing things like burpees, supermans, jumping jacks, bear crawls, etc., there was 10 minutes of stretching. Then the fun began:

Three rotations of:

Heavy sled pushes, burpees, kettleball pinwheels, kettlebell thrusters, and rope slams. (1 min., 15 sec. each exercise)

After the first rotation, there was a 6-minute intermission of 100-push-ups.

And after the second rotation, there was yet another 6-minute intermission, only this time: 100 KB weighted goblet squats.

After the first hour, I was huffing and puffing and my arms felt like complete Jello. But I stayed, and did the Whole. Thing. Over. Again.

It wasn’t pretty, for I definitely lack in the whole strength department, but I tried to push myself.

During the workout:

Leaving the gym:

I was like, “I DID IT!!!” (Although I couldn’t really move that fast!) ….Yup, that’s why I love workout out so much! Hellooooo endorphins!

Running:

I haven’t really run since the Dopey Challege. I tried once, but it was pretty ugly.

But my goal is try again this weekend. If all goes well, this will be me.

Which is probably why I don’t make friends at the gym. 😉

Well it was a busy week or so, and I tried my hardest to not slack, but here’s my Workout Recap:

1/28 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

1/29 – Treadmill (12 min.) 1 mile warm-up; Stationary Bike (10 min.) Rode 3.5 miles; Stairmaster (45 min.) Climbed 300 flights; F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

1/30 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

1/31 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.) Stationary Bike (64 min.) Rode 20 miles

2/1 – Bike Trainer (2 hrs.) Rode 34 miles

2/2 – Snow Day 😦

2/3 – Nothing

2/4 – Back to back F.I.T. Bootcamp classes (2 hrs.)

2/5 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

9-Day Total: 11 hours, 11 minutes.

Ughh, that total is a lot lower than I wanted it to be. But, it was a fun week!

Hope yours was just as fun!! 🙂

Change.

Do you want to be BETTER? It is such a simple question. Of course, the answer is YES, I mean, who wouldn’t want to be better? I like to think I strive to be a better person than I was the day before, but in reality, what am I really doing to make that happen?

The bootcamp that I go to sends out daily e-mails, on a variety of fitness related topics, and a lot of them get me thinking. And it gets me thinking not just about my fitness abilities and goals, but also my life in general.

There are just sooo many things I could be doing that would help me become a stronger athlete, that I Just. Don’t. Do.

Nutrition

Diet plays a crucial role in the life of an athlete; there is no denying that. I learned that first hand during Ironman Lake Placid; if I don’t give my body enough calories/fluids, my body will not be able to support my goals. But honestly, I really don’t pay that much attention to nutrition; and weight-wise, I know that I am pretty fortunate with regards to that. For the most part, I try to eat somewhat healthy, but I know I could eat wayyyy better than I actually do. I don’t eat a lot of fruit or vegetables, I eat pizza multiple times a week, I eat a TON of carbs, have a major sweet tooth, and protein/energy bars would probably comprise an entire food group for me. Plus, I’ve been on a major trail mix kick since Christmas.

And by trail mix, I really mean:

Besides what I am eating, I should pay attention to the QUANTITY and QUALITY of those calories. Am I getting in the right ratio of protein/carbs/healthy fats? What about micronutrients? … Basically, I have NO FLIPPIN’ CLUE.

And to BE better, I know I need to make changes. For starters, I should start LOGGING my foods – EVERY single thing I put in my mouth so I can see my areas of strengths and weaknesses. To see where I need to make deviations; to note when my body feels strongest, or sluggish. If something isn’t working, or I’m not making progress in the direction I want to, I will have something to look back on. Something I can learn from.

And like everyone, I like to indulge in the occasional cocktail. Andddd, sometimes I overindulge. I’m sure it affects my performance. Even so, I make sure to carry on with whatever workout I had planned for that day. I at least tell myself if I’m going to drink, then I need to get my workout in. NO. EXCUSES. But I can’t help but wonder if my workout would feel differently had I not drank the night before. Would it feel easier; would I push harder, go further, pedal faster, etc. etc. etc.

Maybe I can try limiting myself to one glass … 😉

Sleep

Sleep is when my body recovers, and even though I try to go to bed early, I’ve always had difficulties falling and staying asleep. When I don’t sleep well, not only do I feel tired throughout the day, but I also know it limits what I can give in my workouts. Am I really able to give 110% on four hours of sleep? What positive changes can I make that will help me reach my goal of 8 hours a night?

Fitness

Everyone knows I like to run, but my pace is pretty consistent at 9, 10, even 11 minute miles. I don’t do tempo runs, fartleks, etc. I don’t follow a plan. How am I going to ever get faster if I don’t do speed work? I have a bike trainer, but I’ve never put the second block on to simulate a hillier course. I kind of just do laps in the pool now, instead of trying new exercises, incorporating swim sprints, etc. So how will my form and time ever improve?

At Bootcamp, I haven’t really added weights to my deadlifts. I probably lift the lightest bar there, maxing out at 105 pounds. I’ve never attempted a higher box jump. I always set it at the lowest level. When toes-to-bar are posted on the board, I don’t even try them. WHY? I like to think I am pushing myself, but when I look at every little thing, there are sooooo many areas I can try harder. And really, it’s just about trying. You’ll never know your limits unless you push them.

Where is my fitness level going, now? Where CAN it go?? But most importantly, I have to probably figure out where I want it to go. What are my GOALS??

Do I want to try and run faster? Break a 1:45 half? Qualify for Boston? Try a Spartan race? Aim for the Trifecta?

If running harder and faster means I get to run less, and do less races, then I probably don’t want to go for that right now. I enjoy being at races/events so much, that I’m happy with where I am. I just like being out there: meeting new people, crossing a finish line, being with friends, etc. So, I guess, at this time, I’d rather be able to do more races at a slower pace, than have to do less. But do I have to choose? Are there changes I can make that can allow me to do both?

What changes am I willing to make? what changes are out of my control?

The same questions I’m trying to answer with regards to my fitness are the same questions I should, and NEED to be making with my life.

Because I sure as hell am not where I thought I would be in my life.

I have my Master’s in Educational Psychology and Methodology.  I feel like I can do absolutely nothing with that degree, and every job I apply to, I usually hear nothing back. Every job I see that sparks some interest in me, seems so out of reach, and I wonder how people get the jobs they have. From working in a student affairs setting, to a study abroad program, to working for IRONMAN (<— DREAM JOB!) … How does one stand out amongst applicants and get noticed?? I JUST want a chance. Even though I am grateful for the job I have, I don’t want to be working in the field forever.

I don’t date. But I don’t want to be single forever. It would be nice to be able to share my life with someone.

I still live at home. I would like my own place, more independence. To not get yelled at when I leave a cabinet door open.

But like above, all the things I want REQUIRE change. Scary changes.

They require facing fears, stepping outside comfort zones, taking chances, making mistakes. They require hard work.

In terms of my career, it requires me figuring out what I really want to do with my life. I’m 26, and I’m sad to say I still don’t know.

I have regrets, like not finishing Teach for America, or for not choosing a different major. But I need to get past those things, devise a plan and finally GO after what I want, no matter what that is.

And maybe the scariest of all,  I need to accept that changes in other areas of my life may lead to changes in my athletic life. If I move out or go back to school, I may not have the funds to do as many races, maintain memberships at the gyms I go to, etc.

If I go back to school, I may be even more strapped for money, and may also have LESS time to work out.

And if I date someone, I may have to ease back on my training or long runs to make time for the other person.

But again, do I have to choose? Or are there changes I can make throughout all areas of my life that will allow me to get closer to my goals? To the life I eventually want to have for myself (even if I don’t quite know what that is yet!)

In summary, it boils down to change. Change can be good, or bad. It can be surprisingly easy, or an enormous struggle. It may feel impossible. It may take try, after try, after try.

But we are capable of it.

Enough of my rambling ….

Here’s my weekly recap:

1/21 – Stationary Bike (67 minutes) Rode 20 miles; Treadmill (8 min.) Cool-down walk; F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

1/22 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

1/23 – Swimming (1 hr.) 2,500 yards (First time back in the pool after 3 months off!)

1/24 – Stairmaster (90 min.) Climbed 561 flights of stairs; Stationary Bike (35 min.) Rode 10 miles (Longest time on the Stairmaster ever!)

1/25 – Bike Trainer (3 hrs., 3 min.) Rode 50 miles of hill repeats

1/26 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

1/27 – Snow Day.

Total: 10 hours, 23 minutes

What are some changes you are trying to make in order to bring you closer to your fitness goals?! … Whatever they are, cheers to being stronger and better than you were yesterday!

Starting 2015 Being Goofy!!

I don’t even know where to begin. But basically, if you like running, and you like Disney, DO A DISNEY RACE.

Or, even if you reallllllyy don’t like running that much … DO A DISNEY RACE! 🙂

It’s unlike any race I’ve done. For me, I had two goals – to go out there and have FUN, and to finish. There was absolutely zero pressure to finish in any sort of time (minus the race cut-off).

My friend and I registered for the Dopey Challenge back in April of last year, and had been looking forward to the trip for some time. She flew down with her family, and I drove down with mine. There, we all stayed in a large 3-bedroom timeshare at Orange Lake, located a few miles from Disney.

The first half of the week was relaxing; like a normal vacation. We slept in, chilled by the pool, played games, drank some frozen cocktails, shopped, went out to eat, etc. etc. etc.

Sooooo happy we got to spend some time poolside soaking up some rays before a cold front moved in later in the week!

Then on Wednesday, we hit up the Expo. It. Was. Huge! It was held at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, and we got there around 11 am so we could have ample time to explore, shop and enjoy!

Even with sooo many people, lines were relatively short, and they were super organized. Gotta love that. Plus, they gave away tonssss of swag … I mean, just for running the Dopey Challenge, we got SIX shirts! And they are all adorable. 🙂

Come Thursday, the races began, along with 3:30 am wake-ups!

You read that right —-> 3:30 A.M.!

That face pretty much sums up how I felt when the alarm went off. Every. Morning.

But, I have to admit, once I got out of bed, I quickly woke up. It was fun getting ready and dressing up, and since our dads brought us each morning we always made a quick stop at Wawa (They loveee Wawa). They got coffee and donuts; and I got to get COFFEE!!! 🙂

The 5K (3.1 miles)

One word: COLD. I know, I know … it’s hard complaining since it supposedly felt like -30 back in Albany, but man, oh man, we were freezing! Since this was the first race and we didn’t know what to expect, we got there superrrr early. Translation: we had to stand in the cold for about 90 minutes before the race even started. It was about 42 degrees, windy, and no humidity.

But once the race started, we warmed up fast and forgot allll about the cold. But for this race, Becky and I didn’t start together – I was in Coral C; Becky was in D. And even though the race started right on time, complete with the national anthem and a fireworks display (which was AWESOME!) … I didn’t cross the start line until about 30 minutes after the initial start.

After the first 1/2 mile or so, we entered EPCOT, and it was SO cool running through the park, before they opened. They still had Christmas decorations up, and all the buildings were all lit up with lights. We ran all around the different countries; it was really beautiful. So many things to look at! Andddd — they had a character or two every mile. That was soo fun! Every time I saw a line of runners off to the side (usually 20-30 runners deep), I’d get all excited and be like, “Who is that!? Which character is that?!?”

Since it was still pretty dark, and my first race, my phone took some crappy pictures, and not all the pics came out 😦 — but I did get a picture with this cool guy:

After finishing the first race Becky and I were on such a high!! It was only a 5k, but we had a blast and were instantly hooked to Disney races!! I was looking SUPER forward to the next 3 days!!!

The 10K (6.2 miles)

I decided to start with Becky this race, and we both started in Coral D. Our goal: Stop at as many characters as possible, take pics, smile and like usual, have fun!

To sum it up: I’d say we accomplished our mission. We ran the whole race together – and it was a blast. We stopped at a ton of characters – our favorite one being MICKEY himself!! We had to wait about 10 minutes for him — but it was soooo worth it. We can do countless races … but how many times do you have the opportunity to stop and take pictures with characters??!

But … we diddddd kinda get in trouble at one point. 😉

The poor sheriff had no idea he’d be a character himself and have a line of runners! It was too funny!

That picture just makes me smile. 🙂 Love Mickey Mouse!

The Half-Marathon (13.1 miles)

Soooo …. for this race, we didn’t have a costume to wear. Which, frankly, made us kind of sad. We couldn’t have that. 🙂 Insert a trip to Target and a silly purchase at Downtown Disney — and we were good to go!

We decided to be what we are 99% of the time: GOOFY!! Althoughhhhh, Grumpy or Sleepy probably would have been fitting costumes as well! 😉 And this is why: I was feeling reallllly stressed before the half (even though my goal was to not stress!!), and just knowing that the alarm was going to go off bright and early, I got ZERO sleep before tackling day 3 of the Dopey Challenge. But seriously, Goofy was a perfect fit: being sleepy just made me more goofy than normal!

Becky and I started the race in our own seperate corals, and I ran the first 7 miles or so solo. I kept a good pace, felt good, and enjoyed these magical miles!!

But then, thanks to our tall hats, Becky and I found each other!!

And, guess where?!?! Waiting in line for none other than:

GOOFY himself!!

How perfect timing was that?!?

We stayed together until the end, but ended up walking a majority of the last 2 miles together. We both felt good, and could have totally ran it, but we also knew we had 26.2 miles waiting for us in less than 24 hours. So we decided to just be more cautious than normal. No sense in pushing since our times were already through the roof.

Once we finished, our families met us at the finish. And my sister and her fiance, Matthew, got out of bed to also cheer us on!! It meant a lot to have everyone there supporting us! 🙂

The Marathon (26.2 miles)

This was the BIG. DAY. The MARATHON. 26.2 miles between you and the finish. Your tired. Your legs are sore. Your feet hurt. Doubt sets in. You think, “Can I do this?!?”

And then something magical happens. The race starts, you put one foot in front of the other, you get into a rhythm. The miles tick by. One after the other.

You run through Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. You run through the Wide World of Sports; on the NASCAR track, around the bases of the baseball field. You run through Cinderella’s castle. You stop and take pictures with every possible character you can. You smile. You laugh. You appreciate. You worry. You dig deep. You start to run the mile you are in. You walk. You walk fast. You keep checking your watch. You start conversation with runners next to you. … You DIG DEEP. Mile 24. Mile 25. Mile 26. Mile 26 you pick up the speed. You run through the hundreds of cheering spectators. You run towards the finish. You hear your name called. YOU CROSS THE FINISH LINE.

That feeling you get from crossing the finish line will never grow old for me. Every single time, it represents so much: dedication, perseverance, commitment, to believing in yourself, to pushing your limits, defeating doubt, to accomplishing a GOAL. It’s a high like no other.

And I am so grateful that these 26.2 miles were filled with so much happiness. Disney, I owe ya one! Here’s just a glimpse inside those 5 hours, 47 minutes:

After Minnie and Daisy, I of course had to stop for a pick with these kind looking folks:

 

 

And of course this guy:

He told me he’d come and visit me on his magic carpet 😉

And, of course, THE BLING!!:

Those are some serious. medals.  … My neck is still sore from all that bling. 😉

I wont go into any more detail since this post is SUPER long, but basically, my foam roller has been my best friend for the past week!!

Andddd lastly, for all those interested, my Workout Recap since my last post:

Week 1:

1/2 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

1/3 – Nothing (Road Trip to FLORIDA!)

1/4 – Nothing (Driving: Day 2!)

1/5 – Stationary Bike (1 hr.) Rode 18 miles of hill repeats; Weights/100 push-ups (20 min.); Walk (30 min.) 2 miles

1/6 – Stationary Bike (1 hr.) Rode 18 miles of hill repeats; 100 push-ups (5 min.); Walking (1 hr.) 4 miles

1/7 – Nothing

1/8 – Disney’s 5K! (49:01) 3.1 miles

Total: 5 hours, 44 minutes

Week 2:

1/9 – Disney’s 10K! (1:45:16) 6.2 miles

1/10 – Disney’s ½ Marathon (3:18:15) 13.1 miles

1/11 – Disney’s Full Marathon (5:47:44) 26.2 miles

1/12 – Rest Day

1/13 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

1/14 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.); Stationary Bike (35 min.) Rode 10 miles

1/15 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

Total: 14 hours, 26 minutes

Week 3 (5 Days):

1/16 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

1/17 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.); Stationary Bike (65 min.) Rode 20 miles

1/18 – Stationary Bike (68 min.) Rode 20 miles

1/19 – Bike Trainer (1 hr.) Rode 17 miles of hill repeats; F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

1/20 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr).

Total: 7 hours, 13 minutes

19-Day Total: 27 hours, 23 minutes (plus LOTS of time stretching!!)

Hope everyone is tackling their 2015 goals and getting in some kick ass workouts in!! Believe in yourself, push through, and enjoy whatever fitness journey you are on!! This is OUR year!! 🙂

Goodbye 2014 … Helloooo 2015!!

First off — HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Crazy how another year has come and gone! 2014 truly was a great year. I learned a lot about myself, tried new things, took chances, accomplished goals and made amazing memories with family and friends, new and old. I feel stronger than ever entering the New Year, and I am super excited for what 2015 will bring!

But with this crazy time of year there comes lots of parties, crazy good food, and LOTS of eating. Lots and lots of eating, anddddd unfortunately, my Workout Recap is not good. Not good in comparison to what I ate. I wanted to do sooo much more, but I got a cold the week of Christmas, and then it was just a super busy time. Old friends were back in town for the holidays, so it was a necessity to spend time with them <— which is always a blast.

Workout Recap:

12/22 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

12/23 – Home Sick 😦

12/24 – Home Sick 😦

12/25 – Bike Trainer (1 hr.)

12/26 – Stairmaster (66 min.); 100 push-ups (5 min.)

12/27 – Treadmill (1 hr. 45 min.). Ran 10 miles; 100 push-ups (5 min.)

12/28 – Binghamton for the day (No workouts)

12/29 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

12/30 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

12/31 – None

1/1 – Treadmill (68 min.) Ran 7 miles; Stationary Bike (1 hr.) Rode 17.5 miles; Chin-ups (5 min.)

With Dopey Challenge next week, I just try and tell myself that taking it easy is a good thing (just like all the cheesecake and cookies! ;-)).

Taper and rest days will be helpful. … I hope anyways!

So in summary (once again):

But let me rewind, and talk about a very magical day: Christmas!!

Christmas is always a special day in our family, filled with smiles, laughter, too many Christmas cookies, and most importantly, each other. We started the day bright and early, with my parents, brother, sister, her fiancé and I enjoying coffee and checking out what Santa brought everyone. And Santa was very good to us this year!

Some highlights:

An IRONMAN medal holder …

Basically, I interpret this as Santa telling me I need to do 4 more IRONMAN’s. 😉

No biggie.

And since Dopey Challenge (Disney’s 5K, 10K, 1/2 and Full Marathon) is next week, Santa also brought some Disney customes to run in! Those will remain secret for now — but expect lots of pictures soon!! 🙂

And since everyone knows my love for fitness, my Aunt bought me some tanks from my favorite company, Lorna Jane. I LOVE their inspirational clothing. Love, love, love!

… And a box of Quest bars. Gotta get that protein. 🙂

Who could not love that tank?!?

After some time opening gifts (and a small snowball fight with the gift wrap) some family started arriving for brunch! My mom always makes my favorite strata, a spinach-wheat one, and I always look forward to it. And of course we popped champagne and had mimosas!!

In between brunch and mimosas, I had some time to spare before the rest of the family arrived. Since I was finally feeling better from my cold, I hopped on my bike trainer to get in a solid hour of exercise in before enjoying the rest of the day. It went by fast (maybe the mimosas??) – and then it was back to family!

Insert an afternoon of a gazillion appetizers, stories, giggles, jokes, drinks and gifts with aunts, uncles, cousins, my Grandma … it was just all GREAT!

We eventually sat down for dinner around 6. At the dinner table, my Grandma asked me to say Grace this year. I was happy to, and then right in the middle of thanking God for all our blessings of health, happiness, etc. – my Grandma says, “THANK YOU ERIKA, that was beautiful!” … Welp, I’m guessing someoneeeee was hungry (and/or left their hearing aids at home!). 😉 Everyone’s laughter ended that Grace … Amen!

It’s fun loving memories like that that make the day so special. ❤

After dinner, which for me consisted of about 4 plates of Turkey and gravy, and a smidgen of sweet potatoes, we busted out another one of Santa’s presents: Cards Against Humanity. For anyone not familiar with this game –> You are probably a good person. Basically, it’s a game for horrible people. It crosses all types of boundaries, but OMG, it is hysterical. And playing with my 83 year-old Grandma brought it to an entirely new level. We laughed, and laughed, and then laughed some more. I actually don’t think I’ve ever seen my uncle laugh so hard. …Good times. And probably going to sound like a broken record, but it is definitely what the holidays are all about -> spending time with loved ones, and making memories. I’d say mission accomplished. 🙂

New Year’s Eve was another special day, and it is also my mom’s birthday! I rang in the New Year with the Birthday girl and some neighbors, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It was a great night, and I managed to stay up until the ball dropped!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and a safe and fun New Year’s — and I wish everyone a wonderful 2015 filled with health and happiness!!!

Some Races, a PR, and Lots of Brownies

A lot has happened since IM Maryland – it’s been a busy 3 months!! Since that race had not originally been on my race calendar, I was already signed up for 3 half-marathons the 3 consecutive weekends following Maryland. Talk about potentially overdoing it.

Half #1: the Adirondack Half Marathon in Schroon Lake, NY. I had NO idea how I would feel after pretty much beating my body up for 16+ hours of nonstop exercise 7 days before. A part of me thought I should just go and volunteer, while supporting my friends up their racing. BUT – I have a hard time saying no and I do like to push myself! Even if I had to walk, I decided to go for it – and I am so glad I did! It was a B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L race, and picture perfect sunny day. The scenery was just so amazing, running around the lake with the leaves changing. But… It was hilly. Not gonna lie, that sucked… and there mayyy have been some cursing. Okay, a lot of cursing. But I ended up running most of it, and finished feeling strong in 2:19:35 (which is about my average finishing time). And the post-race food spread was on-point! Bagels, brownies, cookies … did I say brownies? Yup. So, so many delicious brownies.

Half #2: was the Mohawk-Hudson Half-Marathon, and we were blessed with another perfect day to race. And I don’t know how I did it – but I PR’d by over 6 minutes and had my first ever sub 2-hour half!! I was soooo excited!! But with all I had done the past couple weekends – I was not expecting it – at all!

The course is flat, and I felt good for the most part. And when I saw my Garmin at mile 11 and realized I could potentially go sub 2, I had to dig deep and push. It was a challenge; I had to maintain a sub 8:30 min/mile pace for the final 2.1 miles. And I basically all-out sprinted for the final 0.3 miles into the finish. Luckily, a Ragnar friend was able to capture that final stretch… and oh man, my face:

Justttt hideous. I reallllly hope I don’t normally look like that when I run! S-c-a-r-y.

Once I finished I headed right towards the food tent to grab some my go-to: chocolate milk. 2 bottles! And then I noticed the massage tent — which had NO line! This has never happened to me before. By the time I normally finish, they usually make you write down your name and they say they’ll call you in 30 – 60 min. Not this time! — there are PERKS to finishing so quickly! 😉 Anyways, that 10 min. massage felt heavenly! I was so sore!

Afterwards I headed right back to the finish to cheer my friend Becky on, who also had a great race and PR’d!! Such a great day for both of us!!

Half #3: The Empire Half in Syracuse, and last race of the year. Becky and I drove up for the weekend. The day before, we had a fun time checking out the expo, shopping, eating ourselves into a food coma, and staying way too long in the Brookstone massage chairs.

Race morning was f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g. It was super cold, and super windy. We stayed in our cars as long as possible. When we finally headed to the start, I had to run to the bathroom quick. With about 20 minutes before the gun, I thought I had plenty of time. Nope. It seemed like the entire race was in the line for the porta potties. And somehow, I ended up being the lastttt one. The race started right as it was finally my turn, and as I hurried towards the start line, all the runners had already made it through the start. No big deal, the crowd of spectators probably just thought I was running late — until the guy with the freakin megaphone yells, “Here comes another runner; she must have been in that long porta potty line!!”.

One word:

Just kidding. I thought it was kinda funny. 🙂 Anyways, this race hurt. I’m glad it was the last one for some time; I think my body needed a break. I wanted to stop sooo many times; but since it was so cold and windy I kept trudging along, yet at a slow pace. Once I saw the finish, I was ecstatic. But I finished with a slower time of 2:32:52. Even though it wasn’t my best race, it was still a great race – scenic, flat, and I got to run next to my friend basically the entire time!

I would definitely do all three of those half-marathons again! All were fun and super well run!

With the 2014 racing season over, some people cut back their workouts during what is called an “off-season.” I love working out too much, so I knew I didn’t want to take an “off-season” – but I knew I needed to cut back on some cardio before I got burnt out. So to keep things fresh and to help me get stronger, I joined a local Strength and Conditioning gym that offers 6 Bootcamp classes a week (think Burpees (LOTS OF BURPEES!), box jumps, bear crawls, sled pushes, chin ups, dead lifts and other forms of torture). I took some of their classes during the Spring and loved it, and knew I wanted to go back. Plus, the people are awesome. And besides kicking @ss in the gym by doing things I would never attempt to on my own, they do cool things like play dodgeball and go on bar crawls. <— Who wouldn’t love a gym like that?

I enjoyed tracking my workouts earlier this year, but have basically stopped for the last couple of months. It helps me to see my progress and if I’m improving, and sharing it on the blog helps keep me accountable. So, once again, I am starting to track! I know, I know — it’s super exciting stuff 😉

Workout Recap:

12/15 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.); Stationary Bike (66 min.) Rode 20 miles

12/16 – Treadmill (75 min.) Ran 7.5 miles; F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

12/17 – Stairmaster (66 min.) Climbed 400 flights; Treadmill (5 min.); 0.30 miles cool-down; F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

12/18 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

12/19 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.); Stationary Bike (35 min.) Rode 10 miles

12/20 – F.I.T. Bootcamp (1 hr.)

12/21 – Treadmill (2 hrs., 30 min.) 13.1 miles

Total Time: 12 hours, 37 minutes

And speaking of tracking, I haven’t been in the pool for over 2 months now!! AH! I seriously need to get back into a routine doing laps a couple times a week, or I’m going to back to swimming like a rock. …

Yup. That picture pretty much sums it up perfectly 😉

I have A LOT of goals for 2015 (which I’ll share later!)– and I hope to start the new year feeling stronger than ever!!

First up in 2015: The DOPEY Challenge in DISNEY WORLD!!! So flipping excited!! A 5k, 10k, half-marathon and full marathon in 4 consecutive days. Less than 3 weeks away!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

And, last but not least – HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!! It’s the season of giving, of hope. Appreciate what you have, spend time with loved ones. Smile, laugh, eat, indulge in those favorite Christmas cookies you love. Reflect. Make goals. ENJOY it all!! 🙂

IRONMAN Maryland

It’s December … and I’m just attempting to recap my experience at IRONMAN Maryland now. The race was held September 20^th; almost 3 months have passed. I tried many times after the race to sit down and just write, but I often found myself staring at a blank computer screen. It seems almost foolish to write it now, but a fellow racer reminded me that it is never too late to document such a special and unique journey.

Why I couldn’t write it afterwards? I honestly don’t know. The last post on my blog has been of my DNF (Did Not Finish) in Lake Placid…so actually giving the full distance another try, and finishing is a dream I am so, so proud of. And I think that was part of the problem. I was so overwhelmed from the entire experience, I was fearful words wouldn’t do it justice. The race itself was so magical; so many emotions comprised those 16 hours, 28 minutes and 47 seconds. How could I possibly convey everything?! But, in the end, I write for me. I write because I like to, and I want to have something to remind me of this experience. And if it happens to help others who are thinking about embarking on a similar journey, then that is an added bonus – one that helped motivate me even more to finally sit down and write!

Background

I registered for IM Maryland on September 10th, exactly 10 days before the race. … It took me a long time to actually register, but ever since I failed at my first IRONMAN attempt after 130+ miles (you can read about that here: https://erikaruns.wordpress.com/2014/08/08/ironman-lake-placid-my-first-dnf/ ), IRONMAN Maryland had always been on my radar.

But clicking that big red “Register” button and actually committing to Maryland was difficult – the thought of spending $700 for a race I had the potential to not finish again was scary.  Besides the money, I didn’t know how I would handle another DNF; I would be devastated and humiliated all over again, and I knew that if I didn’t make it a second try, it would be a while before I tried again. But at the same time, I knew I would hate myself if I didn’t go for it.

After signing up, I tried to go into this race with a totally different mindset than with LP. Before, I had been extremely stressed and put a lot of pressure on myself. And I knew I was going to be extremely stressed with Maryland (maybe even more so!), but I tried my hardest to just relax. I was very aware that I could fail again, and I tried to be okay with and prepare for that possibility. I knew I didn’t have a solid nutrition plan. I knew there would be a lot of unknowns come race day. I didn’t know how my body would react to attempting another full IRONMAN just 8 weeks after Lake Placid, and 3 weeks after finishing a half. Would it be too much? But, with persevering and by not giving up, I also knew there was a possibility that I could finish, and that is what I clung to.

Whatever happened, I knew I would have a great experience with teammates and I was excited to experience the thrill of an IRONMAN race again.

Race Weekend

My parents and I drove down Thursday night after work, and went through athlete check-in Friday morning. It was official, no turning back now! I had fun with my parents walking around athlete village and exploring the small, friendly town of Cambridge, MD. We ate at a cute little restaurant, took pictures, walked along the shore and checked in my bike and gear bags. And thanks to Got Chocolate Milk, my parents and I had VIP status for the race. I was extremely grateful, for I knew my parents were going to be treated well while I was out on the course for who knew how many hours!!

I also had a blast meeting some of my Got Chocolate Milk teammates — all of them have raced multiple IRONMANs and are pretty much all around a-m-a-z-i-n-g. They make these races look like a breeze, and being around them really helped to calm my nerves. We talked, we laughed … and they even convinced me to take a pyramid picture. Days Weeks before an IRONMAN, I walk around like bubble boy trying not to hurt anything, so getting on my hands and knees with someone climbing on my back was kind of a big deal for me. 😉 But it aligned perfectly with my goal of just trying to have FUN and enjoy the weekend with great people, no matter what the outcome! 

Race Day

Got to transition around 4:30 am or so … checked my bike, gear (all okay and ready to go!) and met up with the Team one more time for some pictures, laughs, and final “Good Lucks!”

The Swim ~ 2.4 miles (01:45:16)

With a high focus on nutrition, I remembered to have a GU about 30 min. prior to the swim start. After that, I put on my wetsuit, hugged my parents, and self-seeded myself in with the 1:30 expected swim time group. There were no pros at this race, so when the cannon fired at 6:50 am, the age-groupers immediately began entering the water.

Entering the water was a little slow, but we still all managed to be in the water by 7:05 or so. As we all had to enter through a narrow boat ramp, it was a little bottlenecked at first. But once we made our first right turn, it opened up. Having only swam in lakes (free-style anyways), I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in the Choptank River. It was brackish water, so half fresh, half salt. Thankfully, it wasn’t very different from my past open-water experiences. You could definitely taste the salt, but it wasn’t overpowering. But the water was dirty, and I couldn’t see anything. It was nothing but black/brownish water, then foggy cloud for the entire two-loop swim.

Knowing we had 2.4 miles to cover, I knew it was going to be a decent amount of time in the water. It was also a little choppy being out there, but not as choppy as the swim I had done in Lake George 3 weeks prior. I just tried to find my rhythm, stay swimming in the right direction, and to stay calm. If I did those things, I knew I’d be getting out of the water eventually. But dang, did the swim feel lonnnnggggg. I felt like I was swimming forever!!

And I guess I was. For when I finally reached the exit and saw my watch, my Garmin read a time of 1:45 — 15 minutes slower than my goal time. But even so, I was very happy to be exiting the swim! One part was DONE, and I made the 2:20 cut-off!! And I later learned that just about every athlete had a slower than expected swim time, by about 10 minutes or so, due to a current. Its weird to think that I was out there swimming for that long of a time, non-stop … no touching bottom, no grabbing onto a raft, etc. –> When I first took up swimming back in March, I had NO idea how I would finish a half-Ironman swim of 1.2 miles. It’s amazing seeing yourself progress, and to break through ceilings you previously believed in!!

T-1 ~ (10:32)

Coming out of the water, I was smiling, until I took off my goggles — OMG. I felt like I ripped off all the skin around my eyes. Those babies were super-sunctioned to my face … it hurt!! But the sting quickly wore off and I was back to smiling and running my way through T-1, smiling and waving to my parents! There was a quick stop at the wet-suit strippers, then it was off to the changing tent to switch into my bike gear!

The Bike ~ 112 miles (07:19:48)

The 112-mile journey was extremely scenic, and pancake flat. Totally different elevation compared to Lake Placid. Of course, there are pros and cons to a flat course, just like there are to a hilly course. With a flat course, you get no respite from pedaling. And if its windy, it can feel like you are climbing, except there is no reward of a downhill. But man, did we really luck out weather-wise! The wind was minimal: under 10 mph all day! It was just a beautiful, sunny day!! The weather could have easily been different; Cambridge often has much, much windier days. But as with any IRONMAN, weather is out of our control. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best. And I think we were blessed with the best!

The first half was smooth-sailing. I was cruising at a moving speed of about 17 mph per my Garmin, and I was all smiles. I tried to sit back, pedal and enjoy all the wonderful scenery – it kind of reminded me of movie The Lion King! And at one point I looked down and saw a ladybug on my handlebars. That made me smile, as I took it as a good luck sign. And I immediately made a wish that I would reach the finish line — a wish I thought about many times during the next 10+ hours!

I was also EXTREMELY focused on eating and drinking during this segment, since nutrition is a huge weakness of mine. I struggle to consume enough calories and fluids … and my past plans have failed. Severe dehydration ended my day in LP, and when I experiemented with new things in my last half, I faced extreme stomach pains. So even though I was focusing on it, I didn’t totally know what to expect, or how I would feel. It was going to be another day of experimenting.

I made a bottle of Hammer Perpetuem, a high-calorie endurance drink (my bottle had 540 calories) at T-1, and again half-way through the bike. It kind of tasted like chalk, but it was an easy way to get calories and fluids in at the same time. I also had CLIF bars, Lara Bars, high-calorie granola bars I bought at Whole Foods, salt tabs (didn’t end up taking any), and a bunch of pre-made packets of GU Brew, an electrolyte powder I would dump in my water bottles at the aid stations.

I tried to drink at least one full bottle of water/GU Brew every half-hour, and consume 250-300 calories per hour –> more than triple what I did during the bike portion of Lake Placid. I think I succeeded, and for the most part, I felt good. And having to stop and quickly use the restroom each hour during the bike, I knew I was drinking enough.

The last 40 miles were rough. I’ve rode centuries before, both flat and hilly, and I’ve never had my toes hurt as bad as they did then. I had to mentally start breaking down the miles into segments of 5 to keep going; and I seriously contemplated asking a volunteer if they had a pocket knife or something so I could cut the tops of my shoes with. I didn’t, I kept pushing through, but I worried how the run would be with my toes being in so much pain. I was worried.  … But I wasn’t alone. I stopped at one point to just put my feet down for a second on the ground, and another biker said she was experiementing the same thing … she told me to try pulling up more on the upstroke, and that did seem to help relieve some pressure on my toes for the final 12 miles in.

And I was OH, SOOO happy when those 112 miles were done!! And just like in LP, I was super grateful for no flats or mechanical issues!!

T-2 (9:39)

I pulled into the transition area after 112 long miles, and immediately saw my parents waiting for me. I think I looked better at this point than I did in LP (no tears!), but I also knew the next and final segment was going to be a longggg road to the finish. It was going to require every ounce of my being to keep moving forward. To start the journey, I knew I needed fuel, so walking out of T-2, I ate the chocolate brownie LaraBar I had left from the bike (220 calories).

The Run ~ 26.2 miles (07:03:32)

Starting the run, the sun was beating down strong with the temp being around 80 degrees. It was HOT, and there was virtually no shade on the course. Athletes who had already been on the run course for some time looked pretty drenched in sweat. Fearful of what happened to me in LP, I decided to start out walking. I figured when the sun went down I could start running. I knew I drank wayyy more during this bike portion, but I knew dehydration was still a risk since I was basically winging my entire nutrition plan.

And the run is where I started to struggle big-time with nutrition. The LaraBar I ate at T-2 was basically the last food I could stomach, besides a handful of potato chips at one of the first aid stations. After that, I survived 26.2 miles on nothing but water, Coca-Cola, and chicken broth. Definitely not ideal. I tried to grab 2 of the tiny cups of water at every aid station, but I was worried about my electrolytes and salt intake. I’ve heard horror stories of athletes having to be hospitalized from over-hydrating on water and depleted sodium levels. So I still tried to get things down, but I gagged trying to drink the Gatorade Perform, and I did the same thing with GU’s. After one such attempt with a GU, I thought I was going to hurl right on the course … which lucky for me, the photographer happened to capture:

…And it had the potential to be such a great shot!! 😉

The run was comprised of three loops, each loop being a little over 8 miles. I finally saw my teammates on the first loop of the run, who all gave me hugs! And being able to see my parents two times every loop was super motivating for me … but I also fell apart each time I saw them. Yes, there were tears. Lots of tears. I would cry, shake my head, and tell them I couldn’t do it. Every time I passed them, it felt like it would be forever before I would see them again, and I doubted if I could finish.

But I kept moving forward, and when my Team Chocolate Milk Teammates were finished, they were out on the course by the finishing area to cheer me on as I passed. And Dougin gave me great pep talks to keep going, making me believe I could do it. They were tracking my pace, and kept telling me all I had to do was keep walking, and I would finish. He told me I would be much happier with myself if I didn’t give up, and I needed that reminder. It couldn’t have been truer.

But by mile 11, my legs and toes hurt so badly I felt like I was walking on stress fractures. And knowing I wasn’t even HALF-WAY through was ROUGH. But talking to other athletes who were walking helped to distract me, and it was comforting to know I wasn’t alone. Everyone out there was experiencing the same thing, and no one was giving up. And everyone roots for each other. Such a beautiful thing.

I grew hungrier as the miles ticked by as I started the second lap, and I just kept trying to drink Coca-Cola (and I never drink soda!) … It was the only thing I could stomach with calories. The second lap was long … and making that third and final turnaround was the hardest. As it was about 9:30 or so at night, just about everyone was making the left hand turn towards the finish. They were done. I had to turn right, and venture into the darkness for another 8+ miles. I kept trying to tell myself just one more lap, just one more lap … but I was bawling as I ran at the only pace I could … a snails pace.

And then, out of the massive crowd, this woman came up beside me, running alongside the outside of the barrier, yelling, “I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BUT DO NOT GIVE UP!!! I DON’T RUN, AND I AM RUNNING NOW TO TELL YOU THIS! YOU CAN DO THIS; DO NOT GIVE UP!!!” She brought a smile to my face as the tears fell, and I can’t even tell you how much this stranger’s act of kindness impacted my race. Her words literally helped carry me through that final stretch … I will never forget it!

And when I passed my parents again on that final loop, my dad started walking with me along the sidewalk. We promised my mom we’d see her soon, and with his help (He stayed with me for two miles, waited for me to head out to the out-and-back, and then walked back those two miles with me!!), we saw her again around 11:15. I had about ONE MILE LEFT!!

We knew at this point I would make it … and the three of us headed towards the finish area from transition as one. When we reached the finish area, they went into the VIP tent as I headed up the street to do the last 1/2 mile turn-a-round. This time, turning LEFT into the cheering crowd instead of right back into the darkness. … I couldn’t have been more excited!

The Finish (16:28:47)

The finish was everything I had dreamed it would be, and more. To finally see and hear the finish around 11:30 pm, after starting at 7:00 am, was unreal. SO. MANY. EMOTIONS. I will always remember the song that was blaring as I ran (lets be real, waddled) down the finisher chute with the largest smile on my face and tears in my eyes – Pink’s “Raise your Glass.” People were yelling, clapping, whistling, and wildly offering their hands for some awesome high-fives.

And then I heard the six magical words I had waited so long to hear, “Erika Morrissette, you are an IRONMAN!!”As I crossed the finish, I waved to my parents and teammates who were right there in the VIP tent. I can’t tell them enough how much it meant to me to have them there. … I DID IT.

I’ve dreamed about crossing that finish line for over a year, and it will forever go down as one of the best days of my life. Even though I am extremely slow and finished almost last; even though I finished with less than 32 minutes to spar before the 17-hour cutoff. Honestly, I couldn’t care less about my time. For me, finishing signified so much more than just a time. I’ve quit so many things in my life, but today, I didn’t quit. Throughout this entire journey, I didn’t quit. I perservered when times were rough. I dug deep and found strength I didn’t know I had. I believed in myself and kept moving forward. I proved to myself soooo many things, and I will be forever grateful for that.

You doubt yourself. You say you can’t do something. And then you DO IT … There is NO greater feeling!!

Afterwards, I immediately caught up with my parents and teammates (who all rocked the course, and who stayed to watch me finish!) — for some hugs and congratulatory words. I was hungry, but I couldn’t stomach any food directly after the race. Instead I grabbed two bottles of chocolate milk (my always go-to!) and it has never tasted better! I drank them sitting with my teammates in the VIP area, talking about our days as we watched/cheered on the final finishers of the night.

When midnight fast approached, everyone started to head out, and I said my goodbyes to my teammates. I cannot even imagine how I would have gotten back to T-1 to pick up my gear and bike had I gone to the race solo. Again, SOOO glad my parents were there! My dad was able to grab my stuff from transition while I was on the run, so he had the car packed and ready to go. And instead of having to walk 1+ mile to the car, he grabbed the car and picked my mom and I up basically right at the finish.

But without a hotel room, we were heading straight back home to Albany. Note to self: after working out for approx. 17 hours, getting in the backseat of a car for a 7+ hour drive is not the brightest idea! I can only imagine what I must have looked like walking to the bathroom at rest areas. I don’t believe I’ve ever been as stiff and sore in my life!! BUT — there was absolutely no complaining from me! And since I couldn’t sleep (I was on CLOUD NINE!! — and maybeee the 4 liters of Coca-Cola played a role), I just sat in the back, rehashing the day, with the BIGGEST smile on my face … for the entire car ride home.

I think I am still smiling — 3 months later! Just the best weekend!! SO THANKFUL for every single person who helped me, believed in me … and for all of the amazingly kind words I received from friends and family. I am so blessed to have such caring people in my life!! This experiernce WOULD NOT have been the same without you all — so again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

And last but not least … if dragging my parents to MD to spectate for a short 17-hour race wasn’t bad enough, they surprised me with this treat Sunday night. ❤

I wont tell you how big my slice was 😉

And … that 140.6 bumper sticker is finally on my car! 🙂