Nevermind that I have 3 jobs as a pediatric occupational therapist, a 9 year old daughter with sassitude, bursitis in my hip from too much trail running, PTSD from attempting to climb Mt. Rainier in a major wind/rain storm just 3 days before attending IM Canada, and a husband that doesn't exactly support my crazy idea of adding more stress to my already bulging calendar. None of the above mattered once I got that little bug that just would not leave me alone.
What didn't help matters was, I met a great gal named Kelly while training to summit Mt. Rainier who I seemed to bond with instantly. And guess what? She was training for Ironman Arizona! We talked triathlon throughout our mountaniering training. We struggled in the cold, the wind, and the rain to summit that damn mountain, but neither of us could muster the strength to keep our bodies fueled and stable enough to endure the high winds and chill that hit hard at 2:00 am up there above Camp Muir. We attempted the summit, but failed (she went back a couple of weeks later with great success and summitted). I, on the other hand, could not get the images of what I experienced up there on Mt. Rainier out of my head: deep crevasses that I could only see by shining my headlamp down into their seemingly bottomless pits as I stepped over them, winds that threatened my balance on narrow ledges as I was tugged on by ropes tied to guides and fellow hikers both in front of and behind me, hypothermia as I sat on my pack in the dark on a "rest break" where the guides told me to do sit-ups to stay warm, and ascending/descending rock falls in the pitch black night while the guide yelled out, "I hear rock fall...keep your eyes peeled!" My thoughts throughout this process: screw this crap...I'd rather be doing an Ironman!
After LOTS of thoughts, including: Can I really do this? Can I afford this? Will my husband support me? Will my daughter be proud of me or resent me for being gone so much? Can my body handle the training? Will my hip heal? Will my immunity hold up? UGH! So many questions, but no matter what the answers were, I still wanted to sign up.
The journey began when I wrote the date and time of Ironman Arizona online registration for 2012 in my calendar. But when I told my new friend Kelly about my plan, she told me they will sell out before it even gets online. The best bet would be to volunteer at IMAZ 2011 and sign up on site. Believe it or not, I convinced my husband to go volunteer with me (it helped that I said he could fly me there in his dad's little 4-seater Cirrus airplane). He liked the idea (due to the plane being involved) and signed up to volunteer with me. A few days before we were to leave, my hubby's dad said the plane was out of commission...kaput...broken. I thought for sure I'd be driving myself the 10 hours to volunteer alone. Surprise! He actually went with me! We had a blast volunteering at the Pirate Aid Station #1 on the run course. What a an amazing experience to help all those runners that look like the dawn of the dead. And I want to do this?
So, to make a long story short, I am registered for IMAZ 2012 and I am so excited! The research has begun for the best training schedule, the best diet, the best healing techniques for my hip, and the best way to keep myself healthy even though I work with little kids that are constantly sick. We'll see what I come up with, but the research stage is still ongoing and I'm getting worried that I need to make a plan soon because time will pass quicker than expected. For now, I am riding and running (road and trail) 5 days a week for only 45-75 minutes each time...just working on my aerobic base while giving my hip time to continue it's healing process. I'm a vegetarian with lactose intolerance and many gut issues, considering going vegan and quite possibly trying gluten free as well. I realize all this might make finding the perfect training fuels difficult, but I'm really wanting to get my immunity boosted and my gut happy.
Happy training!
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