Ironman Arizona

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Preparing for the Desert

Posted by ookgirl on November 10, 2013
Posted in: Ironman, Ironman Arizona, Living Kidney Donation, triathlon. Tagged: , . 7 Comments

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We have seven days left until Ironman Arizona, so it’s time to pack our suitcases and prepare our minds for the desert. Not long ago, my stepfather (and kidney recipient) asked me why I chose to do an Ironman in Arizona, instead of some place more familiar and somewhat within driving distance, like Florida. The question really caught me off-guard, because it made me question my decision, one that I made over a year ago and have been working toward ever since. I do have my reasons (a somewhat flat course, the weather is warm now, but not too hot, and no humidity)… but in the end, this is what I chose and re-thinking it now is futile. It helped to watch this video again from last year’s IMAZ; it really makes me excited to think I’m about to do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrsqgPgekW4&sns=em

Still, I am a little nervous about the fact that – to me, someone who grew up on the East Coast, going to Arizona is going to seem a little like going to another planet. But I am transfixed by the idea that the desert is a spiritual place. A place you can go and find yourself. So, that brings us to the point of having to decide what to pack for a trip to the desert. I have a number of triathlon checklists that I’ve been referring to. And we already packed quite a bit of our tri stuff in the bags we sent with our bikes. (We shipped them through TriBike Transport, and for an extra fee, you can ship a bag along with your bike.) So, I’ve taken care of my helmet, bike shoes, gloves, sunglasses, neoprene swim cap, goggles, extra tubes, extra CO2 cartridges, an extra tire (given my luck with tires), and numerous other small items. We didn’t pack a bike pump, so we’re hoping they have enough of them in the transition area that we can borrow one.

We will have to pack our nutrition stuff and other clothes in our luggage. Key race day clothing items include our RaceJoy shirts (see photo above). RaceJoy is a really cool company our friends started. It provides mobile technology that tracks an athlete while racing or training, so that loved ones/spectators can know where they are and even send them a “cheer” while they are out on a training ride or a race course. We’ve been testing it for our friends throughout our training — on long rides and runs and even in a couple of our races. Unfortunately, when our friends asked Ironman whether they could load the course into their app and track us during the race, Ironman said no, because the app currently requires that we carry a cell phone with us on the bike and run, and it’s against the rules to carry a phone in the Ironman. So, we won’t be doing that. But we will still be wearing our RaceJoy kits in the race and sporting their great slogan, “Bringing Joy to the Race”. I am excited about that, because I really want this to be a joyful experience, and I hope that seeing the slogan will put a smile on other athletes’ faces when they really need it. (In the future, RaceJoy may use a simple tracking device that can be worn – without needing to carry a cell phone. We hope to help them test that out as well. It’s fun to be part of something like this!)

As for other stuff I plan to pack, that will include a very wide range of clothing! While we are in Tempe, the temps will go from lows in the 50s to highs in the upper-70s, maybe low-80s. But when we drive north to Sedona and the Grand Canyon after the race, the temps will drop. So, we need to have both shorts and long pants, t-shirts and coats. Lots of layering! I don’t want to pack too much, though, because I’m hoping to buy some finisher gear, and I’ll need that space in my suitcase!

Watching the video I mentioned above really reminds me that even though I will care about my finish time at some point, and even though I know friends and family members will be tracking us online that day and evaluating our times to determine how we’re doing — in the end, I just want to finish. Right now, I sit before you – a person who does not know if she can complete an Ironman. I hope to rectify that soon. It’s just a huge thing to *not know* if you can do something … and then to do it. That’s all I’m going for here!

Before I close this post, I have to mention my husband, Craig, and reflect on the huge role he has played in my journey thus far. He started doing triathlons back in the mid-90s. I don’t even know if I went to his first triathlon. I did go watch quite a few of them, though. And while I was always in awe of him, it always just seemed like ‘that crazy triathlon stuff Craig did…’ not something I was even remotely surprised that he could do, and definitely not something I thought I would ever do. To this day, I feel bad that I wasn’t in Florida to see him do his first 140.6-distance race – The Great Floridian. I had started a new job and couldn’t take the time off to go. But I wish I had anyway. Now that I know what it takes to do this sort of thing, I hate the fact that I wasn’t there to see him cross that first finish line (even though I saw him do his other six Ironman-distance races).

Perhaps it’s because I know what kind of person Craig is – that I’ve never been surprised by his ability to do these types of things. Craig totally does things his own way, never following the pack. He’s driven from the inside out. He does what has to be done, when it needs to be done, no matter what the circumstances. Even though he’s extremely nice and personable, always making jokes and making people feel at ease, he’s also made of steel. He’s so strong. He constantly helps people who are in need, but he doesn’t cut anyone slack if they should be able to do things on their own.  When I decided to follow his path, he was right there with me to give me the best advice I could possibly get and make sure I could stand on my own. Truth be told, there have been times this year when I would have completely taken an easier path, given up on training rides, packed it in early, skipped workouts, etc. — But I didn’t because he was there, doing them along side me, and not giving up, because that is not in his vocabulary. He actually never pushed me to do any of this, but just waited for me to say I wanted to. And by “waited” – I mean he waited until I took the steps on my own. He didn’t make it easy for me; he put it on me to show that I was serious about wanting to do it. If I’m ever really having a hard time and need help, he’s there. But if I’m just being wimpy, he doesn’t give me an out, he just lets me dig my own hole. That gooberhead! 🙂

Seriously, though, I couldn’t have asked for a better person to show me the realities of what I’m about to try and do. It will be hard for me to do this race without constantly wondering how his race is going. We are such a team, and yet this is an individual event. We will be together in the desert doing this thing. But we will also be alone, finding ourselves out there. When we find each other at the finish line, I wonder how the desert will have changed us and what kind of journey it will have prepared us for … next.

-Ookgirl

Allow Me to Explain…

Posted by ookgirl on October 21, 2013
Posted in: Cycling, Ironman, Ironman Arizona, Living Kidney Donation, triathlon. Tagged: , , , . 3 Comments

Twenty-seven days remain before IMAZ, so I thought I should explain some things for the vast legions of you out there who are reading this blog 😉

First of all, I know there are actually only a few of you, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me and reading along! Secondly, my Mom recently started reading, and it made me realize that I have been throwing around a lot of jargon without explaining it. Here are some terms that might have tripped up the non-Tri-ers among you:

IMAZ – This stands for Ironman Arizona. I’ve always been pleased that I picked a race with a truly pronounceable acronym, unlike Lake Placid (IMLP) or Florida (IMFL) or Mont Tremblant (IMMT)… Not that those aren’t all excellent races. But hey, IMAZ is fun to say 🙂

Bonking – This is when an athlete runs out of steam and hits the proverbial wall, making an imaginary, but deafening, “bonk” sound. We don’t want this to happen … Ever.

Big chainring/ small chainring – These are the circular cog-like things on a bike that the chain latches onto in order to make the bike go when you pedal. The big one is in the front, and the small one is in the back. We got mine sorted out, by the way. Craig (my husband) figured out that the place where I change gears was not acting right, and he fixed it. Yay!

Nutrition – You’d think that we use this term to just talk about what we eat all the time, like most people. But actually, inTri-speak, this refers to just what we eat while we are training or racing. You see, the body wasn’t really made to eat on the run (or on the ride). When you’re exercising, your body wants to focus on the exercise, not on digesting stuff. But in order to keep racing through the breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner times of the day, you have to eat while you’re on the go. So, there are various sports foods out there, designed to make this easier. Even so, they don’t work equally well for everyone. So, that’s why you’ll hear triathletes talk about “dialing in” their nutrition. It’s one of the hardest things to do in long-distance triathlon. By the way, I tried out the liquid Perpetuem on our long brick this past weekend, and it worked better than the solid tablets for me.

Brick – I just used this term in the sentence above and failed to explain it… A brick is typically a bike-run workout, but it can be any of the three triathlon disciplines strung together. You can do a swim-bike brick, for example. The idea is to get used to doing these things one after the other with no real break in between.

Racking the bike – When you do a race, you have what they call a Transition Area, where all the athletes’ bikes are set up for them to grab and jump on after the swim. The bikes are hooked onto racks, so they stay upright. The athletes typically rack their own bikes (i.e., set up the bikes) themselves before the race, and they place all their accessories on the bike – ready to go. A lot of thought goes into this process, because you want to make sure you have everything you need and that it’s easy to get to quickly. Spending a lot of time in the Transition Area between the legs of a race is frowned upon, since that time counts toward your overall time in the race.

T1, T2 – the T stands for Transition, and the first one (T1) stands for the transition from swim to bike. So this is when you come out of the water, take off your wetsuit, if you’re wearing one, and put on your helmet, shoes, etc. for the bike. T2 is when you transition from bike to run… Remove helmet, bike shoes, put on run cap and run shoes, etc. You will hear triathletes talk about how things went in T1 or T2… This is what they are talking about. We also get split times for while we are in transition. These are the times for how long we spent there. We don’t like these to be long, as I said above.

Chips & Split Times – With modern technology, the race organizers are able to track everyone’s time via a chip that you wear around your ankle. “Timing mats” are placed throughout the race, by each transition, and at the finish line, to record your time. Wherever there is a mat, the chip registers a “split time” for you, indicating how long it took you to get to that mat after you crossed the previous mat. This is how it is possible to know how long each leg of the race took and how long your T times were.

Okay, that’s all the terminology I can handle right now. But if I think of more (I’m sure there’s more.) I will include it in a future blog. I also wanted to correct my last blog and say that IMAZ has changed the run from a three-loop course to a two-loop course. It bothers me a little, because I had my mind set on a three-loop course, where we would see our “cheer squad” at least two times before the finish. But I am getting used to the two-loop idea, and I know it might be easier to handle psychologically. Maybe. We’ll see.

Until next time.
-ookgirl

ChesapeakeMan Aquabike 2013 Race Report

Posted by ookgirl on September 23, 2013
Posted in: Cycling, Ironman, Ironman Arizona, Maryland, triathlon. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

When I do Ironman Arizona in eight weeks, my plan is to have a good time, and not necessarily to worry about getting a good time. That day will be all about finishing. But somewhere in the back of my mind, in a tiny little place, where I allow myself to think I might have the ability to be a pretty decent triathlete, I had thoughts of really doing well at this past weekend’s ChesapeakeMan AquaBike.

This race is two thirds of the Ironman: a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike. A great experience and preparation for the real thing.

All I had to do, I told myself, was make it through the swim. If I had a good swim, I knew I could handle the bike portion, no problem. Although I knew, theoretically, that I could swim that far, I hadn’t done quite that distance in open water yet. And that is always a different story from swimming in a pool.

So, my husband and I were there to do the race, along with some other folks from our Tri club. It was fun socializing the night before, and lamenting about the mind-boggling process of sorting out transition bags and special needs bags. And we weren’t even doing a full ultra distance!

The morning of the race, I had my typical nervousness, but for the most part, I was pretty calm. Not to get all religious-y on you, but I had read my devotional in the morning. And its basic message was to quiet my mind and listen for what God has to tell me. And, I have to say, when you’re out in open water, swimming, hoping to make it through and not get kicked unconscious or swim an extra mile out of your way because you didn’t sight properly, you are willing to listen to God, at least I am. I figured He could see where I was going 🙂

So, the swim started, and Craig was near me. It was so comforting to have him there. The first lap of the swim was fairly easy. There was the normal battle to find your own “lane,” yet follow someone else’s feet, so you could have the sense that you were going the right way. And then, there were the jelly fish. Diana Nyad’s words, “Find a way,” were punctuating my stokes. And I knew these jelly fish were nothing compared to what she endured. Somewhere in that first lap, I remembered to ‘listen to God’. I wasn’t in distress at all. I just wanted to be open and receive the signal, as it were. In my head, I said, “I’m listening.”

Right about this time, I thought about crazy people who say that God is talking to them. So, I tried to reassure myself that I didn’t fall into that category, even though I am crazy enough to have signed up for an Ironman. But I digress…

Anyway, I swear -to You Know Who- that right after I said (in my head), “I’m listening,” I hear in response, “You’re going to have to listen to me on the bike also.” Seriously. I’m not making this up. Even if I am (apparently) crazy 🙂 … The message was – don’t go thinking you’re hot shit and can sail through the bike. You’re gonna have to work for that one also. Ok, I thought. I’ll try to be humble.

The second lap of the swim also went well. The jelly fish were worse, though. They were all stirred up and angered by the time we went round again. I was so happy to get to the finishing shoot. Ecstatic, actually. I stumbled out if the water, pulled back the sleeve of my wetsuit, and looked at my watch: 1:29. That’s really good for me! I was so happy. And even better, Craig came out of the water right at the same time (he had actually cramped up at one point. Otherwise, he definitely would have been faster).

I went into the change tent and removed my wetsuit. I took inventory of myself. All good. I went out to my bike and took care of business to get that long ride started! Craig was right there. It was just like we were about to go out for a fun ride. No biggie. I felt great!

I left transition before him, but it wasn’t long before he caught me. I figured I’d let him ride up ahead, and just try to keep him in my sights. If I couldn’t – no big deal. I felt confident.

After a while, Craig was going too slow for me (he had said he was going to take it easy on the first 15 miles or so). But I was in passing-people mode. You come out of the water and you pass people. That’s what you do 🙂

So, I passed him, making a smart-ass remark about how he needed to speed up. Then, at the first water stop, a girl (who is probably a spazz like me) attempted to grab a water bottle on the fly, wavered, veered out in my path, and I had to brake hard, fish tailing, not to hit her. Sheesh! That, I said to her in my head, is why I don’t try to take a water bottle on the fly. I will just pull over out of the way and stop and grab the dang thing and save everyone a lot of trouble. But whatever.

The ride from that point until mile 56 was glorious. The weather was great. The winds were strong but manageable. I rode until my water reservoir (Speed Fill) was empty. Then I pulled over to refill it. Craig had passed me again by then, and that was normal. I had made it past a one-mile section of crappy road, with bumpy pits and gravel humps, and what-have-you. I was just riding along, feeling thankful with how everything had gone so far. Only 10 more miles to go until the bike special needs stop.

And then POW! Like a gunshot! My front tire blew. I steadied myself, pulled over to stop, and I could see that my tube was completely outside my tire, with my tire already half-way off my rim. Sheesh!

But I remained calm. I got this, I said. To God. Yes, You are giving me a little challenge, but I can handle it. Craig helped me practice changing tires so many times after my recent bout of flats in Indianhead. So, this is no problem. Piece of cake.

Some guy from the race pulled his car up to make sure I was okay and watched me finish the job. He said, “Wow, you’ve obviously done this before.” I felt so good about myself. I got on my merry way. Hey, now I’ll have a story to tell., and Craig will be proud of me. I’d lost some time, but no big deal. I can make it up.

Another mile down the road… POW! Again! Crap.

I’m thinking, it must be a pinch flat. I must have done something wrong. I jumped off my bike. Some nice man pulled his truck over to make sure I was okay. I said, “Oh yeah, this is my second flat. I must have done something wrong when I changed it a few minuted ago.” I also explained how I’m not supposed to accept help or I’ll be disqualified. I turn to pull my second tube off the back of my bike. But it’s gone! It fell off. I had it cinched down with a Velcro strap, but it didn’t hold. No tube. Crap. What do I do now?

At this point, I’m not thinking clearly, although I’m starting to understand what God was talking about. I throw my bike in the ditch off the road, and start running back to find the tube I dropped. Cyclists are riding past me, wondering what the heck I’m doing. A car or two or five go by. I’m running in my cycling shoes. It can’t be more than a mile. I can do this. Eventually, it dawns on me that cars have probably run my tube over a few times by now. Some people in a car come by and ask if I need a ride. They are spectators waiting for their sister to get to that part of the race. I decide, sure, I’ll accept help. I’m not going to win anything anyway. I may not even have a tube anymore. So, they drive me a bit further down the road until they can find a place to turn around and take me back to my bike. And just where they stop – there’s my tube!

I jump out and grab it. We are all excited. Maybe I can still change my flat and finish the race! The tube was fine, but the valve on the stem was jammed. Maybe a car tire had hit it after all. But the girl in the car had some tweezers that I used to get it unstuck. We get back to my bike, I thank them profusely and start changing my tire. I still wasn’t thinking about the possibility that the tire itself was damaged. I don’t know why. The SAG people show up and say, “Are you #508?” (Apparently, I’m famous now, as the crazy triathlete who was running down the road the wrong way with bike helmet and bike shoes on…) “Yes,” I say, “I’m ok now.” They offer to pump up my tire so I don’t have to use my CO2 cartridge. They start pumping it, and POW! Again! SHEESH!

I pull the tire off and turn it inside out, I scan it and see nothing. Finally, I see a spot with white dust on it and brush it off. There is the gash in my tire. This must be what blew when it hit whatever it was the first time. Why did I not realize this before?! The SAG guys have no spare tires, but they make a patch with a piece of cardboard and electrical tape. They tell me they are going to only put in 100 pounds of pressure (instead of 120) -so it won’t strain the patch. Maybe this will get me through. I thank them and get going.

I ride conservatively to the special needs stop (about 9 miles from what was my “danger zone” of flats). I’ve already decided this is not going to be a leisurely stop. I have 45 miles to go with no tubes and a patched tire. I spray on some sunscreen at the advice of the rest stop volunteers. The look on their faces convinced me it was a good (if not futile) idea. I must be quite pink by now.

I head out on the second loop. And, let me tell you – all that flat tire stuff that had happened … That probably wasn’t what God was talking about. No, it was the crazy wind machine that got turned on for that second loop. I couldn’t even get in my aero bars for a good 20 miles because I felt the wind would blow me over. It was CRAZY! I was doing all I could to go 15 mph. I saw my average speed slowly going down from 19.5. Darn, I was really proud of that. Yes, this had not been the day I was hoping for. I got to the last 20 miles, though, and it was beautiful. I took it easy, hoping/praying my tire would hold. And it did.

But even finishing an hour later than I had wanted, I did finish. And that ended up being a triumph. I did this race for the experience, and I got plenty of that! I learned a lot. I am more confident, even though I’m also more aware how easily flats can happen – anywhere, at any time (you just don’t think they will happen in a race, but they do!). I’m glad I did it.

I did not necessarily have a good time, and I did not get a good time. But I still had angels who helped me out. And I had my husband there when I really needed him to be around, and I had great friends around to talk to afterward.

And I got a lesson to be humble and expect the unexpected, even in your strongest portion of the race.

Until next time… -ookgirl

Single Digits: 9 Weeks to IMAZ

Posted by ookgirl on September 16, 2013
Posted in: Cycling, Ironman, Ironman Arizona, Maryland, triathlon. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

We are now down to nine weeks to go before Ironman Arizona (IMAZ), and things are really ramping up this week. Last week was a little bit lame for me, as my hands were still too injured from my fall last weekend – so I couldn’t do either of my pool swims or the open water swim (OWS) I wanted to do. On the good side, I did more running and a fair amount of cycling.

This weekend, we rode 70 miles of a course we will ride in a race next weekend. We followed that with a short 4.5-mile run. And the next day, we extended our long run to 14 miles instead if 13. This week now is all about getting rest/sleep before next Saturday’s ChesapeakeMan aqua bike. We are doing the swim and bike portions of an ironman-distance race. So, this will be a good test and benchmark for us – to see where we’re at and practice our race day strategies, nutrition, etc.

I’m a little nervous about the swim. I think I always will be that way. I wish I could have done more swimming the past couple of weeks. But, really, it might not have made a big difference. We have been really consistent with our swim training. And, although I’m still not very fast, I feel like I’m pretty strong. I just need to stay calm, keep my bearings, and ‘find a way’ as Diana Nyad would say.

As for the bike portion, I’m not too concerned. I know the last third of it could be grueling. It’s a flat course, but the wind can be brutal, as it was for us on Saturday. I do have some concerns about my position on the bike. I tend to get a pain in between my shoulder blades and in my lower back while in aero position for so long. It was really bothering me more than usual on Saturday. I’ve had both pains before, in years past. But this year, it didn’t seem so bad until now –like it’s an accumulative thing: once I get so many miles under my belt for the season, it kicks in or something. I know I could get re-fit on the bike, but I sorta don’t want to change things this late into the process. I’ll have to think about it… And do more ab exercises!

I guess we will see how this week goes. I’d like to do everything like I would for IMAZ week, but I don’t feel organized enough yet. I’ll have to do my best. It’s all a learning process. What will I learn this week? … Since I cant answer that, I’ll leave you with my horoscope for the week just for the fun of it… I love Rob Brezny’s Free Will Astrology. -Not because I believe in astrology, but just because it’s fun and whimsical, and he gets so creative with each installment… Here goes:

“Scorpio: the cosmos hereby grants you poetic license to be brazen in your craving for the best and brightest experiences … To be uninhibited by feeding your obsessions and making them work for you … To be shameless as you pursue exactly and only what you really, really want more than anything else. This is a limited time offer, although it may be extended if you pounce early and take full advantage. For best results, suspend your pursuit if trivial wishes and purge yourself of your bitchy complaints about life.”

Until next time… -ookgirl

Having Faith

Posted by ookgirl on September 3, 2013
Posted in: Cycling, Ironman, Ironman Arizona, Living Kidney Donation. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I’m just posting something quick this week, because I’m already running late today & it’s already Tuesday – since yesterday marked the end of the long Labor Day weekend.

We had a full weekend: 100-mile ride on Saturday, which I followed with a 20-minute run. on Sunday, we drove out to Assateague Island and looked at a camp trailer that we might end up ordering (it’s hard to get them second-hand). We also had the dogs with us, so we let them play on the beach. It was hot that day! On Monday, we each put in solid two-hour or so workouts. Mine consisted of a 1500-yard swim, followed by a one hour, forty minute run. I also participated in a “protest” of sorts. A bunch of us held up signs on a street corner to spread the word about giving cyclists three feet of clearance; it’s the law in Maryland, but most people don’t know it. It was in honor of the woman (Trish) who got hit and killed on her bike almost two weeks ago, as well as another man who was killed earlier this summer. We need to keep working together with motorists to understand each other and share the responsibilities of the road.

That event, and the news on Monday that my husband’s cousin was hit by two deer while riding his motorcycle –putting him in the hospital with serious injuries– is what has me thinking of faith today. I don’t talk about it much, but I do believe in God & I pray all the time. I always try to realize that you can’t take anything for granted. And when things like this happen, it’s so hard not to scream “Why???” and feel such desperation. As Craig and I embraced and kissed each other goodnight last night, it was hard not to think of those who suddenly could not do that with their loved ones last night. How tragic and haunting. All we can do is have faith and try to believe that it is all part if God’s plan. Somehow tied to this in my mind was also Diana Nyad’s triumphant swim from Havana to Key West this weekend. I think that was part of God’s plan also. After trying to do it four other times and meeting such great obstacles, her experience and Mother Nature conspired (with God, I’m sure) to make it an incredible success this time. It was grit and determination for sure, but I have to think that faith was in there somewhere as well. She proved something to all of us and shared great wisdom about following your dream.

In the Head, Not the Legs

Posted by ookgirl on August 19, 2013
Posted in: Cycling, Ironman, Ironman Arizona, Living Kidney Donation, Maryland, triathlon. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

We now have a little less than 13 weeks until Ironman Arizona (IMAZ), and I’m definitely learning some important lessons in my training journey. I guess the main lesson I’m learning is something I see in my husband when we go out to train: It’s not what you have left in your legs; it’s what’s in your head.

Even before we started training for an Ironman together, I could have told you that the biggest difference between him and me is that he knows he can do it, whereas, I need to prove to myself that I can do it.

But his way is so much better.

I think my way will get me to the finish line. But his way gets you there with panache, with style, with spirit, with courage, with flair, …. with an emphatic exclamation point written in the sky by a plane! That’s the way I want to be.

And it’s not just at the finish line either. It’s in training, swimming that extra 50 for time; getting up that next hill even though your legs are tired; running that much faster now, because now matters. It’s like exercising the “now muscle”. That muscle needs to grow and be nurtured. I don’t even know if I’ve ever exercised that muscle before! It’s the muscle that kicks in when you see someone passing you near the finish line, and you give it just that much more so you can pass them back.

What I’ve never understood about that muscle is that I always thought its source was competitiveness. (I’m about the least competitive person you will ever meet.) But what I didn’t realize is that the source of the “now muscle” is something vital to our very core. When we’re in the moment and we need to fight for our lives, can we rise to the occasion? Can we push the limits? You don’t know unless you try. If you never try, that muscle never gets exercised. Don’t think of it as being competitive and showing up another person. No. It’s showing yourself what you can do. Now matters.

Taking the whole idea a bit further, I’ve also found that the triathletes I most admire (those I actually know in person) are the ones who exude joy for the race. They’re so happy to be there and so sure of why they’re there. And, as a consequence, they totally rock it every time. That’s the triathlete I want to be.

The easiest way to sum this up is to say that attitude is everything. I hate to be so boring and go back to that pat phrase. But it’s really true. Do your training, sure. Put in the hours and the miles and the sweat. But get your head right, too. That’s where it’s at, baby!

Life and Death Go On

Posted by ookgirl on July 21, 2013
Posted in: Ironman, triathlon. Tagged: , , , . 1 Comment

My husband and I now have 18 weeks to go until Ironman Arizona. We’ve gotten into a good groove with our training, and this weekend, we did a solid bike-run brick one day and a swim-run combo the next. But life happens, and -unfortunately- death as well. Just a week ago, I went three days without any training at all. But it was for a very good reason … I went to Chicago to remember my Aunt Eleanore, who passed away at the impressive age of 95. Here is a picture of her and her brother when they were little.

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She was really a special lady. She was born in 1917, the year of the Russian Revolution, and just before women in the U.S. won the right to vote. As a product of that time, she was a progressive thinker herself — extremely smart, well read, easy to talk to, full of wonderful stories, and always interested in learning about other people – no matter who they were or what their station was in life. She would tell stories of roller skating through her neighborhood in Michigan as a young girl, what my father (her “baby brother”) was like as a kid, how my grandfather had been the first football coach at the local college and my grandmother had opened her own beauty salon, and how she (Aunt Eleanore) had traveled across the country with her husband, who was an itinerant seed salesman. She was just fascinating. She had worked in the printing department of the University of Chicago, and by the time I was old enough to start getting to know her, she worked as a freelance proof-reader. I think she worked on scholarly journals and papers, and I remember that she seemed to know about all sorts of things due to the myriad subjects she was exposed to in her work. Going through her things, I noticed that she had all sorts of specialized reference books for medical and scientific terminology, as well as dictionaries for several foreign languages.

She lived for as long as I can remember in a lovely condo in the middle of the erudite neighborhood of Hyde Park. She and her former husband Bill had raised my cousin Bruce there, but Bill left my aunt before I can remember. (During WWII, he had worked in Churchill’s “war room” in Great Britain and supposedly met someone named Lady Daphne during that time. Reportedly, he left my aunt years later to return to this woman in the UK; however, I’m not certain if I have all the details right.) At any rate, Eleanore always seemed like a super-independent single mom in my mind (even though Bruce was an adult by the time Bill left.) She just seemed to have it together and didn’t mind being on her own. Her condo was the coolest place. She had all sorts of wonderful books and adorable figurines on her shelves, and she’d pin up cute clippings and articles everywhere. Being there last weekend was the perfect way to remember her and her things. Not just the things she had, but how she had them.

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I was lucky enough to come away with a few cherished items, such as a picture of my grandmother, and my aunt’s extremely used Manual of Style, which is taped together and full of her notes and paper-clip-marked pages.

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Mostly, I was glad to get some pictures of her lovely condo, hoping to capture her essence and the way I remember her.

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My training will go on, and I hope it leads to my completing this Ironman! But I know that it’s just one day in the scheme of a whole life. I sure hope that along the way, I can appreciate all the people in my life the way my aunt did throughout hers.

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