IMAZ Around the Corner

T-minus three months and counting until my full Ironman in Arizona.

IMAZ is around the corner, but I can't quite see it yet. It's still in the sneaking up phase. Any day now I will turn the corner, and it will pounce.

To get ready, I'm doing a race tomorrow called the Utah Half. It's not a half marathon, although it includes one. It's a half ironman. Half the distances I will do in November.

That's a 1.2 mile lake swim (no wetsuit), 56 mile bike ride (no bike... just kidding), and 13.1 mile run (there's the half marathon bit.)

It's true I've been building in strength and endurance, but if you think this will be easy for me -- well there are so many things I could say to that. I'll leave it at, "Nah. It really won't be."

Right now Mr. Weatherman predicts rain all weekend. It is raining now as I type this, a cold steady rain. Clouds can be good to keep you cool. Rain and wind? Not so much. I'm hoping it stops.

Last Night on my Bike Ride

Today on my Way Home from Physical Therapy

Either way, I'll get up at 4:45AM, a few short hours from now. I'll arrive at the course around 5:30AM to set up my transition area and get my body marked.

I'll attend the mandatory meeting at 6:30AM.

I'll pin #91 to my jersey, don my assigned gray-swim-cap, and freestyle into the sunrise at 7:25AM.

I'll try my darndest to swim, bike, and run fast enough to make the time cut-offs.

I'll do my best to finish.

There's not much more I can say about tomorrow's race now because it hasn't happened yet.

Please wish me luck. I could use it.
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So maybe it's the rain, making me nostalgic for hot summer weather that seems to have passed too quickly, but so much has happened in 2013, I want to get some thoughts down before they're whisked away in the business that surrounds me.

Seriously. What a year.

To give you an inkling of my experiences, here's a recap of events (with a few major life-events thrown in because, hey! I still have my other life, too!):

TODAY

Physical Therapy

E-Stim, Stretch, Massage, Scrape, Heat, Tape 

5 DAYS AGO

Bridgette's First Day of Kindergarten

6 DAYS AGO

180 Mile Running Relay

From Ashton ID to Jackson Hole WY

Up and Over the Grand Teton Pass on 3 Hours Sleep

3 WEEKS AGO

UT Half IM Training Camp

1 MONTH AGO

My First 20 Mile Run (Trails)

1 1/4 MONTHS AGO

Jeff's iPhone App YouDoodle

Passes the 1,000,000 Download Mark

1 1/2 MONTHS AGO

First Olympic Triathlon

1500 Meter Swim, 25 Mile Bike, 6.1 Mile Run

Echo Canyon Regional Championship

1 3/4 MONTHS AGO

BAM "Battle at Midway" Tri Camp

1/2 Mile Swim, 20 Mile Ride, 2 Mile Run

1 3/4 MONTHS AGO

54 Mile Ride around Bear Lake 

(My First 50-Miler)

1 3/4 MONTHS AGO

Bridgette Turns 5!

1 3/4 MONTHS AGO

My First Run above 8,000'

2 MONTHS AGO

American Fork Canyon 1/2 Marathon

2 1/4 MONTHS AGO

My First Preemptive Physical Therapy

Wherein I Discover IT HURTS

2 1/2 MONTHS AGO

Celebrated our 10th Anniversary

Via Alaskan Cruise

2 3/4 MONTHS AGO

First Ever Wetsuit Swim

3 MONTHS AGO

Woman of Steel

2nd Sprint Triathlon

3 1/4 MONTHS AGO

Davis Splash N Sprint

1st Sprint Triathlon

(1st Ever Triathlon)

3 3/4 MONTHS AGO

Bridgette's First Race

1-Mile Kids Run

(Gets Sponsored by Nike!)

4 MONTHS AGO

First Time on a Bike in 14 Years

4 3/4 MONTHS AGO

First 1/2 Marathon

Phoenix, AZ 13.1 Miles

5 1/4 MONTHS AGO

First 10K (6.1 Miles)

Also, My First Ever Race

Which takes us back to a bit over 6 MONTHS AGO when I stood on a treadmill for the first time in my life and attempted to run.

This year has been pretty intense.

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Moving so swiftly from Absolute-Zero to Is-This-Even-Possible? there've been so many moments, minutes, hours, and days when I've felt overwhelmed. I've questioned. I've doubted.

I've also had instance upon instance of enlightenment. Life-lessons boiled down to a sentence. Analogies sculpted from pain and triumph. Shifting motivations. Emotions brought to the surface that I may have forgotten I'd buried at all.

And always, always someone to thank.

In my head I have blog posts planned 1) with training tips, 2) with a long list of thank yous, 3) with a stern lecture about being nice to cyclists, and 4) with the personal lessons I've garnered from each of my individual races.

But until then (and partly because I still have to pack my gear tonight and generally meditate and try not to implode), I thought I'd write just a handful of things I've learned from my experiences in 2013.

My one-liners always seem more profound in the heat of the moment than when I type them out later. And I have so many more thoughts as I workout than I remember to write down at all. Although exercise brings out my best stream-of-consciousness, alas, much is forgotten.

Lesson #1

Don't wait for the strength to start.

You GET the strength to run BY starting.

Lesson #2

Run your own race, for your own reasons.

Lesson #3

Putting off a workout does not make the distance shorter.

It only makes the time it takes to do it longer.

Lesson #4

Don't compare yourself to anyone. 

Not the people you pass.

Not the people who pass you.

You don't know who they are, why they're there, what they've been through, how long they've been running or who they're running for.

Just. Don't do it.

Lesson #4

Jealousy is a natural but unpleasant feeling.

Try not to be jealous.

Especially not of friends, family or neighbors.

Lesson #5

It is almost always possible to do more and push yourself harder.

Lesson #6

Just because a girl can dress the part doesn't mean she knows what she's doing. You never know how much she may be shaking inside. 

Lesson #7

Get to know the people around you. Everyone has a story. The most unsuspecting person could turn into your greatest inspiration.

Lesson #8

It feels really good to work towards and accomplish a goal.

Don't give up.

Lesson #9

If you're not going to win then BY GEORGE at least have FUN!

Lesson #10

If you keep moving forward, no matter your pace, you will finish.

Move forward. 

Fast. Slow. Tip-toeing, inching, or jumping.

Keep moving forward.