IronHappy

I’m about to head out to St. George Utah for that ironman thing. There’s a lot going on. Work is incredibly nutso right now with multiple deadlines, inspections, and project leadership changes. IM friends seem to be freaking out left and right. About the bike course (hilly) the run course (hilly) and oh yeah, the swim in currently 58 deg water. It might rain. It’ll probably be windy.

To which I say, whateva. The harder the conditions, the less pressure there is. Sure my first and only IM I finished in 13:15. It was flat, and the swim was with the tide = super fast. So there is no sense thinking about bettering that time. A WAG gets me a 1:30 swim, a 7:15 bike, and a 5:15 run for 14 hours. A little over with transitions, more if something goes awry. That’s a long day – but the course is GORGEOUS!

I’ve never been to Utah, so even if I was just vacationing and not racing, I’d be spending all day outside anyway. Plus, the run is an out and back course that we do twice, so I’ll get to see everyone I know multiple times. It’ll be really motivating to see them as I run along. Our house is 3 blocks from the finish. And in close proximity to the bike and run courses, so spouses can spectate.

Bottom line – I’m excited!

The best parts about IM training is the Sudden Onset of Perceived Invincibility (SOPI) and the distillation of life down to just a few things.

SOPI – it’s awesome. All at once, for me somewhere about 4 weeks before the IM, I turn a corner in training, and nothing seems out of reach. Long run? No problem. ½ IM – easy. Multiple climbs up Tramway, Placitas, or Armoury hill? Piece of cake. Ride into the wind? Through the rain? In a snowstorm? Ask me to do anything – sure, I can do that.  It’s a warm happy place to be, when everything I’ve set out for myself seems completely doable and within my reach. All I need to do is head out the door each day.

Which brings me to favorite thing #2: Ironways are messy. But after a month of training, all the urgent small stuff that crops up everyday suddenly becomes easy to ignore. My focus gets narrower. Sure, I see that my garden could use weeding. But it can wait. In the midst of training, only the important things and the training gets done. Everything else is urgent, but expendable. I can’t think of many other times when I’ve had that freedom to focus. Writing up and defending my dissertation. Hmmm. That’s it. It may not be pretty, but the distillation of life really brings into stark focus what your priorities are, and what kind of choices you make. Every day.

And, best of all, I can't wait for more Leadville training. Wahoooooo!