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Race Week

One week from now, I will hopefully have already crossed the finish line. Isaac and Nate (the person who told me it'd be a great idea to do an Ironman) will hopefully have finished a couple of hours ago. No one really knows where Chelsey will be including her - but hopefully she'll have a fantastic race and maybe have caught up to me during the marathon. That's all assuming everything goes according to plan... which, no matter how much you prepare, you can never anticipate what might cross your path during the race (like a bear). Flat tires, crashes, bonking, stomach issues.... a lot can go wrong during a 12-15 hour race. (12-13 for the boys, 14 for me). While getting through the bike portion will be a struggle (see video below about Ironman Canada race specifics), you have to respect the marathon and listen to your body. For anyone that has run a marathon, you know the challenges of hitting that 21 mile wall. From what I've heard, there are multiple walls to hit during an Ironman marathon. Some are mental - when you realize you've been running for an hour and still have almost 20 miles to go... or when you finish the first 13.1 mile loop and realize you have to do the same thing all over again. Many will be physical - the pain of pounding your feet on pavement for hours, your joints aching from the stress, fatigue taking over as you become more and more calorie deficient.... sounds fun, right!!? Maybe fun is the wrong word...

For those of you reading this that have interest in tracking any of us during the race, I plan on posting the link to live tracking during race day along with our bib numbers (although you can track by name too). I'm bringing my laptop to Whistler to hopefully help with the anxiety build up for the 3 days we're there before the race, let out some stress by explaining how we prepare for the race.

This weekend I spent a lot of time NOT thinking about Ironman. I skipped an hour run and spent the day hobbling around in stilettos instead of my Brooks. It was refreshing to take a mental break, something I think is going to help me head into our race week a bit less burnt out and in good spirits. It was a fantastic weekend all focused around an incredible couple and their breathtaking wedding. Our bridal party was the best and Jen was the most gorgeous bride. She was simply stunning. Such a wonderful weekend. I hope Mr. and Mrs. Muir have the most WONDERFUL honeymoon, love you both!!

Beautiful bridal party, amazing beach house we stayed at
She belongs in a wedding magazine, gorgeous












Loved getting all done up for the wedding!
 
This week training is even less than last week. Our workouts are about 75-90 minutes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but Thursday is short, Friday is super short/rest, Saturday will be 5-10 minutes in each sport (the shortest tri of all time), and Sunday will finally be

RACE DAY...

(insert expletives here) I can't believe how close it is!!! I'll write a few more posts before the race as we travel to Whistler and attend our check-in, hand off our bikes and transition bags, and spend a sleepless night dreaming about the glory of the crossing the finish line. The glory of hearing your name announced to the world, as joining an elite club of athletes that have embarked on the same journey that some people call insane, others say would be impossible to do - something I've been building towards for over a year. A whole new level of endurance athlete I've been dreaming of becoming. And it's only 7 days away. Wow.


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