Change Brings Opportunity

Change is never easy, even if it is something that you desire. It can be very scary venturing into the unknown, but it can also be extremely rewarding and bring about new opportunities you never could imagine. It can be the start of a whole new chapter in your life and if you never dare to try you never know what amazing adventures await you.

I don’t want to wake up in 10 years thinking about the things I wish I had done. I don’t want to wait until …I retire, I have more money, its the right time, etc… because that time may never come. Sometimes, you just have to take the plunge.

So , David and I have decided to do just that. Several weeks ago, we purchased a  4 x 4 Sprinter van and we have decided to take life on the road. We will both be leaving our current jobs and traveling across the USA and Canada. David will be working on building the van, full-time, over the next 2-3 months while I continue to work a little bit longer. Our plan, as of now, is to travel for at a least year. We want to explore the National Parks, State Parks, Forest Service, BLM land, cities and states and regions we have never seen. We want to visit with friends and family that we seldom get to spend time with. We want to train and race in places we have only seen in pictures. We want to meet new and interesting people along the way. And we want to do all of this while we can, while we are young and healthy and able. To say we are excited is an understatement.

We have already started the build out with the installation of our roof fans. That was a bit nerve racking, cutting two big holes into the roof of a new van!! We have a lot of van projects ahead of us but we also have training and races to prepare for. Don’t worry, my training and racing posts wont disappear, that is still my passion and the reason I started this blog.

So, please follow along our journey, into a new chapter in our lives. I cant wait to share it with all of you.

 

Reflection

 

 

It has been 4 weeks since my big race and I have focused on recovery and listening to what my body needs most.  It has been a time to think about what I  learned throughout this season of racing and what I want to accomplish next season. I have promised, myself and David,  not participate in any races from now through the end of the year.  I love racing so this has been a difficult commitment, but something that was really important to do. I need some down time, time to re-group, time to re-focus, time to spend with my family and dog,  and time to work on my weaknesses. I decided to try something new, Hot Yoga.  I really need to work on my core strength, abdominals, back, pelvic floor muscles, all the things most runners and triathletes are terrible at doing. I found an amazing yoga studio in Seattle (Breathe Hot Yoga) that not only has bikram yoga but a class called Hot Pilates. What is Hot Pilates, you ask. Hot Pilates is a challenging, full body, high intensity interval training workout performed on a yoga mat in a heated studio. I went to my first class and was immediately hooked. I have also started back at crossfit on a more regular basis. It is something I have been very passionate about since I started 5 years ago. I will slowly start to run and swim as I begin to think about my 2018 race season.

I have 2 for sure races on the calendar and the rest is still up in the air. SwimRun Lake James in Nebo, North Carolina on April 7 followed by the Boston Marathon about a week later.  I am super excited for both of these races. SwimRun will be a totally new experience for David and I and we are hoping to do a few more of these in 2018. It is an up and coming sport in the US and it is exciting to be a part of an inaugural race.

Who knows what other new adventures 2018 will hold, only time will tell. I will certainly keep you all updated on my race plans as they unfold, so stay tuned.

Ironman World Championship

 

It has been 3 weeks since the Ironman World Championship and I have finally decided I should sit down and put some thoughts on paper. This experience, this race has far exceeded any and all expectations I had. I have many years of experience volunteering at the World Championship but it is so different being a participant.

David and I got to Kona 2 weeks prior to race day. I thought this would allow me to train on the course and acclimate, as best as I could, to the heat and the wind. Well, that was one of the best decisions we made. It was great to be able to train on the Queen K, Ali’i Drive and in the Energy Lab. I was able to ride almost the entire bike course during those 2 weeks which was a real eye opener. We had sun and clouds and unbelievable winds on some of those days, very humbling, but so much fun as well.

I was also able to enjoy the town with less crowds and relax a bit without the stress of work or other distractions. We hung out with friends, went out to dinner, went swimming in the ocean almost every day and just enjoyed island life! And ate lots and lots of Poki, my favorite.

I did have one big stressor that was hanging over my head (other then the race). As the winner of the Ironman Sports Medicine Conference race slot, I was asked to speak about “My Road to Kona”. I was well prepared, having practiced my speech many times, but I never made it through the entire talk without a meltdown. This has been an extremely emotional journey for me and there was no hiding that. It was amazing to me how much lighter I felt after my talk and could then just focus on having the best day possible. Check out my you tube video, https://youtu.be/MCGY4YACpKk  . Unfortunately, our video shut off right before I thanked all of those who supported me throughout this journey.

My brother joined us the week before the race and my parents several days before the race. It was so much fun to have them experience the energy and electricity surrounding the race. To have them see first hand why I am so passionate about triathlon and the community and why I keep coming back to Kona year after year after year.

Race day, what can I say, other then it was everything I could ever imagine and then some. It was hard, quite possibly the hardest race I have ever done. Don’t get me wrong, I have had other really hard races, both emotionally and physically, but this race was different. I was racing with the best triathletes in the world, in the lava fields of the Big Island, with unrelenting sun, heat and wind in every direction. But, I loved every single minute of it. I don’t really recall a race where I had a smile on my face the entire race despite the brutal conditions. It was an absolutely perfect day in every way and as Mike Reilly stated when I crossed the finish line, “Dreams do come true”!

So, if you want to be inspired, check out this youtube video, you wont be disappointed. https://youtu.be/rdCW_777CE8