And So It Begins!!

So I tried the 10-day Master Cleanse on January 1st and lasted all of one day.  By the 12th hour of drinking nothing but lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup, I felt like I was on the show "Celebrity Rehab."  My head was freakin' pounding, I had cold sweats and I finally ended up puking my guts out.  You're supposed to drink nothing but the above concoction for 10 days. The goal is to clean out the toxins in your vital organs and break some of the cravings that you possess. By the end of the night, the only thing possessed was me. 

I was hoping to rid my body of all the crap I've been feeding it lately, get a fresh start on the New Year and drop a couple of pounds before Ironman training. Well...I dropped a few pounds all right, but I think I also almost lost a spleen in the process! Not for me...I love food too much and I also love exercise. Endurance exercise and not eating do not go hand in hand.

Since I got that (and everything else) out of my system, it's officially on to the business of 2009!

Race Calendar so far leading up to Ironman Coeur D'Alene in June:

1.) 3M Half Marathon on 1/25 (can I break my PR of 1:34?) I haven't done a lick of speed work since October, so it's not going to be pretty. My goal is to just lay it out there and see what happens!

2.) 1/2 Ironman in Galveston, TX or Oceanside, CA in late March: Oceanside is sold out, but I'm trying to swindle my way on the roster. Nothing fast...just a good solid training race for Ironman.

3.) MS 150: Two-Day bike ride and closer to 190 mile ride from Houston to Austin in Mid-April  with Shawn and TriGreyhound,. I was going to do the Boston Marathon that same weekend, but a weekend on the roads with Greyhound was too good to pass up! 

4.) Wildflower 1/2 Ironman in Monterey County, CA: The Woodstock of triathlon falls the first week of May and I'm looking so forward to this tune up for Ironman. I've heard it's one of the hardest races, but also one of the best. I look forward to sleeping in a tent with 3000 other nutty triathletes.

5.) Cap Tex Tri: Not sure if I'll do this Olympic distance or not, but it will fall Memorial Day weekend and it's a mile from my house.

6.) Ironman Coeur D'Alene:  Who knew Idaho would be home to Austin's T3 on June 21st, 2009? I can't wait to do this race and watch hubster complete his first full Ironman. Actually, he may be watching me finish...Who knows who will finish first?! Either way, it will be a wonderful day as we begin this journey together!

Training officially kicks off January 5th and I've got the next 24 weeks outlined practically day by day, thanks to my T3 coaches. Through it all, I resolve to not take my shit too seriously. For heaven's sake, it takes all of the fun out of it! Of course, I'll do the work, but the reason I enjoyed my first Ironman so much is because I met and was able to train and travel with some wonderful people...and laugh a lot. ( I only cried once during the whole training process). I was in awe today when I showed up at our team meeting and was told that we now have over 70 people on the T3 team training for this one specific race. That told me several things:

1.) This triathlon thing is catching on.

2.) There are a lot of stupid crazy people in this town.

3.) Hubster and I are two of them.

4.) I've got lots of new people to start annoying (and introduce to Tritobefunny.com)!

5.) I've got over 69 other people to beat!! (Just kidding...sorta) :-)

So beginning today, there are no more lame excuses--except for the Ohio State/Texas game tonight...

So, beginning TOMORROW, there are no more lame excuses!!

It's going to be a great year...and that's a better feeling than any Master Cleanse!!