Decisions, Decisions

Well, it hasn't been easy to make this call, but I have decided to bail on Ironman St. George for 2010. There's just no possible way I could be ready for the race on May 1st and I don't want to "just finish" to get the Ironman medal. It means so much more to me than that. Plus, who am I to assume that I could "just finish" anyway?! This isn't a 5k. It's a freaking Ironman and it was looming like a dark menacing cloud. At this point, I'd be doing a disservice to my body, mind, doctors, husband and self who have cautioned and begged me to take it easy this year.  I spoke with my team leader for Erin Baker's Tri Team and he was very empathetic and understanding. Seems a few of us are battling some injuries. I plan to compete in a couple of 70.3s this year and take 2011 as it comes!  All told, there is always a sense of relief when a decision has been made that I'm now officially putting out there. It also comes with a sense of sadness that I'm letting another registered event slip through my fingers. Plus, I really wanted to cross the line with my friend Richard who is kicking butt training for this, his first Ironman. He'll do great and we'll still be there for him as we are DEFINITELY still going to Utah. I also promised I'd train with him when I am able, which is good since I'm still doing the Oceanside 70.3 race on March 27th in California!

In fact, Hubster and I celebrated 5-years of knowing each other by riding 45 miles of the Oceanside course on the Computrainer this morning. Wow--I'd forgotten how hard it is (and mind-numbing) to ride the CT for multiple hours. I've been putting in 1.25-1.5 long workouts, but today was 3+ solid hours with only one break to get off the bike, refuel and stretch. All in all, I'm proud of the way I rode even though my legs are not happy with me at the moment :-) It was worth it to feel such a sense of pride and accomplishment. There are some doozy hills on this course towards the back side. At least I have 2 1/2 months to basically memorize and repeat them over and over again ad nauseum.  I didn't try to focus on my avg mph during the ride because that's too depressing. In fact, next time, I may seriously shut that function off the viewer. Today, I focused on my HR and cadence. For the first 25 miles, I averaged a 94 cadence. I felt like Lance just trying to hammer a steady cadence to keep the legs fresh. Fast and steady...also not many climbs. For the final 20 miles, my avg cadence was 85. Still not bad considering the hills hat begin around Mile 30!  My right leg didn't go numb (victory!!), but it definitely felt weaker after a while and tended to fatigue a lot faster on the climbs. Thankfully, my hip didn't feel too bad either. I honestly felt like I could've put in a nice brick afterwards. Needless to say, I didn't because I was sweating buckets and it was 35 degrees outside. I'll chalk it up to a very successful training day and ego boost just to get those miles down. Selfishly, it feels good knowing that I don't have to go out and ride 80-90 miles in the next few months. My mind and body are thanking me right now. It was a tough, tough decision, but it's been made.


Now, it's off to Uchi for an early dinner to celebrate 5-years of knowing my Hubster! Who says you can't have it all?!   Marrying that guy was the easiest decision of all.