The Final Stretch

This is the final week of training for Oceanside…one more week of “can I do this?”…”I just did this” and “I really, really hurt!.”

What has gotten me this far…my friends (thank you ladies, you know who you are!) my husband who is my biggest supporter and fan, and myself…no I am not cocky, but somewhere along the line someone has got to do the work!

You are probably thinking “what the hell sort of program is she on that she talks about it like she is going to war??” the answer is “Wolfgang’s program” …Wolfgang is a great man, but, his programs sometimes make you want to cry. At times when you think you have had all you can handle, he will pile on a little bit more (because he knows you can handle it and it will make you a better person).

Let me backtrack for a bit; Oceanside was never meant to be an “A” race nor even “get you nervous race” it was supposed to be a fitness check for Ironman Nice. Reality Check!! If I don’t get my Visa renewed, there is no travelling to Nice (I am a Canuck, remember?)! So we (Gregory and I) followed the rules and applied for a Visa renewal for me…but, the Visa Gods are unmerciful…long story short, in order for me to renew with no hiccups I had to apply internally. This means a good 3-5 month wait period for an answer in which I cannot travel out of the country. So, obviously IM Nice was out of the question.

What is one to do?? Well, to put it bluntly, I either get a Kona slot at Oceanside or a roll down to another IM. In order to do this, I need to “RACE!!”…no “fitness check” here, it is going to be an all out brawl, fight till the end, race till your eyes bleed effort…yet, I had not yet trained for such efforts until 3 weeks ago (IM training is a 180 degree difference than ½ Ironman training)

So what is one to do?? Let’s rephrase this, what is a coach to do?? He prescribes the “intensity medicine” and let me tell you the side effects really, really suck. Have you ever had a numb butt?? Or legs that feel like they might fall off- in the middle of a workout??!!!

There is a reason I left track and field, cross country, or any sort of fast running behind me…because I hated it!!

I can handle the bike intensity, because I like the bike. I can hold on for dear life in the pool because I know if I pass out Wolfgang will be the one diving in to pull my non-fish-like body out. However, with running I know I have no excuse. I know what it is like to reach those levels of “being fast” and how much it hurt! I just don’t want to…

So the past 3 have been about remembering how to “hurt” and let me tell you it is not pleasant. But, over the 3 weeks, I have noticed my hips opening up, my stride getting longer…I actually feel like I can run sometimes…hmmm sometimes….

All of this being said, I am embracing the experience, because come rain or shine on race day, I know that Wolfgang and I have given it the best shot we can to get me to where I want to be. I am still working on the mental prep (which is a whole different blog entry) but I know physically I will be ready.

I guess this brings me to the point of this blog entry…have you ever had someone throw a wrench into your plans such that you had to totally change them? How did you respond? How would you respond? I am embracing this opportunity to see how “good” I can be. But with this come discipline, locking out all those negative thoughts and the what if’s. I am throwing my eggs into one basket (race wise because I work, have a life and am happy outside of training). Who knows what will happen on race day, but for the time being I have 6 days of hard work left to say that I am “ready” and “I gave it all I had”…training wise, race day will tell a whole different story…….