Man in the Arena

One week down; I am still alive, a little tired, but alive. This marks the first “big” training week for my La Marmotte/Ironman build. Looking at Sat and Sunday’s prescribed workouts made me a little nervous as it has been a while since I have done back to back “really long” days. But I fared extremely well. It’s very easy for me to find my “groove” when it comes to the distance training (> ½ Ironman distance) as my body prefers the long, steady stuff. So I was all smiles; even when it got tough because I know these “miles” will count and I am fortunate to be physically able to do what I do.

Another exciting thing for me this weekend was working out my “nutrition” plan. Megan, Neil and I were finally able to put the “big picture” together regarding my food allergies, intolerances, calorie needs etc.. and have come up with a plan. It has been going smoothly and I am feeling really good! Turns out I have a turbo-charged metabolism that requires a lot of calories for me to stay in bed and do nothing…so imagine what happens when you incorporate Ironman training. Yup, I am a eating machine! Life is good.

Just a quick side-note for those with gluten intolerance and really don’t like the prepackaged gluten-free breads. Pamela’s makes a great gluten free baking mix that can be used for cookies, pancakes, breads etc… it’s awesome! And, if you have an egg allergy, there are egg-substitutes composed of potato starch. Even if you don’t have gluten intolerance, Pamela’s products are awesome!

On the non workout/eating side of things, my quest to learn French in …2 weeks, no three, it’s got to be three!! S*&t, Sh*&, Sh*&^….this is not happening as I planned, nor would like. So I am a competitive person, and I like to be good at things; I have accepted that I will NEVER be a good swimmer, but c’mon, French can’t be that bad. Just because I failed it once in grade 6 doesn’t mean I am doomed…right? Honestly, I am putting the effort in, but struggling; heck, I struggle with anything that does not come naturally to me. How the hell did I get a PhD in chemistry, but spell check starts smoking when I try to use it?? (and that is in the English language)

Je ne vais pas m’arreter!!

This brings me to a quote on a crinkled piece of paper. I trained with some amazing people for my first Ironman in 2006; they were the bestest of friends any one could hope for. Phil printed out this quote called “Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt and shared it with us before the race. Appropriate don’t you think?

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”