There are 86,400 seconds in a day. It's up to you to decide what to do with them." -- Jim Valvano

Well, unfortunately, I have not spent enough of my seconds each day training. After the half ironman, I had a hurt foot, knee and hip which needed to recover. I was limping around pathetically until Wednesday when I finally got a good workout in. My week was supposed to be recovery anyways, but I still didnt do what I wanted. In any case, I have accepted the fact that I lost a few days to recovering and I am back on track- everyone has ups and downs, I guess?

Last weekend was a tough one as I attempted to bike the route (one loop) Saturday, but we woke up to heavy rain storms and had to delay our ride, then when we did get started, i was in immense pain and had to turn back and run instead. A funny story did happen during the 1.5 hours I was riding...

It had just stopped raining and all of the roads were soaking wet. We were riding up 42 when all of the sudden a deer ran out from the Rose Island Rd side of the road and across the street. It was cool to see the deer so close and even better that the deer didnt ram into us (it was about 100 yards or so away), then we see "Bambi" run up into someone's front yard and then figure out it was being chased by a black lab, and quickly turn around and gallop back towards the street (by the time all of this happened, we were about 5 feet from it- close call). So "Bambi" starts running across 42, slips on the slick pavement and goes down on her hind legs, then her back, sliding all the way across 42. Jackie and Sarah were upset by these events, I happened to think it was hilarious. The deer didnt get hurt and as far as we know, it is still kickin' it off Rose Island Rd, but we did learn a little about a deer's ability to run across slick pavement!

So not a whole lot else went on for the weekend- as i said before, no major training breakthroughs, but Monday was a good, hard OH River swim, which was fun, but maybe not too smart. There have been rumors that people have gotten e-coli from the River lately and apparently in all the rain, a sewer downtown overflowed into the river. Maybe a Monday wim after the storm wasnt the smartest option, but it was downstream and we didnt care much. I'll keep you posted on my e-colic conditions ;).

So we have 5 weeks left (or a little LESS) until the big day and these next three weeks are going to be rough. I cant believe we are in the final stretch of all of this. August 30th is going to be a bitter sweet day- I dont know if I want all the training to end, with all of the fun I am having! Maybe I will train for something else? Its a lot to think about, but I cant imagine being inactive at all... Have to find a new goal!

Think big, believe big, act big, and the results will be big. -Anonymous

This past week has been a pretty crazy one. I did my best to recover from the last weekend where I had never quite felt so tired and worn out and luckily, my efforts seemed to work. I had an easy week of training in preparation for the Cardinal Harbour Half Ironman. Surprisingly, I didnt get all that nervous last week, leading up to this event. I dont think it has quite registered that competing in these events is a big deal and is physically taxing. To me, I kept thinking about it as another training day, with just a bit more intensity and structure. Well, that thinking was great until about Thursday, then I started to get nervous. It was a good nervous- I was pretty excited to test myself and see what I could do, but at the same time, I am a super competitive athlete and I wanted to make sure I did well. God was looking out for me last week, with record low temperatures and little to no rain. We were SO blessed by that weather, and I was pretty confident that if I could ever have a good race, this was the time to do it.

So Friday afternoon, Madelyn (a friend I met at my last triathlon in Shelbyville) and I went out to Cardinal Harbour to pick up our packets and scope out the route. I had ridden parts of the route a fwe times before (the bike route is mostly the Ironman route, but abbreviated), but I had not seen where we would swim or run. So we scoped it out and it sunk in that this course was going to be tough. There were tons and tons of hills on the bike and the run was not flat, as they had said on the webpage. There were 3 pretty big hills that we had to deal with, during 3 seperate loops, making for a tough route. But hey- God was blessing us with the most outstanding weather we could dream of, so now was the time to take advantage of it...

So Saturday morning, I got up early, had everything packed and was ready to go. My dad was awesome enough to take me and my bike down there to save from having to walk from the parking lot to the start, so he came along, as did Bentley, my new number one cheerleader! Bentley hopped right in the car and I didnt have the heart to put him back inside, so bike, gear and puppy in tow, we headed down to the start.

I got there early enough to get a good spot for the transition area (you want one closest to the start of the bike, on the end), so I had that going for me. It was pretty cold out, but no one was complaining about that! We were set to swim in the OH river which I used to think was disgusting, but now, having swam in it- its really not that bad. I havent hit a dead body yet! As I looked around at all these professional looking triathletes, I couldnt help but feel a little out of place, but I was so thankful for the opportunity to even be able to do this. Its an amazing accomplishment for anyone and its hard to register just how much work goes into all of this preparation. Gratitude is what I felt as I stood there and looked around.

After getting all set up, I headed to the water to warm up a little. I am not sure if that was a good idea or bad one since it was FREEZING outside once we were wet, but Sarah and I decided to go for it. For the swim start they let the men go first (sexist!)- 39 and under, then men 40+, then "everyone else"- including all women, relays, and duathletes. I cant stand that type of start because that means the swimmers (this is the only part that I am confident I can beat most people in), have to swim over all sorts of guys, get kicked, etc in order to get to the finish. You might be surprised, but many, many people compete in triathlons with little to no experience swimming. I can tell it is a humbling experience for those who cant swim, but I know how they feel- I didnt know how to bike or run before I started all this!

So Sarah and I swam together, side by side for the entire swim- kept a controlled pace and go to the finish relatively easily. On the way out, you exit, run through the grass and down the row of bike until you find yours, then transition and get onto the bike. So we did all of that together and basically got on our bikes together. Seriously- with Sarah and I together, this was a best case scenario. We tried our best to stay together without drafting (you have to stay 3 bike lengths behind the person in front of you unless you are passing), but it was hard given that we are about the exact same speed. We rode "together"- with the two of us passing each other every few minutes for the entire ride and the 3 hours we spent on the bike went by SOO fast! I was having a blast and was so glad to have Sarah by my side. The ride ended with a scary downhill and 180 degree turn back towards the neighborhood. We safely navigated that and got to transition- passing my dad, my Aunt Debbie, and Ryan on the way in. It was great to see familiar faces cheering us on!

From the transition, we got all our gear for running and took off, Sarah just a fwe steps ahead of me. We ended up running together just about the entire 13.1 miles which kept us both going and provided a way to distract us from the pain. The run was 3 laps of a particular loop so we were able to see all of our friends running which was also a good distraction and kept the painful thoughts out of our heads. I truly never got a negative thought in my mind the entire run and was very impressed by my cheering section- it really helps to have people out there! My cheering section quickly turned into the water station, as the two kids that were handing out water were not quite cutting it. So everyone jumped in to help and it was fun to pass them again and again.

The run ended by going back out to Rose Island, back through the neighborhood and then through a guys yard and across a field for about a mile... in 6 inch tall grass. This was where I got pissed. We were trying to run across this field and no one even thought about cutting a path for us to run on, so we were dodging holes, mounds, etc to keep from turning ankles. It was the most painful part of the day by far. But eventually, I got past it and crossed the finish line AN HOUR faster than I thought I would go! Even my run was 10 minutes faster than I ran the mini marathon in. The best part about all of that was the confidence that I got from that, knowing I have a full ironman in less than 6 weeks. On that day, I knew I could have done it.

As I look back on that and type this long post, I cant help but think how much I am enjoying this entire process. Sometimes when I am on my bike or out running, I wonder what I would rather be doing- how else should I spend my time? More and more lately, I cant come up with anything else I would rather do! I loved the race, I had a blast doing it and it just proves to me that I can do this ironman.

I ended up 4th in my age group which is great and I am happy with. The results are linked below if you want to check them out. Sarah won her age group!! She did awesome and I dont think I could have gotten through the race without her.

http://www.headfirstperformance.com/Results/09Cardinal.htm

So back into training I go... 6 more weeks left, 3-4 of which will be pretty tough. Not too much longer!!

You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.

Dear Friends,

As most of you know, I have been training long, long hours to compete in the Ironman this summer. What some of you may or may not know, is that this is just one of many races I have been doing all summer and this Ironman is the culmination journey that I set out on a relatively short time ago. My story goes something like this…

My friend Sarah volunteered at the Ironman last year, and as is the case for many volunteers each year, she was hooked the minute she saw the tears running down the athletes faces as they exited the bike after 112 miles in 94 degree heat and headed out on the marathon march through downtown Louisville. The blood, sweat and tears envoked action in her. I emphasize her at this moment because she signed up the next day. I didn’t. I thought she was crazy and I told her so for a few months afterwards. So September and October came and went and November started to creep upon us. By that time, Sarah, Jackie and I had decided to run the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day, 2008 (about 7.5 months ago). We were sitting around when Jackie said, “I have always wanted to do the Ironman, its been a lifelong dream.” To which I replied she was crazy and I had no desire WHATSOEVER to do the Ironman. I was happy on my elliptical 3 times a week. Well, she said she was signing up if there were openings. Well, hell. Anyone knows me, knows that I cant sit on the sidelines. So fine, if there were openings (many people told me Ironman registration booked up within a few weeks of opening online registration in Sept), then I would sign up. Fair enough, and certainly it would be closed. Um, no. 45 spots left as of Thanksgiving day. By the time we signed up it was a few days later (We had to collect the $525 entry fee- its not cheap), there were 5 spots left… Jackie and I signed up and the next day registration closed. Call it fate, I call it bad luck.

So great. I was registered. Now I needed a bike. Oh yeah, and apparently the kinds of bikes you need don’t come with pedals, so I need those too, and clips because God forbid you fall off your bike, your bike is going down with you. So, I had to invest in this sport, furthering my dedication to what I was about to embark on. Then I had to start running more than the 3 mile route around the neighborhood. That was the fun part… or not. Running brings injuries, of which Sarah, Jackie and I have had plenty!

To follow my story, my training, results and anything else you want to know, read my blog:

http://allyouhavetodoistri.blogspot.com/

But long story short, that fateful Thanksgiving Day last year, 2008, was quite possibly one of the most telling turning points in my life. I began this new journey, made a life altering decision and opened countless doors for myself and have learned life lessons that cant be taught anywhere else, even having experienced years and years in the swim pool. I have a few tasks left to complete and one of these involves you… One of my goals for my training was to incorporate friends and family and help others. I want to reach all ends of the earth (that’s a stretch, I know, but I can do it), and I want to serve a need close to everyone’s hearts. Everyone loves to help kids and everyone has been affected in some way by cancer.
I just received a very sad email from one of my dear friends from high school, Lee. She just got news that her mom was diagnosed with Stage II Breast Cancer. I have signed up to do the Ride to Conquer Cancer in September in addition to the Ironman- keep in mind, it can take MONTHS to fully recover from an Ironman, so this is going to be a feat in and of itself, but I am dedicated to it. This ride is a 150 mile bike ride through Kentucky, spread along 2 days, much like the MS 150 ride I did. I am going to do this in honor of Barbie Thomas (Lee's mom)... Another of my very good high school friends has dealt with breast cancer with her mom too (Emily). Consequently Lee, Emily, myself and many others were all best friends in high school. Emily has lived and traveled all over the world helping others and has recently landed in Africa. She and her group have started The Foundation For Tomorrow. This is a school for those children in need in Africa. Emily has dedicated her life to doing this, lives in Africa full time and she needs our help! My idea is that every person who knows me, Lee or Emily will want to help in some way, but may feel more of a need to contribute to a cause set up for cancer because of dealing with it in their family, themselves or another loved one. Or, someone else may feel that helping the children in Africa that Emily works with every day may hit home for them. Knowing you are providing shoes to a child who can’t afford it, or books to someone who may not know they exist. Together we can help a LOT of people.
Take a look at Emily's blog to read more about what she is doing and how we can help, then visit my firstgiving website that we have created and donate!! Every dollar counts!

http://thefoundationfortomorrow.org/
http://www.firstgiving.com/amymiranda

Below is the link to my Ride to Conquer Cancer website. In Barbie Thomas's honor (and everyone else you know who has had or who is dealing with cancer), let's raise as much money as we can.
http://www.ridetovictory.org/site/TR/Events/2009Kentucky?px=1015721&pg=personal&fr_id=1030

To honor both causes, I am going to compete in the following events (if you want to donate a dollar or penny for every mile, it will quickly add up!): July 18th- Cardinal Harbour Half Ironman- 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13,1 mile run
http://www.headfirstperformance.com/Int/Announcement.htm
August 30th- FORD IRONMAN LOUISVILLE- 2.4 miles swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run
http://www.ironmanlouisville.com/
September 26-27- Norton Ride to Conquer Cancer- 150 miles bike over 2 days

Thank you all in advance for your support. I would love to have you all out around the course as we compete this weekend (Cardinal Harbour Half Ironman) and AUGUST 30th in the Ford Ironman! It has truly been an amazing experience!!

Thanks again!

Amy

"The road to success is always under construction."

If my journey to this Ironman is the road, and it is going to be a success, I can certainly consider this road under construction. Currently, I should be wrapped in "caution" tape with blinking lights. For the past 4 days I have felt like my body has gone through the grinder. And the weird thing? These past 4 days have not been all that hard! I did find out I had a knee injury, but one I can continue to run with, so what did I do? I took off and ran for 9 miles that afternoon (that was last Thursday). It felt awesome. I needed to be out running- it was hot and muggy and I hadnt run in so long (6 days, but who's counting), and I just felt like I was slacking, so I really ran hard and tried to get in a good run, on my own. Well, after that, I think I had shot my legs. Maybe I wasnt ready at that point to run so hard, I dont know... but from that point on, I have had a hard time bouncing back. I figured I would straighten myself out, so I planned a long day for Saturday. We met up to do the Ironman course (one loop, not two), on Saturday morning early. I knew within 10 minutes that it was going to be a rough one. My legs felt like lead and I didnt have the speed that I usually have. We started up 42, and I tried to keep a positive attitude up the hill and out to 1694, practicing faster cadence like I had worked on with Curtis. But for some reason I just couldnt spin NEARLY as fast as Sarah was, right next to me. What was my problem? Well, after about 15 miles and a BUNCH of hills, I figured out I was in my big ring. For those of you that dont know this- you dont want to be in your big ring going up hills if you arent the strongest of riders and you want to save your legs. No wonder my legs were killing me. OUCH. So yeah, I fixed that and I progressed...

One of the things I love about all of this training is what I have learned about myself and about others. A large part of this happens on the bike, mostly because most of the training occurs on the bike. But in any case, there is something to be said for meeting hundreds of people with a common interest at 7 AM, all doing the same activity and all wanting to share their story, and I promise you, everyone has one. You do- we all do. Every single time I go on a long ride, I end up running into (not literally, although it has happened) someone who becomes a new contact/friend/training partner for this extended journey to the Ironman....

This particular Saturday, I met Logan. He is a man- about 50 years old, a driver for UPS and LOVES triathlons and ultra marathons- 100+miles of running at a time! He shared his experiences of seeing people dunk their heads in the water full of dirty sponges along the run at the Louisville Ironman, and seeing a pretty famous local newscaster being carted off the course in an ambulance. He shared with us his stories of stopping to chat with fans, family members, volunteers. There are lots of little tid bits of advice, inside knowledge gained from past experiences, etc that he and others share every time we come along one of these veterans and I am a sponge. I just soak it up and hope I can remember everything they say (which is why I like to keep this blog) so come race day, I might be just slightly more prepared.

Logan rode with us for about half of our ride, then split off at the Marathon (that is the universal stopping point/water station point throughout the ride- there are 3) to meet up with his friends. From there, Sarah and I rode back, my legs still feeling like lead and my water running low. BUT DONT WORRY... In the distance, we came across our "Water Angel" aka- Bob! Seriously, this guy is an Angel sent from God who seems to magically appear every time we are low on water, food, gatorade or anything, with his SUV and a smile in tow. Really, he is the nicest man on earth and he heads up a group called iamtri.com and they organize large group rides of the ironman course every couple of weeks. But as if on cue, he shows up when we need him! So we stopped about 10 miles out from our finish, chatted with Bob, got some water, then rode on home. By the time we were done, I was tired, but glad to be done, out of my big ring and quickly moved on to a short run. The run was fine, the knee didnt hurt too bad and I was glad the morning was over and I could relax the rest of the day!

After a few hours, the leadness came back FULL FORCE... I never had this feeling with swimming, I guess because when I got sore before, it was all in my shoulders, but now, it is all in my legs. My this goes beyond being sore- I am just tired. I have been slowly working through it, but this week, my mission is to relax, go easy and get ready for this weekend... my biggest test so far!!

CARDINAL HARBOUR HALF IRONMAN!!

Check it out- it will be a great event and they still need volunteers so let me know if you are interested in helping out!

Stay Tuned...

“The arrow that hits the bulls-eye is the result of the one hundred previous misses.”

Well, it's been a few weeks and a long few weeks. June was a long, rough month. I think the main focus there was on riding my bike and I think I only managed to fall off like five times which is a good thing. Didnt even get hit by any cars which is a good statistic too. Now it is approaching mid July, holy cow, and I only have 6 weeks left to the big day! June was packed with races, events, big training days, etc. and a lot of it left me wanting a few weekends to myself to not be sick to my stomach and in pain, so I could have some fun and enjoy the summer a little bit. So that is what I did last weekend, July 4th. I headed to the lake, did some running, a little (very little) open water swimming, and a lot of drinking beer, which was much needed.

Because I havent had any big races or huge weekends with milestone training days, ie- biking the whole course, etc. I dont have a lot of stories to tell. I think the biggest story to tell is the fact that my knee, namely my right knee, has become increasingly more painful. I ran about 12 miles last Friday morning at the lake- not too many hills or anything, but I could tell as I ran further and further, my knee was getting worse and worse. So I went to the doctor today, convinced that I was going to get a cortisone shot (and he knew that) and immediately told me I was NOT going to get a cortisone shot. This was a good and bad thing. Good because, I was on the verge of passing out even before he entered the room. I get myself so worked up over needles, I cant even see straight. And then, to think they will stick said needle into my KNEE... ummm, NO. Not happening. I was dizzy and spinning in the waiting room and I didnt even know what was wrong! So when he told me that it would be malpractice to even give me a shot to reduce my pain, I was partly relieved (maybe a lot), but partly sad because 1. I had already gotten worked up, so the bad part was over, and 2. this meant I was going to continue to be in pain until I stopped running, which is going to be after the Ironman, which is over 6 weeks away at this point.

So the consensus is, at this point, I have patella tendonitis (sorry if I spelled that wrong) and there is not a lot they can do for it besides ice it, put some anti inflamatory cream on it, and take a lot of aleve/advil. Most likely, my knee will hurt, my job is just to minimize it as much as I can. So I will, but at least I know I am not doing any permanent damage. Whew! And no shot...

So now, our job is to lay out the training plan for the rest of the season so I can complete this thing... I am really starting to get nervous, have some weird dreams about getting stuck in the middle of a hill on my bike, etc. But, I will finish and I will do well- I just know it. Tonight, I need to get back on track because the past week with my mini July 4th vacation and knee problems, my training has really fallen off and I am not ready for any taper just yet! I still have a month before that happens.

Any ideas any of you have for re-habbing knees are welcome... or training, or tapering for that matter...