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Showing posts from September 11, 2011

#1846

As many of us like to say... "It is finally official. I have a number". Bib numbers for the Ironman World Championships were released last week and I will be racing in the 25-29 age group as Bib Number 1846. As I end my enjoyable recovery week, my energy is building. My body is filled with an amazing amount of energy and I can't wait to EXPLODE on Oct 8th. I leave to Kona on October 4th where I will be joined by my amazingly supportive parents and Karel. As I approached 1 more week of "fine-tuning" before a 2 week taper, I know that all the IM-specific quality training is behind me. Knowing that I will not be able to properly recover from any more high volume training, I will resist the urge to squeeze in any more long workouts. I will continue to reflect on the past 11 weeks of progressive build in order to pay respect and thank my body and continue to work on my mental strength. My massage therapist Marjorie does a lot of visualization with me before my Ironm

Keep moving forward

" Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful. " This is one of my favorite quotes. I think we would all agree that life is constantly changing. For one moment you feel like you are on the top of the world and the next moment you feel as if the world is crumbling on top of you. I find it important to always remember that there will be a tomorrow. There will also be a few hours later and there is also a right now. When an athlete/fitness enthusiast tells me that he/she "messed up" with the diet or missed a workout, I simply reply via email or text "good thing there are 365 days in the year!". In all honesty, what's one day here or there. Perhaps we are too hard on oursel

Panini sandwich

Isn't this picture beautiful? Fresh basil from my backyard basil plant. Don't tell Karel but I haven't prepared him a "meat" dinner meal in over a week! Of course I never want to turn my hubby into a vegetarian (against his own will) but he isn't complaining about my veggie-packed meals! Best of all, he is still riding strong and feeling great..and his belly is filled with lots of color! I was browsing through some old food pics on my computer and I came across this pic from a few weeks ago. We just LOVE our panini maker and it makes any plain sandwich 10x better and yummy smells just fill the room. For my non-vegetarians, here is a simple tuna salad sandwich recipe for a quick and yummy lunch. For my vegetarians, whenever I make Karel tuna salad, I make the "base" of the salad and then divide it in half. I use either eggs or tofu as my protein choices for my salad and then use tuna for Karel's salad. This way I don't have to go out of my way

Quick dinner eat

Where did the year go? This morning I realized that one year ago today I became a Kona qualifier. One year ago yesterday I wrote the following on my facebook status "is an IMWI finisher! And super sore! Finished 4th age group, 11st amateur female and 22nd overall. 10:57 finish time. I am amazed that my body let me "race" such a challenging Ironman. Crowds were amazing and helped me dig deep." In 25 days I finally get to dig deep once again. For I haven't done a triathlon since IMWI which was 365 days ago. I have a 4-minute PR from the Jacksonville Half marathon (1:32) under my belt but I am going into this Ironman completely fresh and I am about to explode with excitement. Nothing makes me nervous about the Ironman for it is a race based on preparation. Not only physical but how you mentally approach the day. Of course, I get nervously excited because there are a few uncontrollables that can affect the day but I have to say that for every Ironman (including my f

Monday Product Review

What a weekend. My last BIG build before Kona!! This week I welcome a full recovery week in order to gain strength, speed and power from working hard in my last two training blocks. I have been training for 10 weeks and started my 14-week B4KONA training plan after almost 3 months of NO running due to hip pain and a stressful internship. I have to say I am feeling like I am in the best shape of my life and absolutely LOVING my training. Certainly I welcome the upcoming taper at the end of the month but I don't feel as if I "Need it" to come now. I am not burnt out and I am not losing my love for Ironman training. I love growing as an athlete after every workout and that is what I will miss the most as I near the end of this training. However, with this growth, I can't wait to put my training to the test on October 8th, 2011! As I approach the last 3 weeks before Kona (after this well-needed recovery week), I will not lose focus on intensity but rather, lengthen recove