ironcheryl2018

I’m in disbelief that it is only 12 days until IRONMAN Texas. A journey of 2 years and a goal I once thought not achievable are just 288 hours in front of me.

The hard work is done. I couldn’t even begin to add up the thousands of hours I have swam, ridden my bike and run. Out of bed at 4:45 am to head out the door; getting on the bike after a long day at work; weekend workouts where I leave the house before sunrise and don’t return until late afternoon. I was determined to do all the training so there would be no “if only I had done this.” No excuses. I did almost all of it.

Last Sunday at the TEXAS 70.3 Half IRONMAN in Galveston I had a great ride. I was the bike leg of a relay with teammate Pam Meaux. It was very cold and windy;  I had a tailwind almost the whole way out and then a headwind on the way back. But the headwind wasn’t the worst I have faced in my training; so I handled it with no problem. Best bike leg to date – power over 100 and highest mph yet. Huge confidence booster heading into the final goal. Said when I left Arizona I was going to make my weakness my strength and I’ve worked very hard towards that goal.

Race bib list came out this week. I’m number 1001 – it’s a palindrome: a word, number, sentence, or verse that reads the same backward or forward. It derives from the Greek palin dromo, which means “running back again.”  It’s supposed to be good luck – how awesome is that?

I know for me the next 12 days are going to go by quickly. And be very emotional. This journey has been such a gift for me. I’ve met some of the most amazing people and learned so much about myself. I love working hard to achieve something and then watching it happen. And I know deep in my heart that God has a plan for me on April 28th and I am fully ready to accept what he has in store for me. I’m just so very very truly grateful to have had this journey.

Anything is possible, I am stronger than I know, Actually, I can, and the journey is the reward.

26 days to go until IRONMAN TEXAS. I can’t believe how fast it is coming up. Looking back one year, I was getting ready to do my first half IRONMAN. Did it on a road bike. Had never ridden in high wind before – I was SCARED TO DEATH the entire 56 miles. I will be doing the bike leg of the same race this year on a relay. I’m not nervous – I am excited to practice my IRONMAN race at this half.

The past two weeks have been absolutely critical in my training. I did two long rides outside which the old Cheryl never would have completed. Being out on the road with cars is scary. I never had enough confidence in myself or my riding ability to do it well or at all. That has started to change. And while I fully realize the car will always win and I need to be very very careful, I also realize I have to believe in myself on the bike.

This Friday, I did a long ride that was supported with some of my usual training partners. Two of them missed a turn. I yelled to make sure they knew they needed to come back and then I headed out on the turn. When I got to a main road we needed to cross, I stopped and waited for them. They didn’t come and didn’t come. I knew something was wrong because truly they usually would have passed me before I got to the light. A SAG car came by and told me they were coming. But all was not well. One of them had a car pull out in front of her; she braked too hard and flew off her bike. She was in the road on the ground and all her things were scattered; aero bars broken. She said she was fine and wanted to keep riding, but a SAG driver talked her out of it and into his car. I am so so so grateful that she was OK.

Old Cheryl would have gotten in the car after this happened. But I made myself get back on my bike and finish the ride. Thinking about her made me remember I need to be super cautious while I’m out there. But I focused and had a great ride. Along the way, I met the pro who competes all over the world at the Shell station while making a stop. She’s here training for IMTX. That was awesome. One of my training partners got a flat tire and I helped her change it – that was awesome. Best power on a long ride to date – super awesome.

I promised to make my weakness (riding) my strength when I left Arizona. I’ve worked super hard towards this goal. I have a very specific plan in mind for the bike leg at IMTX and all I have to do is go execute the plan. I’m not afraid of doing this any more.

Last week, I took part in the Vantage Point Endurance tri training camp. That was an amazing experience and I learned so much more than I imagined I would. Filmed swim analysis helped me make an adjustment that just might give me an extra 10 minutes to use on the bike. Met with a sport psychologist and getting my head right on the bike will be key to getting to the finish line. Had a running gait analysis that told me I’m doing a lot of things right. I was really impressed that my coach and his partners would take so much time to spend with their athletes. These guys really care about their athletes and their performance; even though I am never going to podium or qualify for Kona – they respect my effort and my goals. Very impressive.

So, just a couple more weeks of hard training and then the taper will begin………. it’s going to fly by now.

Well, I have another first on this IRONMAN journey. Yep, I changed my own tire. I didn’t get a flat, but I sat in the garage the past two nights with David Perry patiently training me on how to change my front and my back tires. Tonight I did it completely by myself. Probably doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it was completely possible that I would have been born and died without ever doing this, so kind of a big deal for me.

When you know you are going to be fighting cutoffs on the bike, a flat could be the difference between becoming an IRONMAN and NOT. I refuse to let a flat wreck this journey, so I’m going to sit in my garage at least 4 times a week for the next 5 weeks and get so frickin’ fast at changing my tire that if it happens on race day, it won’t even be an issue. My heart rate won’t even go up. Because I will be utterly prepared to calmly handle it.

That’s what all this training is about. Preparing myself for what is going to happen on race day. And as the amazingly talented Gemma Hollis told me yesterday “you don’t become an IRONMAN on the day, the day is just a celebration of what you are doing now…..”  38 more days to mentally and physically prepare myself to get to the celebration.

Yesterday was a milestone day in this IRONMAN journey. Eight weeks to race day and a 100 mile ride. If  you’ve done a 100 mile ride, you know how I feel today.  It’s the strangest combination of pride, exhaustion, self-reflection, and well let’s just be honest, pain.

I’ve come so far on my bike, but still have lots to accomplish in these last 8 weeks. I managed to stay with the group the first loop of our 24 mile course. Speed 16 and power 98. All good. Loop 2 I dropped to 15.3 mph and 93 power. Loop 3 I just couldn’t keep up so the long, lonely ride into the wind down 1485 by myself seemed to go on forever. Wanted to quit but I completed loop 4 and average mph was still above 14. Average power was 80. Need to get my cadence higher and learn to keep fueling more consistently – think I ran outta gas. There were a few beautiful moments though, heading down 1314 with the wind at my back, 21 mph in aero – I couldn’t have even imagined that just two months ago!!!! There is no way I could be where I am right now without the help of Ivonne, Christy and new IM training friend Nikki. They are faster than me but they still let me ride with them, and chasing them makes me faster. Their support is amazing and I’ve learned so much from both of them. I am grateful and blessed to have these ladies on my journey with me. I just have to keep pedaling forward and telling myself to make my weakness my strength and hopefully some day I’ll be able to stay with them the entire ride.

Swimming is going well and so is running. My brick after the ride yesterday was at 10.5 pace – super happy about that.

Going to spend some time changing my tire this week and make sure I’m prepared in case that happens on race day.

Starting to visualize the race.  I know I can’t control or predict what is going to happen on race day. But I want to make sure I’ve thought about every possibility and that I am calmly prepared to take on whatever IRONMAN TEXAS 2018 serves up to me and I get to that finish line.  I’ve worked so hard for the past 2 years and while no one is going to be impressed with my “times”, I fully intend to become an IRONMAN on April 28th.

82 days, 19 hours, 25 minutes and 22 seconds until IRONMAN TEXAS 2018.  I knew a day like today would come. I woke up and DID NOT want to do the 2 hour run on my training schedule. Yesterday I knocked out 3.5 hours on a trainer and then a 50 minute brick. Every part of my body is sore – mostly between my knees and my pelvis. So the prospect of pounding out 10 to 12 miles was not enticing. But it reminded me that today’s run was part of the mental training going on. Because I clearly remember mile 3 of the run in Arizona thinking “how am I going to get in 23 more miles.”  So I got up, laced up my shoes and headed out the door. Got it done.

There are 12 weeks left in this journey. The past two weeks have been a challenge to say the least. Had a key employee quit, so I am doing my job and hers and training two new employees. And training for IM. Why don’t we just add ending world hunger to my to do list while we are at it. So overwhelmed two weeks ago I actually thought there was no way I could continue training and do IM with so much work to do.  Once I got over my pity party, I realized I have come too far to quit now and I am going to finish this journey strong. When did I ever think this IM journey would be easy? When did I think owning my own company would be easy? Is anything worthwhile easy? Nope, nope and nope. So I am thankful for all the loyal employees who are working with me and all of the clients who do trust me to handle their accounts. And I am grateful that I am healthy enough to be on this IM journey. And grateful for my training partners and family who are supporting me through this journey. I choose to focus on what I do have and how very fortunate I am.

It took me a little longer then I thought it would to come back from Arizona. But I made it to the Houston Half marathon and had a decent time. No PR and it was more like a long run, but it was fun to run it with my IM training partners Ivonne and Christy.

Two-a-days are becoming a habit now.  The focus is the bike and my comfort level on it is greatly improved; no longer scared to be in aero at all. Still struggling to get my cadence and power up, but lots of long rides in front of me to work on this.

So, today, thankful that I was able to make myself get through the workout and praying for the strength to complete the training I need to and make it to the IM start line.

With a few days rest under my belt, I’m feeling some clarity settle in about Sunday’s race. There are a few things I want to remember.

Mile 80 something on the bike – I was thinking – “why am I doing this? I’m going to finish this dang race today and then I’m not doing this again – in Texas I’m going to volunteer and then sit and drink beer at the finish line and cheer people on but I’m not going to do this ever again – how am I going to go another 30 something miles?” So in short, I was not enjoying the ride.

Today I woke up thinking “I can’t wait to do it again.”

Mile 15 on the run. It was dark and getting cold. Course was very quiet – most of the well-trained athletes had finished. I came across a lady whose left leg was amputated and she was wearing a blade. She was limping very hard, obviously in pain but she was moving forward. I said to her “You are all kinds of crazy amazing.” She replied “We all are.”

Mile 18 on the run, I thought to myself what a privilege it was to be there. What an adventure to be doing this. Remembering how just 4 years ago I had trouble running for 1 minute. That’s the attitude I need to have from start to finish in Texas. 

 

Came to this Ironman race to do the swim and the bike and learn about what it takes to become an Ironman. All of that accomplished. Had the crazy idea that if I got through the the 112 mile bike ride (furthest to date had been 56 miles) I would go ahead and try to finish it up, even though I had only been on a half IM training plan.

Just being in IM Village is exciting. The whole atmosphere is so energetic and positive. We checked in, bought too much IM merchandise and soaked it all in. Enjoyed a dinner with all the Texas Vantage Point and Finish Strong athletes that came here to do this race.

Discovered Friday night that my electronic shifting was not working. So we after a quick run Saturday morning, headed off to find the bike techs. They were amazing and thanks to my coach John Tortorici bringing over a laptop, we discovered it needed a firmware update. A little stressful but all was well within a few hours. Did the practice swim and was comfortable in the water. Jumped on the bike for a few laps and felt great.

Woke up at 3:30 am nervous. Ate breakfast and headed over to the race site. Everything went fast until I went over to stand in the swim start line. Seemed to be there forever and it was cold. The water was 68 degrees or something, so once we jumped in, it actually felt kind of warm compared to the air (in the 50s). I was surprised how much room I had right away.  Got into a nice rhythm quickly and felt strong. Got hit in the head at the halfway turn, but got right back into my rhythm. Finished in 1:43 something – super happy with that.

Now to do my first century on the bike in a race – haha – what is wrong with me? So much traffic on the first loop. I felt bad for the pros having to deal with very rude people riding in the left lane when they clearly should not have been. I was tentative on lap one. The false flat on the way out was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be and there was a strong wind. Then the turnaround – it was downhill with the wind at my back. Going 25+ and loving life. Loop 2 = less traffic so tried to push a little harder. Just make it to the turnaround and then downhill I kept telling myself. Made it and my special needs bag was just a few miles ahead. Stopped and refilled all my nutrition and had half a peanut butter sandwich. (Took it on the bike). There was a cutoff time of 3 pm to start loop 3. Focused on that and made it by 10 minutes. Then for loop 3. Had to be at the turnaround by 4:15 – with the uphill. Pushed as hard as I could and it was 1 to 2 mph faster than my first two laps. I realized at some point that I was not going to make it.  Put it in God’s hands at that point. Got there at 4:23. I was there with a few other people. The IM official told us to go go go but we had to be at the dismount line by 5:30 hard. So I booked it. Pushed with everything I had. I spent about 40% of the ride in aero, because you can’t sit up for 112 miles, but at this point I got into aero going 19 mph downhill. If you ride with me, you are saying you would like proof – haha. When I got to the flat, I had to keep it at 16 mph to make it in, and it was pure heart at that point. I made it to the dismount line at 5:29:59. No lie – 1 second to spare.

You had to be on the run course by 5:40. So the rush was on for me to get thru t2. Since I was pretty much the last one in, I had a huge group of volunteers helping me. Got me in and out pretty fast. Started the run at about 11 minute miles but pretty quickly slowed down. Ran and then walked thru aid stations. I made it to 13 and my special needs bag and stopped to put on compression socks. Just a half marathon and done. Started hearing about a 10:30 pm run cutoff at mile 20. I was running pretty slow, but thought I could make it. I did make it, crossed the 20 mile marker. Whew I thought. Went into the restroom. When I came out, an IM official told me he was sorry, but he had to take my chip and my day was over. The official “line” was 10 feet in front of the bathrooms. I’m not a quitter, but I had to stop.  Heart-wrenching after 15 hours and 15 minutes of giving all of my heart to finishing, albeit without having done the proper training. I knew David was at the finish and that broke my heart too.

It would be easy for me to be upset that I missed becoming an Ironman here by one minute. But the truth is, I missed it because I’m still too slow on the bike and I made several poor choices along the way. And now I know what I need to do.

Good news – I completed my first century bike ride. I didn’t have any nutrition issues!!!! No cramps, no headache, no throwing up or stomach issues!!!! That is huge!!! I had an awesome swim and I have five months to get even stronger.

If I just go 1 mph faster on my bike at IMTX, I will have an additional 112 minutes – good grief!!!!!

What I know about becoming an IM is there are no shortcuts. Got to do the training and then you get to hear them say You Are An Ironman.   Walking back to find David after getting a ride back in Sunday night felt really lonely and I felt diappointed in myself, but today I realized that over 1000 people who signed up for this race either didn’t start or finish. Becoming an IM is hard work. If it was easy, there would be no point.

Couldn’t have done any of this without David Perry – just love you to the moon and back David – thank you for helping me chase this dream.

So now David and I are in Sedona for a week to not swim, run or bike. I’m going to enjoy some good wine and downtime. And a couple of massages.

Then I am going to come home and not miss one single workout on the final leg of my IRONMAN journey.  I am excited that I will become an IM in front of my family and with my friends at home. And there is just no question that I will be an IRONMAN.

 

 

Been way too long since I posted here. Finished the Oilman Half IRONMAN yesterday, so pretty much feel like I got run over by a truck today. Tough race. Learned a lot of things though – lost power information halfway on the bike – forgot to change the battery before an important race – duh. The swim went pretty well – used new Predator wetsuit and I think I need to get the next size up – felt a little restricted. Bike course here is tough – hills and wind and it was humid and hot. So familiar with it from all the training, though, and that helped A LOT. Loved the tailwind, hated going straight into it up big hills. But I motored through and made it to the run. Very hard run – run course was mostly on golf course cart paths that were very old and uneven plus sunny and hot – managed to run the whole time though and got it done. 5 minute PR – placed in the middle of my age group on the swim and the run, dead last as usual on the bike. So far to go on the bike. My nutrition on the bike was much better this race than Galveston – no cramping on the run. Got into aero several times and in general so much more comfortable than ever before. I know i will get there but it’s a journey. It’s funny how things becomes clearer once they are behind you – broke my ankle 12 days before this race last year and now I know with complete certainty – I was not trained enough last year and would have likely not finished. God gave me a free pass that at the time didn’t seem that way.

Haven’t posted since I did the Omaha Half. Finally got that sub 2 hour finish time. John Tortorici paced me since his wife was there running the marathon to qualify for Boston. I placed second in my age group. Really really proud and happy about this accomplishment – I work so hard and it was nice to finally see that pay off with a goal time. I realized during that race that my current coach at the time probably wasn’t the one for me. So when I returned from Omaha, I switched to Vantage Point Endurance with John Tortorici as my coach. It’s nice to have someone to pays attention to me, truly believes in me and encourages me on a daily basis in my corner and I know that John will get me across the IRONMAN finish line.

Headed to IRONMAN Arizona in two weeks to try to complete the swim and bike course there. Going to stop and not do the run, which means a DNF, but I know that going in – it’s all just training for IRONMAN TEXAS. Then going to head to Sedona for a week with David to just chill and not swim, run or bike. Although he tells me he wants to go hiking – haha.

I started running which become this IRONMAN journey 4 years ago – mostly to deal with Kyle’s drug addiction. Unfortunately, Kyle fell back into addiction recently. After spending 5 years doing everything we could to help him and putting him into recovery program after recovery program, I know there is nothing ABSOLUTELY nothing I can do to help him. And that kills me inside. I almost didn’t race yesterday because the situation is bad with him, but I know that God doesn’t not want me, or his sisters and brother, stepfather, stepmother, father, grandparents to stop living our lives because of Kyle’s actions. So I got up and went 70.3 miles and I prayed for him a lot of those miles, because that’s all I can do. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I have two endurance races in the midst of this all happening – I think God knew exactly what was going on and guided me. It’s funny because Kyle is the one who really should be doing IRONMAN. My greatest hope is that someday I will watch him become one.

Off to recover and get ready for Arizona.  Moving from 56 miles to 112 miles in one big swoop – why not?

It’s been a busy triathlon month – did two sprint triathlons back to back two weeks. Probably a little much. Cypress Tri went OK; great run but not quite the swim or bike I wanted. River Cities Tri in Louisana was super fun. Pretty good bike but the exhaustion of racing two weeks in a row set in on this one. GREAT practice races getting me ready for my IRONMAN goal however.

I’m feeling so much more confident on my new bike now. Getting used to the different positioning and don’t even think about clipping in and out any more (my heart rate used to about double just thinking about it.) Finally able to drink while riding (super important). Next mountain to climb is feeling comfortable in aero – can get into it but not comfortable or used to it at all yet. Another step in the journey.

Feeling great about my swimming thanks to Gemma Hollis. Running is great too. Really feeling ready to go to Omaha in a month and finally capture that 2 hour Half time I’ve been chasing for so long.

I think the most significant thing going on right now is how much the daily training has become part of my life. With ten workouts per week and three companies to run, no small feat. So thankful David is supportive and does sweet things for me. Like bringing an ice water and putting it in my car to find at the end of a 42 mile solo training ride when all I had left was super hot water. Also so thankful for all the training partners around me who are encouraging me and helping educate me on what to do and how it should feel; absolutely no way I could be doing this without them.

So next major goal is the Omaha Half. Will need to navigate staying on course with IRONMAN training while trying to do my best at what is this year’s A race. Trust that Dana Lyons will skillfully help me through this.

Wow have I been bad about posting on this blog. So much has happened over the past few months. But had to post this week, because this week I OFFICIALLY REGISTERED FOR IRONMAN TEXAS 2018.  So, the journey has “officially” begun. 

Most important step has been the purchase of my new Tri Bike, named Valencia, meaning brave, strong and orange. Have 50 miles on her and a looooonnnnggg way to go in getting comfortable and up to speed. But I love her and we are going to be good buddies very soon. A bike fit this week with Tad Hughes went a long way to getting my seat and arm positions where they needed to be. 

Competed in CB&I and Sylvan Beach sprint Tris. Practice triathlons and learned something at each one. Sylvan was my first real ocean open water swim and the waves were HUGE. Course was 1/3 longer than advertised. At this one, I was proud of myself for just keep moving ahead after those terrible swim conditions. Had my best 5K in a triathlon at the end of this sprint, which I’m proud of.

Another major step has been a swimming analysis with local swimming legend Gemma Hollis. The video set up and patient, detailed analysis of my issues were more helpful than I can describe. Started going to her coached workouts twice a week and this is making a huge difference in my training, rather than mindlessly putting in laps with bad form solo. Really happy I found Gemma – I highly recommend and she is truly spectacular. Fast Fridays with Coach Amy are also going a long way towards improvement.

Started seeing a nutritionist a month ago to start getting the right fuel in my body for all my workouts and to figure out what the heck to eat on these endurance races. Christy Abrams is an athlete and she is very good. She has me eating more protein than I ever thought I could. I’ve lost 6 pounds, all while gaining some muscle. I’ve completely changed the way I eat and look at food. Keeping Sundays open to do whatever I want, but now that I’m in the habit of eating better, it’s really pretty easy to do. David has come along this eating plan with me and dropped a bunch of weight as well, so it’s been good all around. Did a bunch of blood work to find out about my micro-nutrient profile and still waiting for those results – it’s likely there will be more changes once we see those. Really need to thank one of my teammates, Ligia, for turning me on to Christy. She noticed in one of my Facebook posts that I was tired and suggested I may not be eating enough to fuel my works and she was right on target with that analysis.

Getting in 10 workouts a week now – it’s just becoming a way of life. I daydream a lot about crossing the IRONMAN finish line and the announcer saying “Cheryl Perry, you are an IRONMAN” during long runs. I know – dork for sure – but keeps me motivated at mile 9 of 11.  I have to say I am really really enjoying this journey.  I’m learning I can do more than I ever thought I could, I’m meeting the coolest people ever, and I’m working toward a goal I never in a million years thought I could achieve.

Work has been insane the past 6 months. We are close to going into a little quieter time of year and I have a new employee starting in July who I feel is going to make it possible for me to go into the “real” IRONMAN training December – April without being worried about work. I have a great team of people and I know that me stepping back a little bit is going to be just fine.

Next goal – Cypress Tri July 30 – I’d like to do a 1:20 here. Let’s see what I can do………

Going to do a better job of posting – I want to remember every step of my IRONMAN journey.