ironcheryl2018

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted. Mostly because I was not super excited about my result at the Chicago Half Marathon. There was no 2 hour result for me that day as planned. I got a new PR by a mere 30 seconds. But I was exhausted by mile 8 and really struggled to finish strong. Not sure what happened. I know with complete certainty I will get to that 2 hour mark; that just wasn’t the day.

The week after the half marathon, I did a supported bike ride on the Oilman Half Ironman course. I rode 46 miles. That was the longest I had ever ridden my bike. Was proud of myself for finishing.

Last weekend (Oct. 8 & 9) I went to Nebraska to do a Market to Market 76-mile relay event with my college friend Kim Grier. Ran two legs: 5.5 and 4 and had a super fun time!

So now I have 30 days until my first Half Ironman; the Oilman on November 6th. Won’t lie, I’m pretty nervous. Tried on wetsuits tonight and that was pretty hilarious. Those just aren’t lovely, but I understand I am going to love using it in cold open water – so a wetsuit it is. I also got a powermeter installed on my bike. So, 5 days in the pool this week – 75 miles on my bike this weekend – I’m on my way to trying to be prepared for the feat in front of me. All I want to do is finish – that will be a major step forward in this Ironman journey.

One week to go until the Chicago Half Marathon. This is my “A” race for the year – the one that all the training has really been focused on. The one I’ve trained through this brutal Texas summer heat for. The one where I have set a really big goal.

Three years ago at my birthday dinner, I announced I wanted to run a half marathon before my next birthday to my family. That seems like yesterday and this Chicago Half will be my 7th.

My goal is 2 hours. That is crazy fast for me. But I trust in the training that Dana Lyons has provided; I trust in all the advice I have gained from my Finish Strong teammates; and I trust in my body and my mind to do what I am capable of. There is absolutely no doubt miles 8-12 are going to be hard, maybe even hurt a little. But I think races are just like life, the tough, painful times are there so that you can experience the joyful things with greater appreciation.

So my birthday present to myself is this half marathon – another beautiful experience I can live and remember for the rest of my life. Next post will be the results!!!!! #chicagohalfmarathonin2hours

Goals are amazing. If you set them and really believe you can achieve them, you will. That is exactly what happened at this race.

So happy to have finally made some forward progress!!!! Good strong swim, 18.5 MPH bike ride and decent run. Lots of training goes into these, so felt good to set a new PR and drop 5 minutes off the last sprint tri this length. Gives me some confidence going into the Half Ironman in November.

Also received a huge surprise at the finish line with Alissa Faircloth and Lindsey Woodard, with her 6 month old twins and husband, there to cheer me on. My Ironman journey is likely to be half physical and half mental, maybe even more, so having the support of David, friends and family means more than I know how to express.

Now, focusing on the Chicago Half Marathon in 2 weeks – goal is to go 2 hours, which will be a huge PR. But I believe I can do it. So it’s half done.

So I set a 30 day challenge to drop 10 pounds on August 6th. With two days left, I am down 7. So when I race the Towne Lake Tri tomorrow, it will be like NOT carrying this stack of books with me. Gotta be some time in that, right?

I’ve been using MyFitnessPal to track what I eat – working on eating more protein and less carbs. Has really helped keep me conscious of the quality of the fuel I’m putting into my body. And since I have a set number of calories to eat each day, makes me really think about “do I want to use my calories for this” – so overall making much better choices.

My goal time tomorrow for this Tri is 1:25 – hoping to have a good strong, straight swim, faster transitions and faster ride than last sprint at Cypress. The air seems a little cooler so should have a good run. Crossing fingers for no rain in the morning. I’ll check in tomorrow; so excited to race!!!!

Moved up to clipless pedals last week. Did not fall the first ride but hit the pavement right off the bat on ride 2. Fortunately wasn’t moving yet, so only thing hurt was my pride. Can’t believe how much more power I can get with these. It’s going to take lots of time to get comfortable with them, but happy I made the transition.

Had a swim assessment with Coach Dana last Friday and learned all kinds of things I’ve been doing wrong with my swimming. Plan to start Friday morning coached workouts with Coach Chantal. Again, it’s going to take lots of time to implement everything he told me to work on, but glad to be moving in the right direction.

Revised eating plan has been going well. I’ve dropped 5 pounds and am feeling really good.

Ready for Towne Lake Sprint Tri in 2 weeks with all the new knowledge, clips, and carrying around less weight!

Lucked out this morning and Coach Dana came to the beginner bike ride. Since only he, Coach Zach and his wife showed up, got the equivalent of a private lesson. Sorely needed private lesson I should add. Really needed help understanding how to shift properly and after about an hour of Coach telling me what to do, it’s starting to sink in. I actually had my cadence above 100 at one point – my bike has never been there before. Long, long way to go, but totally worth getting up at 5:45 on a Sunday morning.

Easy swim yesterday and 6.5 mile run today. The rest of the week is super easy as I get ready to do the Cypress sprint Tri on Sunday. Not looking for any particular time at this race. Wanting to freestyle the whole time (I have a bad habit of getting freaked out in the open water and breaststroking), improve my bike leg and have good short transitions.