O. M. 2. G.

O. M. 2. G.  =  One Month to Go.  I feel ready, mostly, sort of, kinda, okay...not really.

I really felt great about my performance at the Muncie Ironman 70.3 but thinking about doing twice that distance is still overwhelming.  Immediately after Muncie, the family and I took off for a Florida vacation.


 I was looking forward to swimming in the open water swimming in the gulf, but the waves were just too big.




I was looking forward to running everyday, but it was too hot and humid to push myself.
 



And I was looking forward to riding my bike, but the pop up storms prevented me from doing anything over 90 minutes.

 And while it's always a sacrifice to take time away from the family to train, taking time away from the family while on vacation is beyond selfish!




I still swam, I still ran, and I still biked, but perhaps the best prep was the mental prep.  My method for mentally preparing for the potential 17 hour day....a 13 hour drive from Destin to Yorktown with 3 kids in the back seat -

Here's what I look like after that 13 hours!  Not sure what I'll look like after crossing the finish line, but hopefully it doesn't include straws...or life support!


So how am I really feeling...?  Well when it comes to the swim, I think I can gut it out and survive without any problem even though I've yet to do that distance.  The bike scares me to death.  Not only for the possible mechanical failures that are beyond my control, but simply because I have not done anything close to 112 miles yet.  In fact, as of this writing, I've only done 70...once...over a year ago!  I hope to change that this weekend, but it will be nowhere close to 112.  It doesn't help that I continue to read about others doing 100 mile rides and even following them up with short runs - maybe they're in it to win it?  As for the run, sure, I've done the distance.  Having completed 4 marathons, you might think I'd be comfortable with that, but truth is, I know how much it hurts to do a marathon, and doing so after the swim and bike scares me to death!  I'm preparing myself for the marathon to take 7+ hours!
HOWEVER...mentally, I am ready!  I am ready for it to hurt...and I am ready to make myself keep going...because, I am ready to be an Ironman!!