Introduction to the Life of an Ironman in Training

When I signed up I knew this journey would be exhausting and I would struggle, but by no means did I think I would be so exhausted this early on.  Dad questioned my signing up for the race, not because he didn't believe in me, as he knows I can do this and so do I, but because he wanted to make sure I was making the right decision for me, at the right time in my life, to have the best opportunity to achieve all my goals.  The timing in my life is a whole other story that I may consider sharing at some point.   But all of these statements are about me.

Ironman is not about me.  This Ironman journey is about everybody involved, it goes with the defining word of the team - Kokua: extending loving, sacrificial help to others for their benefit not for personal gain. Through this blog, fundraising, team and personal service projects I am trying to extend a love for a selfless life, a healthy life, and a motivated life to all who read this and surround and support me.  I would be lying to say that this experience is 100% Kokua and not at all about me, because obviously this has been my personal goal for 25 years.  But I can honestly say that this experience and the growth I will gain is also for everybody around me and looking down on me from above.  It is my hope that we can all grow through this experience.

Anybody who knows me knows I am NOT a morning person and even without intense training I LOVE/LIVE to SLEEP.   Ironman training will require A LOT of sleep to allow my body to repair and rebuild, but the duration of training accompanied by the adult lifestyle (I wish I could go back to college and take naps between class) most Ironman triathletes have to maintain, make this a balancing act.  I guess this is one of the many lessons Ironman teaches us, what is the proper balance to life and how do you balance everything.  This is a very useful yet difficult lesson to learn.  People strive their entire lives to learn the proper balance.  Then beyond learning we must put it into action.  If anybody has found the proper balance in life, please let me know.  Fortunately I do not have kids (in the human sense) to balance, as many Ironman triathletes do and as my Father did when he competed, but I do have my pride and joy Tico, the Fuzzy Siberian Husky that requires A LOT of exercise and play time.

Tico 

My balancing act thus far has not been too difficult, but it is already taking a toll on me and I know those morning workouts will become more of a daily occurrence and the evening workouts will only get longer.  I wake up and some days train right away in the morning - out of bed and on the road at 4:50am for TRX and the pool before work.  At this stage of the game most days I just fly out of bed and gather my things and sprint out of the house to get to work looking less than presentable.  I am sure my old college roommates can remember my act of flying around the apartment like I am a crazy person or appear to be escaping a blazing fire in the house.  Training for Ironman is not exactly conducive to looking all prim and proper, at least not for this girl, I do not have the time or desire to care about what I am wearing or how my hair looks.  Then, I sit on my butt working all day thinking about food and trying not to eat only chocolate...for those of you who don't know me I am a SERIOUS Chocoholic in every sense of the word, it's a problem.  Then I drive the 30 miles home and try to get back out training before 6pm, only to finish my workout by 8:00pm or 8:30pm, soon to be 9:00pm.  I quickly try to shove something down my throat because this seems to be the only time of day I don't feel like eating.  At this point I obviously cannot fall asleep right away, so I spend the next hour or two trying to calm down so I can get to sleep.  I also avoid doing any laundry or cleaning so if this keeps up by the time I see Ironman, in August, I will be wearing nothing or super dirty clothes, sleeping on a pile of dirty clothes - I will spare you the rest of this description.  I never end up getting enough sleep so the viscous cycle begins again.  On top of all this I need to complete my application for a post-graduate certificate, continue considering Phd programs, schedule in volunteer time (which I will soon report more on as I just registered to volunteer at the Isabella County Commission on Aging and am super excited), and the list continues.  I am not complaining, I actually thrive off all of this and I know so many people's lives are much more wild than mine.  I am just saying I am tired and fear the training.

I keep telling myself it is going to get better.  I know I jumped into the training quite rapidly and am trying to make up for the lost 4-6 weeks of IM training along with attempting to heal a sprained ankle (so angry at myself about the ankle and so sad), but I also know it is just going to get more intense.  Ultimately what it comes down to is I am trying to do too much.  Dad told me I was going to need to make sacrifices and, as Mom and Dad have always told me, STOP TRYING TO BURN THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS.  So friends please bare with me as I disappear onto the road and into the lake this summer, or at least hand me a summer refreshment as I swim by the party boat!

As an Ironman in training I must accept and always remember what the Ironman Foundation - Newton Running Ambassador Team Team Manager shared with us:

It WILL hurt. It WILL take time.  It WILL require dedication.  It WILL require willpower.  You WILL need to make healthy decisions.  It requires sacrifice.  You WILL need to push your body to its max.  There WILL be temptation.  But I promise you, when you reach your goal.  It's worth it!

You should have asked me in the middle of my ride on Saturday if it was worth it.  Started out at 46 degrees with a goal of 60 miles.  As I rode the temperature dropped to 41, and come to find out by the end it was 39.  It started out cloudy and then drizzled a bit and I thought, I got this.  I couldn't figure out why no matter what way I turned it seemed I had to fight the wind.  When I literally witnessed an American flag make a 180 degree turn as I rode by, I realized the wind was my worst enemy and was tormenting me by turning in my face every direction I went.  I decided to view it as my best friend preparing me to be strong in every element for the race, I attacked it head down pretending it was a mountain as I love long climbs that result in a gorgeous view at the top.  In the end the wind covered 360 degrees of directional change, none of which worked in my favor or resulted in a lovely mountain view.  Plus after the light drizzle the sky decided to open up in a downpour rain with the lovely 40 degree temperatures.  I kept my head on and remained mentally strong, literally fist pumping at a few cars that drove by, yelling like a maniac and telling myself how much of a bad ass I was.  I was thriving off my own stupidity and loved it!  Then the moment of mental breakdown came and my mental fortitude suffered.  It's best to train through that mental wall because I am going to have to race through it - good lesson for sure.  I continued and got in 45 miles before I stopped at a friends house sopping wet and shivering.  They fed me and gave me a towel while I waited for my brother to come get me - I love you all for the support (Rachel and Steve Fate and Jesse Doerr).  It was nuts but I am glad I did it, but another 15 miles would likely have resulted in a week sick in bed because my body ended up so sore that night simply because I was extremely tense due to all the shivering.

Tired - who cares I will be mentally strong and force myself to be awake and then I will become smarter and get some sleep.  This is all a learning curve for me.

Cold- I grew up in Michigan, I got this.  Clothing and attitude I can control, weather I cannot, deal with it Doerr.

Too Hot - I have not had this experience yet this year and right now I would love to, but I know when it comes my lack of ability to hold onto electrolytes and stay hydrated will come into play.  I will be smart.  I will drink.  I will hydrate.  I will supplement.  I will wish I was in my bathing suit on the beach in Costa Rica drinking out of a Pipa, as I wish at this very moment.  But I will continue to push and stay focussed and train my hardest.

Being a Badass - That is forever and that WILL be me every day I suffer through the pain and make the hard decision to train instead of sleep or hang out with my friends.  All of those days that nobody cheers me on (though you are welcome to), runs and even walks by my side with a crowd around us or hands me a medal (please let that be the final result)...those are the days that count, those are the days that separate the badasses and doers from the rest, those are the days that result in what I am dreaming to hear - Megan Doerr, You Are and Ironman!