Ironman Vs normality?

Is it possible to maintain a remotely normal life whilst training for Ironman? I'm not sure but so many people do it, that it must be possible...surely?! People do Ironman who have kids, hold down full time professional jobs, keep marriages together, etc etc..

But do they just put everything on hold for several months in order to really 'do' Ironman? Do the partners, children, friends, colleagues; all just put up with this triathlon crazed nut who eats like a horse, has to leave social events by 9pm because 'I am getting up in 7hours', talks about training over breakfast lunch and dinner, and moans about how expensive it's all getting..???

What does my life involve at the moment....5hrs of swimming a week, 1.5hrs hrs of water running and about 10-11 hrs of riding....so that amounts to about 17 hrs of training. Up at 430am most days, bed by 930pm....or earlier.

I went out for dinner with friends twice this weekend; Friday and Saturday night. Friday night - fellow triathletes. Saturday night - not fellow triathletes. Levels of guilt: Friday = 1/10 Saturday = 9/10. In bed at 11pm both nights; guiltily mumbling 'sorry I'm having to leave so early' as I run out the door to the car - but I still had to get up at 430am to train....so my hours of sleep were reduced to about 5 each night. I am telling you, that is NOT enough to sustain 6 hours of training. By Sunday afternoon I was nanna napping on the couch. So do I lose my social life for the next 3.5 months? Is it possible to maintain 'normality'?

Well yes and no.

Getting up at 430am IS NOT NORMAL PEOPLE. Unless you do it yourself and then you understand....so it's just as well a lot of my friends are fellow triathletes; it becomes a race to get home first. Socialising becomes an afternoon affair and no one feels guilty when excuses are made to leave at 8pm. Apologies now to non triathlon friends for the next while of early nights and putting training ahead of late nights..please save me after March 6th!

anyway...I should go, I need to get my stuff ready for the morning and it is 845pm already!

Faye
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Riding with the Boys

After much cajoling by Scott Budd aka IM supreme, I finally rode with the boys this morning. The rap is 'Friday is a social aerobic ride followed by coffee and trash talk'. Now I can coffee and trash talk with the best of them, but by the time the boys ride hits the Corso on a 'friendly River Loop' testosterone has usually taken over and the average creeps up to 40....45....50kph as social becomes friendly rivalry leaving all others in their wake. I have refused to take part in this smash fest til now....thinking that my red meat intake just hasn't been enough to boost those ever important hormones!

So why today? Well after riding 3 laps of Mount Cootha in the rain on Wednesday, and feeling pretty fresh in the legs...I thought that it was time to take the challenge. And off we went - the girls ride behind who do stick to the Friday mantra of 'social' (no testosterone here thank you!) was my back up once I got dropped off the pace!

My tactics were to basically get sucked along in the pack. I think Scott really didn't think I'd join in so when he dropped off the front 20 minutes in it was a very surprised 'Oh hello Faye' when he saw me. And I was still there :-)

Scott, Dave, Mike, Tommy, Craig, Shannon, Ewen, Paul, Nigel...and Faye. Well all I can say is thanks for going relatively easy on me boys (although being unnoticed for a while maybe they weren't?!). Sucked along...yes.....but it was great! I even got sucked up hills....I never thought it could happen.

HOWEVER......I have to say this girls, I think you ride harder than the boys!!! I hope non of you guys are reading this otherwise my Friday morning social rides with the boys will truly resort to being smashed and I won't have the energy to participate in the trash talking afterwards!!!! I take it back guys...really I do...! But let the trash talk begin :-)

Faye

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Ironman Silliness

So it is 32 days since deciding that taking up the Ironman mantle would be a good idea. And 100 days to go until I find out whether that idea was good or just a huge bit left of my centre!!

Ironman, 3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km of running…..and about 12 to 13 hours til finish, maybe, give or take a couple of hours – actually give more than take….!

This is what it’s all going to be about: www.ironman.co.nz

And THIS is what some people say about it:

Ewen: ‘Unfinished Business’

Craig: "when I think about doing IM, I mean really think about it - I get
goosebumps"

Gerrad: ‘Mate it is everything…all your money, all your time, all your thoughts and all your effort…. ‘

……..and yes – those are the people who’ve done it! ......and from those that haven’t:

Bec: ‘Hmm the first thing is 'hungry and broke'. On a serious note - "When I think about doing IM I feel anxious/hesitant/scared - but there is something about it that is impossible to resist"

Emm: ‘Hard work, dedication, commitment, mental toughness, self belief’

Merinda: "When I think about doing Ironman - I vomit"


5 weeks into training, 15 weeks to go.......the journey has started and this is it.......

Faye
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