Okay, so what's next?

The last entry was a brief summary of my (first) Imoo experience.

This period of time from 10:32 pm on September 12th until today has been filled with every emotion and thought you can imagine, including but not limited to disappointment, sadness, relief, wishful thinking and resolve.

"Resolve" really kicked off the morning of September 13th, when I got in line (again) at Monona Terrace to sign up for Imoo 2011.

All it took was my signature on a very big check and the fun began again.

This time, though, things (aka "training") will be a little different and a bit more focused.

I'm still working with the incredible JonnyJ. He is tough and smart and knows his stuff inside and out. We both feel good about the fact that we have a touch under a year to train this time around, which we will work to our advantage. (I didn't hire him as a coach until well after base training ended last time around. We had less time to work hard on my "limiters" last year. Not this time).

I'm already working on technique stuff. I'm taking a swim technique class that meets twice per week. There are up to five of us that are in the pool at 6:15 am doing drill after drill after drill after "drill swim drill".

I'm strength training -- some thing that was pretty much nonexistent the last time around. I'm working with weights a couple time per week and also taking this absolutely killer class that my coach teaches. No weights -- except that of your own body. Lunges; side lunges; a nasty little thing called "inchworm", which is where you basically start in a "downward dog" position and then walk "out" with your hands until you are in plank position and then walk your feet up to get back up in to downward dog. Then more lunges, which are followed by bosu ball work (more lunges and twists). You get the jist....

I'll be on the dang -- er, wonderful -- bike trainer a lot this winter. (Fortunately, the weather has been okay enough that I've still been able to ride a bit outside. But that is changing fast. We may have our first "snow" this week...yeech).

What will be difficult and much harder this time around is that I'll be training "by myself". Nat is not doing IM WI 2011. She'll be there to watch the race; she'll do some of the training with me, but she will not be my partner in crime (or my motivation).

That will all have to happen from within.

Which will be the subject for my next blog entry.....

2 minutes or 120 seconds or See You Next Year!

Well, I am not an ironman -- yet.

I will post a longer race report soon, but for now, suffice it to say that I am listed as a DNF for Ironman Wisconsin 2010.

I DID make the swim cut off (2.4 miles in 1 hour 44 minutes. Not very fast, but got it done).

I DID make the bike cut off (in by 5:12 pm which should have been 5:00 pm, (which really should have been less than 5 hours if a) my watch hadn't quit working and b) I had pedaled faster ;-) )

I DID make it to mile 19 of the slog-fest -- I mean marathon. Yep, got there at 10:32 pm. The only problem was that the cut off for mile 19 was 10:30 pm. I missed it by two minutes. Or 120 seconds... or....

My run fell apart for oh-so many reasons:

• Couldn't get my head around eating any thing. Nothing had any appeal except ice.
• Couldn't get my legs to move faster than a walk for about the first 6 miles. A slow walk at that.
• I finally did start running and picked up the pace a bit, but just could not keep the momentum going.
• My brain took me to a very, very dark place and there was no getting out of it. No matter how hard others tried to get me out, I was stubbornly stuck.

And so it went.

But there were many, many bright spots for the day (again, will post more of those later).

And I'll be back in Madison NEXT YEAR to do this again.

I've already signed up, already got my hotel room, already rented my race wheels.

Now I just hope Hubby, my coach and my friends can put up with me.