364 days to go!

I was very humbled by watching the coverage of the 2014 Ironman World Championship event throughout the day yesterday and into the morning today. Man, Kona is BEAUTIFUL! I was glued to it. I am so inspired by the incredibly gifted, fast athletes. I’m even more motivated by the ones that have incredible stories and get out there and give it all they’ve got to complete within minutes of the time allowance. Just watching their reactions as they cross the finish line is such an experience. I cannot imagine how amazing that would’ve been to see in person, instead of remotely at home. One day!

The thing about Ironman is that it brings such a sense of cohesiveness with athletes. One athlete may finish in 8 hours and another may finish in 17, but they all went through the same 140.6 miles of swimming, biking, and running. They all went through the issues with current, choppy water, swells. They all went through the hills, descents, wind. They all went through the brick-like feet, the screaming muscles, the mental game. And, they all crossed the finish line to hear “You are an Ironman”.

Those words. Those 4 little words.

I have 364 days to prepare to hear those words. I want nothing more than to hear “Rebecca Dobbins, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN”.

October 11th, 2015. Louisville, Kentucky. I’m there.

So, here we are, now less than a year away. What am I doing to prepare? Well, I’m swimming, biking, and running, of course! And doubting myself. Constantly.

This month is a little strange. I registered for the Monumental Marathon in March of this year. My initial thought was that it would be my “A” race. It would be the end-all-be-all. All of my training would lead up to that main event. Somehow, someway, I since decided to become a triathlete. Now all of a sudden, the Monumental Marathon is a stepping stone, rather than my “A” race.

I’ve been so focused on triathlon training that I haven’t been getting in my marathon mileage. But, I do feel like I’m fairly prepared. While I don’t need swimming or cycling for the marathon, those things make me strong. I’ll be pushing up to 18-20 miles for my long runs over the next couple of weeks and then I’ll do what I can to get through the Monumental.

My initial goal was to be around 3:45 for my finish time. Then I figured I’d settle for under 4 hours. Now, I just want to finish it. I will still do my best. But, I’m not going to push it and risk an injury when I’ve got such a lofty goal ahead of me.

I also have the HITS Triathlon Series 2014 Championship Olympic Distance race coming up soon on December 7th in Palm Springs, CA.

This will be my third Olympic distance race and I’m planning on it being my best. It’s a beautiful swim in Lake Cahuilla, a FLAT (yes!) bike course along the snow-capped mountains, and a nice FLAT run course as well. I cannot wait.

With starting my new “normal person” schedule last week, I’ve been struggling to adjust my training schedule. I only got in about 6 hours of training last week as opposed to my normal 10-15 hours. This week, I need to amp that up.

Here’s my tentative training schedule for the week:

Sunday: 13 mi run

Monday: REST

Tuesday: 3K swim

Wednesday: 5 mi run

Thursday: 30 mi bike

Friday: Speedwork, 2-3 miles of interval sprints

Saturday: 5K race

Sunday: 15-18 mi run

Busy week. Busy year. Doing it.