Each Year I Wonder....Should I???

Every year after watching the Hawaii Ironman on the computer makes me wonder if I am ready to get back at it. I will admit that every full moon Saturday of October since 1997, I think about my last time there and wonder ...What if? After competing in the Ironman in 1995, I had set a goal to go back and truly race the Ironman. In 1997, I got my chance after having a tremendous race season and training leading up to the race. I was living in Las Vegas and was taking advantage of all the mountainous rides/runs and was in the best shape of my life. I even qualified in my first attempt at the famous Wildflower Triathlon in San Louis Obispo, CA. At that time, it was one of the most difficult half-ironman races around, as the bike had a 1000 foot climb and the run was over hilly terrain and included trails. At that race I finished in the top 5 among all amateurs including beating all professional women including Paula Newby-Frazier, who at that time was a beast in the women's field. I arrived in Hawaii in peak shape and was ready for a great race. I had a goal of finishing in 9:15 minutes but unfortunately I got sick two days out from the race but I knew I had to start. I had my typical slow swim of about an hour and came out about 400th. On the bike, I could tell things were not right but I still covered the 112 miles in about five hours and moved up to about 100th. Starting the run about 6hours and 20 minutes into the race (includes transition times) I felt OK but could tell something was not right. I kept plugging away and by mile 10 was inside the top 50 and gaining. Then around mile 14 everything really went wrong and I was forced to drop out at mile 18 when I was inside the top 40 overall. So the what if???

Now that I have been back on the bike and did run the other day, everyone keeps saying it is time to get back into the game. It is a very tempting thought but for now I will keep you up to date on my bike training. It still is going very well and the back seems to be getting better. It is not as stiff as it was last week at this time. I was able to run one day this week and manage to jog a 5K in 22:00 minutes and the lifting continues and I can feel the power in the pedals already.

New training totals:
Week - 7 rides / 232 miles/10hours 23 minutes/ 22.4mph / 754 feet of climbing
October - 16 rides/ 534 miles/24hours 8minutes/ 22.1mph/ 1650 feet of climbing
2011- 296 rides/ 10,429 miles/ 487hours 31minutes/ 21.4mph
Average Ride - 35.23 miles/ 1hour 38minutes/ 21.4mph

Goals this week:
6 rides/ 200-210 miles/ 9-11 hours
3 days running
2 days running

Only six days of biking, as I will be running in the Mt. Tussey 50 mile relay with one fo my former athletes. I will be a part of a 6 person relay. It is a fun event.

TdO '12