Whirlwind

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since the last time I updated the blog. I can’t believe it has been almost 2 weeks since my last writing adventure, but life had me busy. Deadlines, responsibilities, duties, you name it I had it. It’s not that I did not have any fun in the past week and a half, but everything went by so quickly! Let me recap the important events that had my head in a daze of sorts these past couple of days.

Last week was spent amidst preparations to my trip to Panama City Beach. You would have thought I was racing IMFL if you had seen the lists I made. Stuff that needed to get done; things that I needed to pack; phone numbers of people I was intending to meet; countless emails and plans on how to spend the 2 ½ days I was going to be away. All much fun, once you realize that you are doing this because you WANT to and not because you have to.

On my to do list for Thursday was the much anticipated run test. You know how it goes… You warm up for 20 minutes and then you run your booty off for 20 minutes, all while wearing a HR monitor to see what your cuore (I think that is Italian for heart) decides to do. Oh yes, and you can’t eat for 3 hours prior to the thing. I don’t know what is harder: the test or being at work in the morning starving already (mind you just 1 hour after breakfast) waiting for the dang test, only to realize you had forgotten about the stupid meeting that is taking place on the time slot you had planned to go to the gym. Anyhow, after said meeting I went to the gym, and let me tell you… a GU never tasted so good and hit the spot as nicely as the one I was allowed to down before the test.

I got on the ‘mill of dread (or Dready like I call it), and started turning my legs over and over. Warm up: check. Reset HR monitor: check. Set Dreadmill incline: check. The test itself was uneventful. I think I must have looked funny to a whole bunch of people since after running hard for 20 minutes, I basically got off Dready and stood still for a minute with a pen and paper in hand to write some all important numbers that coach wanted to know about. When that was all done, I jumped back on the machine and did my cool down. Now that I think about it, I did get some weird looks… Oh well. After shooting an email with the “magic” numbers to coach she replied saying that I had had huge improvements. Not exactly in the form of speed (which is the kind of improvement I like the most) but in the form of overall fitness. Apparently whatever it is we are doing, it’s working like it’s supposed to. Have I mentioned how glad I am to have the coach that I have?? She keeps me focused, gives me the best workouts and just plain rocks. If you are considering a coach, you NEED to give HER a try; once you experience what I have, you will be a believer!

The rest of Thursday went by without a hitch. When I got home from work I packed the bag (and a small one at that) for my Friday trip, had dinner with Megan, did some extra work and after Todd got home from the airport I went to bed. I slept quite well, but I think I was up before the alarm went off. I did my morning routine, shower, breakfast, coffee; and after leaving everything organized for the weekend Todd dropped me off at the airport. I got on a plane to Fort Walton Beach, FL; where I rented a car and drove to PCB. I drove for what seemed like forever and finally arrived at the hotel, the glorious Days Inn. I checked in, changed into lighter clothes and I went to the race expo (just it case you did not guess it by now, I went to spectate/volunteer at IMFL). Holy Bikes Batman! The place was spectacular and a bit overwhelming. I mean, seriously, there must have been at least 4 million dollars worth of bike equipment in that transition area…. The place was buzzing full of people; athletes, spectators, vendors, volunteers. I had never been to a race this big before and was surprised at the level of organization that it seemed to have. Of course I hit the merchandise tent, and after drooling over a whole bunch of apparel and Mdot stuff, I retreated back to the Days Inn.

That is when I got in touch with Mary. We met at the beach and I was able to hang out with her and Luc (her son). We built some sand volcanoes and even saw them erupt clear lava (ocean water); you should have been there it was pretty spectacular. We even buried a giggling Luc in the sand! 4.30 was my cue to go, and as Cinderella would have done I left the beach to head to the volunteer meeting. At this point I was starting to get a massive headache. I did a really poor job at hydrating that day, and my migraine reminded me of the mistake for the remainder of the day. I stayed as focused as I could and after getting my wrist band I left to go get some food and migraine medicine.

I woke up on Saturday and I was ready to roll! Mary was kind enough to drop me off close to the race site so I could do my volunteering duties. I had picked and was assigned to the women’s changing tent. After checking in and getting my t-shirt I headed over to the swim start. It was a bit chilly, but the ocean looked beautiful. After a few minutes, the canon went off and the athletes hit the water. What a sight! The calm blue water turned white and a sea of colored swim caps started moving towards the horizon. As the pros finished their first lap and headed in for the second one I walked to transition. I wanted to make sure I was on the tent with plenty of time before the first few people started arriving. We got debriefed once more by our “team leader” and within a few minutes the first pros started coming in. I was able to help a couple of them, and let’s just say that not all of them are nice. We got some thank you’s but we also got yelled at.

The age groupers were a different story. At first they were coming about 2 at a time, spaced out nicely and all. I was helping a lady put on her socks and shoes and when I looked up, the place was packed! There was literally no room for us to even help anyone. I limited myself to unpacking and packing transition bags. When things slowed down a bit I was able to help some of the latecomers and got some of the most heartfelt thanks I heard. One lady even called me her “angel” and gave me a hug. It felt mighty good.

After the last participant was out of T1, my duties for the day were done and I headed back out to meet with Mary and Luc. We had breakfast and went to the hotel to rest a bit. At around noon we headed out to the Memphis House. Mary and Luc were going straight there and I hit the merchandise tent one more time to get Megan a cute t-shirt that says “My Mommy is a Triathlete”. That is when I met Marit. She helped me find the right size tee for my little munchkin and I helped her find some things she needed. After our shopping was done, we jumped on Marit’s bikes (she brought both of them so I could borrow one. Thanks Marit!) and headed out the run course. We found the house no problem… Picture this… a whole bunch of girls in sexy costumes, playing loud music and dancing to the beat. We met Laura and a whole bunch of her Memphis friends ( I am sorry I can’t remember the names). We cheered on the athletes, hung out by the pool with Mary and Luc; we saw Curt (Mary’s hubby) go by and even managed to take some pics. Marit and I rode some of the run course and then we all headed to the finish line.

We were there all of 10 minutes when we saw Curt come in. He finished the race in 9:55 and what ensued afterwards was wonderful. The excitement on Mary and Curt’s face after realizing the feat he had just accomplished. It was beautiful to witness how they didn’t even need words to connect; to know what each other was feeling/thinking. Beautiful, I tell you. Behind my sunglasses, I cried. Marit, Laura and I decided to give the Eggers' some alone family time and headed over to the second lap turn around. That is when we saw Damie make her turn and Joy head for the finish. We hung out for a couple more minutes and then found Mary and Luc again.

That night we did dinner at Dirty Dick’s and went back to the hotel. Marit and I had a nice talk, and it was great to get to know her better. By the time 10:30 rolled around I was toast and went to sleep.

The following morning I woke up before the alarm went off. I changed and headed over to the race site, yet again. This time, to start my own journey. I signed up for IMFL’09. Yes, my bloggy peeps, in exactly one year, I will be toeing the line at my first Ironman. I still find it hard to believe sometimes. Me, an Ironman. Ha!

Sunday went by too quickly. After swimming in the ocean with Marit and Mary (THANK YOU both for taking the time to show me things and for your words of encouragement) it was finally time to head back home. We said goodbye to Mary, Curt and Luc; and after a quick shower we were out of the hotel and on our way home.

It was an incredibly intense weekend. The whole race setting was inspiring; not to mention the people…The camaraderie, the ability to strike conversation with anyone and being able to share experiences and tips, making friends. It was all great. When I got home I was beaming with excitement, I am still floating on air and I have been back for 5 days now.

Next year will be exciting, challenging, short and long at the same time. It will be full of achievements, goals, disappointments, sweat and maybe even tears. Whatever it is the training will bring me, I am ready to accept it with open arms. I am ready to give it my all and aim high for my dream. Here I go.