My sweet Gram

Another year has flown right by us. Wow! Crazy how time flies.   One of the things I am most thankful for this year is my sweet Gram. Grams has blessed us with her life for 99 years now. Although that is such a long time, selfishly I long for even more years with her.  My mother was scared that she might not make it through Christmas, as she has gotten weaker over the last few months, and took a very hard fall 2 weeks before Christmas. Even though she amazingly didn't break any bones, it has indeed affected her worse than we thought.

Here's a little brief history of my grandmother. She is the picture of health for a 99 yr old woman. She hasn't been to the doctor in probably 6 years?  The only reason she went then is because she got an infected hand------a very crazy thing that we think she got from one of her plants in her greenhouse.  Other than that, CHF is one of the only things she has had. 

Matt told my mother that when she got closer to death, most likely something would affect her that would cause her to just get weaker and weaker and never recuperated from it. I'm scard this is it. My Gram continues to live at home, although my mom is only 1//2 mile down the road. My mother watches after her daily and is basically her nurse. My sweet mom runs her legs off for everyone in  the community, never taking time out to breathe, much less take care of herself. Ironically, she gets it from my Gram :)

Well, Gram did make it through Christmas, but unfortunately 2 days after Christmas she started taking a turn for the worse. She is not one to stay in the bed, but she is now too weak to get up.  My mother got a hospital bed for her, and she is staying at her house most of the time now. Bless her heart, I think she knew we wanted her to hold on through Christmas.

I worry about my mother. A friend told my mother that she needed to let Gram know that it is ok for her to pass when she is ready. Sometimes, that seems to help somehow. Selfishly, this must be extremely hard for my mother. We had a talk and my mother knows she has to do this. She doesn't want to see Gram in pain. A doctor can't help with much, so Matt told her there's no sense in taking her to the hospital. All there is to do now is just pray that God will take her painlessly when He is ready. 

Wow. That last line really hurt to type. My Gram is like my second mother. She raised me and I stayed with her every day until I started kindergarten. I even lived with her a couple years as a teenager when she had some mild inner ear problems. I would cook us dinner every night and watch TV and sleep right beside her in the bed next to hers.

I have never heard her say a curse word. Ever.  I have never really watched her lose her temper. Ever.  Amazing woman. No words can even begin to describe it unless you have been blessed to know her. To know her is to love her, without a doubt. So  unselfish and caring. So non-materialistic and others-centered.  Such a nature lover and simple heart. The best biscuit and bacon maker on the planet. These are just a few things to describe her. 

Oh how I hate  to think about her not being on this earth. I am crying as I even write this because it bothers me so much. We must all be strong for her though. She would not want us to worry about her. i so wished that my children could have grown to meet her and love her. This saddens me so much.  She deserves to not hurt at all and to see Grandaddy when she is ready. Her body is tired and worn down. She has outlived every one of her friends and that must be so  hard for her.  What a party will be waiting for her when she gets to heaven :)  That makes me smile when I think of that.  So, I will dwell on the happiness of that instead of the sadness for now.

Anniversaries Past.............................

LOVE my man more and more with every passing year----------December 9, 2006
What a wonderful adventure to share life with you :)

2007 New Orleans----GW Fins



2008 Shapley's



2009 Mint Restaurant



2010 Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse---- NOLA



Basal thermometers, Preseed, and Soy Isoflavones, Oh My!!!

Yep. We're trying to make a baby. But, I am learning quickly that my OCD'ness combined with my impatience isn't going to make this an easy process :)

We have been doing all the fancy stuff, such as charting my basal temp first thing in the morning, combined with all the other "things" you are supposed to do when trying to conceive. I am reading all the fancy books, such as "What to Expect Before you are Expecting", etc.  Matt just laughs at me and says "it will happen when it happens."  Yeah. True. But, if I can hurry it along in any way, I plan on giving it my best shot :)

My Obgyn said today, it's 90% God and 10% trying. Hmmm. She may be on to something there. I have a prayer taped to the inside of my car that I read every morning. It reads:

Lord, give me patience. When I am hurried, give me peace. When I am frustrated, give me perspective. When I am angry, let me turn my heart to you. Today, let me become a more patient woman, dear Lord, as I trust in you and your master plan for my life.
Amen

So, in the meantime, among the temperature charting and soy isoflavones, I'll be calming my soul with this prayer on a daily basis :)

Mighty Magnolia Triathlon Race Report

Mighty Magnolia Triathlon
Hattiesburg, MS

Well, I know I assumed that Ironman Canada was going to be the final tri of the season, but last week we decided to sign up last minute for the Mighty Magnolia triathlon in Hattiesburg. I know, I know. I'm such a sucker when it comes to races ;) You think I would learn by know how much I hate the HURT of a sprint triathlon. It's about equivalent to a 5K for me when it comes to the hurt factor. (only you have to factor in the running on tired legs from hammering on the bike!)

We decided to do this race for a couple of reasons.

•  Hattiesburg is a possibility for a future home when Matt finishes his Hematology/Oncology fellowship. We thought we could scope the area out, since I'm not familiar and have a fun day looking at neighborhood areas to live, in case there was an opening for an Oncolgist in the future :)

•     I really wanted to see what my legs had left in me for the season. I had gotten so close to winning a couple of triathlons this year. (got 2nd twice and let's not forget the DQ I got when I was on pace to win ;) I thought I had a chance to win this one, but wasn't sure of my competition, since a lot of the females were from Louisiana and the coast area. I also was trying my luck for a spot for USAT Age Group Nationals in Vermont next year.

Let me elaborate on that last sentence:) I am the type of athlete that needs a goal; it's extremely hard for me to just go swim, bike, or run without some race or goal in my mind. I knew that if I qualified at this race, it would roll over to next year (I'm estimating the race to be at the end of September again?) Since we are now trying to start a family (Yay!!!), I figured Age Group Nationals might be a great race to keep me motivated to train (at a low intensity,of course) through my pregnancy. If I had this as a goal, I would keep on keepin' on, if ya know what I mean ;)

But, I say this as just a best-case scenario. I have no idea how long it might take for us to start this journey. I am trying my best not to worry about it and just let it happen, but we are talking about "Mrs. Type-A Personality" at her finest!!! I am trying every day to put it in God's hands and just have faith that it will happen in His time, not ours.

One of my friends, Leah, put a verse on her Facebook wall this week that really helped me remember this.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:6-7

I must remember this on a daily basis, so I posted it on my fridge :)

So, on to the race report! I'll make this one short and sweet!

Because we signed up so late, we were almost dead last in line. It was a time-trial start, and Matt was ahead of me, so he jumped in 5 seconds before me.

SWIM: The swim was uneventful. Right after the buoys marking the turnaround, I felt someone grab my side. They held on for a few seconds. I thought "How rude is THIS guy?!" It turned out "this guy" happened to be Matt :) He noticed my jersey underwater and so we swam side by side almost to the timing mat. I am thinking the swim measured a little long (or maybe I am a little slow,considering my lack of training in the last 6 wks since Canada ;)

BIKE: The bike has quite a few rollers that I wasn't expecting. By mile 6, my legs were already screaming at me. I just tried to hold on for as long as I could, and remembered Matt telling me that it was all about the bike on a sprint tri. I prayed my legs would be able to function on the run.

I averaged 20.3; My odometer must be off---it clocked me at 20.5 average. Either way, given the time that I have been on the bike, or lack thereof, I was ok with the time.

RUN: Oh boy. Think I biked too hard. I think I expected my legs to just remember how to bike hard and pick up right where I left them back in July at my last sprint. Let's just say, they didn't agree with me on that situation. When I looked down at my watch and saw I was only at .6 of a mile, I knew it might be ugly. I thought I might vomit Gatorade (still not ready to drink that stuff again since Canada:( My legs were just not there. I wanted to push harder, but I just couldn't. They were fried. I don't know if I'm just not 100% recovered from Canada, or if they just aren't used to the speed I was trying to put on them. Either way, the run went by decently fast and I was SO glad to cross that finish line. I was disappointed in my run, but I think I was expecting too much out of my body.

I was very excited to win overall female!! I forgot how much sprints HURT. I have determined this year that I am a long-course kinda gal. I'm not necessarily talking Ironman distance(too much training), but I just enjoy going long and at a more comforable pace, as opposed to the "swim/bike/run as hard and fast as I can till I puke my guts out" pace ;) If I am going to race more of these, I need to TRAIN to race fast, and not just try it out on race day ;)



Race Director, Ben Hughes and me (first time to sport the sponsor Jersey ;)



We got some beautiful pottery that was worth the hurt of the day :) Matt scored 2nd place in his age group, so I was proud of him!!

LOVE the pottery!!!

Now, it's time to call it a year. It has been quite a year in the triathlon world of 2010. I've learned a lot about my body and how to train it. I have learned how to suffer through the pain more this year than any other. As Matt says, triathlon, especially Ironman, is similar to life. You learn how to push on when you might not always feel like it. You learn how to give yourself goals; but if you don't reach those goals, you can't give up. You just to have another list of goals waiting underneath :)  Such is life. You must always strive to do your best. You won't always succeed at doing your best, but you can't let that stop you. Anyone can give up. That's easy. It's the pushing through and learning how to perservere through the good and the bad times that REALLY make you strong. That's when you learn how to live life ;)

As I write this, I don't know what's in store for me next year. I am certain of one thing. I am ready for the ride. I am ready to start a family as soon as possible.  If I have it my way, I will be "about to pop" during peak tri season, but I am taking it one month at a time, and I am doing my best to trust God and just be content in having a baby in His time. After all, that's what it's all about. God already has our plan laid out for us. We don't know what it is, but we have to trust Him and know that he wants us to sit back and just let it happen. He will take care of us. That's a given :)

We are only human

Matt and I saw a wonderful movie last weekend---"What If". I really encourage you to watch it if you haven't seen it. It's only playing in the Madison theatres, but it is definitely worth the drive if you don't live in that area. One of my favorite movies is "The Family Man." This movie reminds me of that, only better, and with a Christian theme. It's fantastic!!!!

To sum it up briefly, it begins with a couple at a train station and the man is about to start school/work in a big city. The woman encourages him not to leave---she is scared that the big city life will change him somehow. He consoles her and tells her that he will not change. (He was planning on going into the ministry at this time.)

Now, fast-forward to 15 years later-----he is a "big city man"----the millionaire type that only cares about money and doesn't care who he hurts or how he makes that money, as long as he continues to climb the ladder to get there. He is engaged to a very materialistic woman. They are getting ready to celebrate their engagement in France; Right before they leave, he decides to buy a $250,000 Mercedes. As he is driving down the road, wind in his hair and enjoying the new ride, the emergency lights all start flashing and the car breaks down on the side of the road. Along comes a tow truck...........he jumps in the car. The driver turns out to be an angel.

Fast-foward again------he then blacks out and when he comes back to consciousness, he is back in the life he would have lived had he made a different choice in life--a choice to stay in the small town, not the big city. He is married to his college sweetheart, the woman from the train station. They have 2 children and he is a minister.

At first, he hates his life. But, over time, he realizes the things that are important--the things that SHOULD have been first in his life.
His priorities switched from what used to be money/career
to God/family.

My, what a difference getting your priorities in check makes :) I won't spoil the rest of the movie, but don't forget the tissue!!!!!!

Along the same lines is the song "Human" This song has really been speaking to me since I first heard it on the radio. It seems to always come on as I'm in the car starting the day for work. It seems to tie into the movie above that I mentioned. I wrote a few lyrics out below and put a few thoughts down that were going through my mind.....things I need to work on and things I need to remember myself.

(pause the music below to listen)


"Every life has a choice: To rise above, to fill the void":

Even though God wants to have a say in our life, we are the ones who sometimes try to control how we occupy our time and how we prioritize our life. We must get ourselves in check, asking ourselves, "God, what do YOU want in my life? How can I serve YOU?" Not, "God what's in it for ME?" Are we listening to what He tells us and then following through, or are we listening, but then making our own decision on how to live our life? It's NOT about us. We must realize this and choose to live a life for God, and try to live like God did, like he wishes for us to live. We must be careful with how we fill that "void" in life----make sure that we don't try to fill it with heavy spending on material things, gossip, and things of this world.
Life shouldn't be about how much money we make and how popular we are,although it's easy to get caught up in this material world today. A simple life is the best life. It should be so easy, but it's easy to get distracted, isn't it? How do you get yourself back into check with reality? A morning prayer seems to clear my mind such as, "God, walk with me today and let me see this world through your eyes."

"We've gotta do better than this, cause we've only got ONE chance, to make a difference."
Once again, we've got ONE chance on this earth-----one chance to make a difference, whether that difference is using you career to witness to others, or raising your children to be God-fearing children that walk with Him daily, etc. It's up to us to use our God-given talents to make a difference, instead of put them to waste. Everyone has talent and gifts from God. God has a plan for us all. Are we using ours to the best of our ability?


"We are marked with His image"
All we have to do is read His word, learn from him, and pray to him to guide us daily and live in our hearts.

"Maybe now we should listen.....hear the cry of God's children"
Make someone's day better. You NEVER know what another human is going through; whether it be the grocery store clerk that is in a horrible mood, or the man behind you honking ...............what kind of day have they had? What is going on in their life? A simple kind word could make all the diffence in the world. Use the second commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Be the change you wish to see in the world, right? Be so caught up in perfecting yourself that you don't see other's imperfections. So tough to do, but we must all strive to do it. I have a hard time with this one. I have to work on not letting my bad mood out on others. Matt is so good about this----even if he isn't having a great day, he doesn't take it out on me. I have to work on this one......maybe it's a woman thing? ;)

One scene that sticks out in the movie is towards the end, when the main male actor (now a minister)in the movie is witnessing to a dying, rich man. The dying man says, "Accepting God seems very complicated, I don't know if I understand. The minister then says, "Simple. It's ALL heart." It ties in to the first commmandment, which is the verse that Matt loves. "Love the Lord with all your HEART and with all your soul and with all your mind." It's that simple. As my mom says, "Do your best and God will do the rest." :)

We can choose--------------we are human, and we can either choose to make a difference and see the blessings in life, or we can choose to see the pessimistic, glass half-empty side..................which will you choose?

Post-Race freedom ;)

So, the two weeks of doing absolutely nothing was veryyyyy nice ;) I felt a little guilty when you combine it with eating anything I want, but hey, you gotta live a little between training, right? :)

In my free time, I have painted the kitchen a beautiful shade of light blue/aqua, along with antiquing all of my kitchen cabinets, something which was extremely easier than I ever imagined!! I will post pics soon :)

We had an interesting experience with Sadie girl last weekend. We finally got to spend a much needed, relaxing weekend at my family's in DeKalb. Long story short, Sadie ran into the woods and was nowhere to be found until after lunch the next day---that's 17 hours in the woods alone!!!! Now if you know our Sadie, she is absolutely terrified of anything, anyone, PERIOD. She is very unlike Ollie, who would lick and cuddle someone to their death. Sadie either stays by my side or Ollie's side ALL THE TIME. In the shower? Sadie's outside the door. Asleep in bed? Sadie's right below me on the floor. She will be asleep in the living room and if I get up to walk in the kitchen, she MUST follow me every time. It's just her personality. That's why it was so strange when she disappeared. I really thought a) someone stole her b) something bit her or worse.

Needless to say, we figured out the problem after she came back. She was in heat. We took her to the vet and took care of that quickly. Poor little girl, she felt so bad for 2 days, but now she is back to her old self.......never leaving my side as usual :)

On another note, I began P90X on Monday. I have never been able to fit in weight training, either from lack of time from Ironman trainig, or just not wanting to wait out the soreness that would keep me from training through it.
Day 1 was back and chest------now did I mention I haven't worked out my chest in 4 years?? Yeah. Years. Let's just say I'm a little sore today, shall we?

This morning was Plyometrics. Matt and I both woke up at 6am and squeezed it in before work. This was a little fun, although tough since we aren't used to plyo either. Let's bet that I will be quite sore from this one tomorrow as well. I bet that run's going to be quite fun ;) It has been a breath of fresh air lately to train when we want, sleep in later, and not have a PLAN to follow. We are just playing it by ear right now. No races scheduled. Nothing specific to train for. Nice, nice, nice :)

We were originally planning on Austin 70.3 depending on how we felt after Ironman Canada. We decided to pass on it, in order to put some money towards debt. Our goal is to have debt paid off by January. That way, we can get an SUV for the one-day family................which we hope will be in the not too far future ;)

IM Canada race report

Such a fun time in Canada!!! Sorry for the delay in the race report. I am soaking up recovery right now and it's soooooooo nice!!!! Sleeping in? Check. Staying up late? Check. Eating unhealthy foods if I wanna? Check. No training at all? Check.
It's nice indeed ;)

WARNING: Extremely long blog :) I'll go ahead and apologize!!!
Well, the morning that we departed for Canada was quite interesting. Maybe interesting is not the correct word. We had a friend drop us off at the airport bright and early that morning. As we showed our passports, the lady behind the counter said that we might have an issue with my passport----The passport still had my maiden name on it. The airline ticket had my maiden name, of course. We did not have time to run home and get our marriage license, so we just hoped for the best.

So, we arrive to Dallas airport, without any issues. Great! We thought. We had a little breakfast in the airport and then boarded for the next flight to Seattle. As we got to Seattle and tried to check in for our flight to Kelowna, Canada, the airport lady said that if I got to Canada, they would put me right back on the plane back to Seattle. Nice. What were our options? Well, Option #1 was risking getting to Canada and customs sending me back. Option #2 was purchasing 2 new tickets; One from Seattle to Canada, and one from Canada to Seattle for the trip back home. They would change my name on the ticket back to my maiden name so it would match my passport. You've got to be kidding me? You could clearly see that my photo id on my license and passport was me, and my license actually had my maiden name on it as well. They didn't care. So, $500 to purchase new tickets it was!!!!!!!! :(


Let's back up. Did I mention that Matt had the dreaded "Is there a doctor on the plane?" scenario on our last flight from Dallas to Seattle? Oh yeah. We hear a weird noise towards the front of the plane----didn't really know where it was coming from until the flight attendant came on the loud speaker, asking if there was a doc available. Matt raised his hand and went to the front of the plane to help the man. He was a middle-aged man and it seemed like he was having a seizure in his seat. Matt assumed it was a diabetic issue, and luckily we were landing in 10 minutes from the time it happened. He was hesitant to give him juice, for risk of aspiration. The man was out of it. So, he did what he could until we landed, then explained to the medical crew waiting at the Seattle airport. My husband, the hero :)

We arrived to Canada and still had 1 1/2 hour drive ahead of us; We didn't mind, because the scenery was BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Penticton is known as the "Napa Valley of Canada". 40 wineries within a 20 mile radius-----nice!!!!! When we got to the house we had reserved, the rest of the crew had already made dinner!! We had a great dinner of steak and chicken kabobs, salad, french bread, and baked potatoes waiting for us on the patio, with a pool :) Can it get any better?

The next morning, we arrived at the expo to check out the Ironman Canada apparel and gear (my favorite part ;) We also had to fill out the typical emergency info and pick up our race packets.
Luckily, we got there at just the right time. The longer you wait, the longer the line gets. We took our wetsuits and attempted a swim, but there was a storm coming through, and the water was getting unbelievably choppy--we changed our minds quickly :)
Matt picked me up for a photo, and later on his back started huring. Uh-Oh, this is not good at all, we thought.
After that, we went back home and took a nap, went for a little 3 mile run (his back only hurt a little then), then got ready for dinner. Dinner was the Barley Mill and Pub restaurant. Good stuff!
We went by the grocery store on the way home to pick up some race morning essentials, like bagels, Gatorade, etc. We turned in early for a good night's sleep that night.

Friday morning was the underpants run!!!! So fun :)
We then picked our bikes up from TriBike Transport, made sure everything was working properly, and then tested out the wetsuits. The water was much calmer that day, which made for a great swim. The water was cool, and you could see to the bottom for a great distance! I only swam for 25 minutes, just to get the feel for the suit again. Poor Matt didn't want to risk huring his back worse, so he opted out of the swim. He went to the ART booth, and there was a guy there that worked on his back. He woke up the night before with a hurting back; I prayed hard that it would be ok by race morning. After we swam, we met the rest of the crew, checked our bikes out again, and went for a test ride; I think we were out for around 1 hour? We biked part of the run course; it looked hilly!!!!!!!!

After the test ride, we drove to a little winery and had some great burgers!!! I can't remember the name of the winery.
That night, we ordered pizza and stayed in our PJ's. Another early bedtime!!

Saturday morning, things started to get real!!!! Matt and I woke up early before everyone else, and went to have a big carb-fest at Denny's!!! My breakfast consisted of pancakes with syrup, a biscuit, toast and jelly, scrambled egg whites, and bacon. Yummmmyy!!!!!! After that, we went back to get our special needs bags all packed up and get our nutrition on the bikes, etc. We took our bags to the race site, maded sure everything was in its proper place, and then went to chill out for the rest of the day and prop our feet up.
Kristen and Charlie cooked dinner, which consisted of spaghetti, grilled chicken breast, french bread, and baked potatoes. So good!!!!
We turned in early----of course I can never sleep the night before a big race, so I didn't sweat it too much. I always try to get good sleep 2 nights out from the race, and I'm fine. I actually got 2 or 3 hours that night, so I was happily surprised!!!

On to race morning;

Breakfast consisted of a bagel with peanut butter and honey, a bagel, and Gatorade to sip at the race site.

Got there early----5 am. Got bodymarked and went to the port-a-potty line before it became crazy!!!! Then the rest of the morning consisted of laying on the ground trying to calm the nerves.

Swim:
This was a mass swim start, starting on the beach. I always get so emotional
when we start lininig up; I know most people get emotional at the finish
line, but for some reason, it really gets to me when I realize that it's
no turning back now. The few minutes before the gun goes off, I always start
shaking. I calmed myself down with prayer, and then headed out with the other
4500 athletes. There's nothing like the start of a mass Ironman swim start.
This was the most congested I had ever been in a swim; People were clawing
me, hitting me, pushing me under to swim over me, etc. I panicked a couple
of times when I realized how long I had left in the water, but I prayed and
thought of "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me" several,
several times. I looked up and heard Matt on my left say, "I'm right here.
I'm right here.". This made me feel so good, knowing he was right beside me
for a little while. What a wonderful feeling it is to have the person you love
more than anything partaking in such a huge event with you. It just makes me
smile thinking of him being right there through it all :) It was 65 degrees
at the start of the swim; I didn't even notice the chill, to be honest. I just
started counting from buoy to buoy. There are 26 buoys, just in case you were
wondering :) It was pretty cool to see scuba divers below you watching out
for everyone. Swim was calm waters, thank goodness. I felt really good in the
water, and had my best Ironman swim yet; Matt, on the other hand, realized
about half-way through his swim, that someone had knocked his Garmin 310XT
off his arm; he has the quick-release mounts, and off it went!!! So, he
had no way of tracking his heartrate, pace, or distance for the rest of the
race. Can you imagine??!!!!!! The exit to the timing mat was difficult with
the rocky swim bottom; I actually saw 1:11 on my watch when I stood up, but
it took me 2 minutes to get over the rocks to the timing mat---Dangit!!!!!

Total Swim Time: 1 hour 13 minutes


T1:

T1 was pretty uneventful; the volunteers helped me get on my arm warmers and off
I went.

Bike: I saw our Iron sherpas, Charlie and Kristen as I was mounting the bike.
Charlie told me I beat Matt out of the water. As I started the bike, the main
focus was getting my nutrition in. I was waiting until 15 minutes passed before
I took anything in, to make sure my stomach was settled and calm after the swim.
After 15 minutes, the goal was 1 gel every 30 minutes, and 1-1/2 bottles gatorade
for the first couple hours, or until I couldn't stomach it anymore, and then shoot
for 1 bottle per hour. I pushed on, with the goal of watching my heartrate and
not letting it get over 150bpm, unless climbing a mountain. This was hard, as so
many people passed me. This would also prove successful later down the road on the
run, since I ended up passing 500+ people and got passed by no one (someone on
slowtwitch made a chart graphing this :)
I started getting worried when someone from our crew passed me and Matt still
hadn't passed me; I expected him to pass me at least by mile 40. I started getting
extremely worried that he finished the swim and his back would not let him
continue; or even worse, that something happened in the water. Finally, I saw
him when we did an out and back section; Thank God!!!! I was scared to death :(
But, wait a minute!!!! How did he beat me out of the water??!!!! I'm a faster
swimmmer----Oh well, I don't care; I was just honestly happy that he was ok.

On to Richter Pass---thank goodness we went to Chattanooga for mountain climbing
or else I would have been in for a rude awakening; there is absolutely NOTHING to
compare to those mountains in the area that we live---nothing. My speed was
averaging 17.8 until we started climbing.I watched my heartrate going up Richter and then the "seven bitches", as they call them. I see
why now ;) The crowd support made it much more bearable. I got hit on during the bike!!!!! Oh my gosh, really?!!! A foreign guy came by me, rode beside me for a little bit and said, "Nice bum, where ya from?" lol!!! That's a first ;) I wish that I could say that I took in the view and beautiful scenery, but I was too focused.
As we moved on to Yellow Lake, that's when the skies starting getting dark and
the monsoon moved in; I have never felt like I was going to fly off my back quite
as bad as I did that day. Yikes it was scary!!!!!!!!!! It started raining and I
became terrified wondering how I would make it down the mountain with slick roads.
If you read my past Chattanooga stories, you know how terrified I am of flying
down a mountain, even without rain. That's when it became survival mode. I was
just trying to hang on to my bike without flying away, practice my nutrition (I
was already nauseous from the gels and gatorade at this point), and just focus
on getting down the mountain alive. I watched my speed drop from 17.8 average to
15.8 average. Not pretty at all. But like they say, "focus on what you can
control, not what you can't control." I couldn't control the headwinds, I
couldn't control the rain on the descent down the mountain. BUT, I could control
my heartrate and nutrition, as well as my mental game at this point. I still had
32 miles left and a marathon; no time to wuss out now!!!!! ( I heard later that
several of the pro's dropped out on the bike----I felt proud of myself :)
The rain slacked off while the winds continued; I got down the mountain at 40 mph
........talk about being scared out of my mind, not to mention freezing cold!!!!
My average picked up, so at least some good came out of surviving Yellow Lake. I
mastered peeing on the bike :) Coach said to make sure I have peed at least once
by 2 1/2 hours on the bike. Try 5 times by the finish of the bike!!!!! lol!!!
Never thought I would feel so proud of myself for an accomplishment like that, but
ya gotta do what ya gotta do!!!! ( I lost 15 minutes time in Ironman Florida for
all the bathroom breaks ;) I saw Matt when I was about 3 miles from the bike
finish---Dang, I've got some catching up to do to hawk him down ;) He will NOT
get the Cassell Triple-Crown award!!!!!!! :D

Bike Time: 6 hours 44 minutes
16.6 mph average
(not the goal, but proud to be alive ;)
Bike nutrition consisted of 12 gels, 1 pack of ShotBloks, and around
8 bottle of Gatorade!!!!! (I'm guessing around 2100-2400 calories?)

T2: Uneventful transition. My main focus was a fast T2, to catch hubby ;)

Run: The run was all about making up time; I felt fantastic for the first 15 miles,
but then the hills started to get to me; Until then, I would have told you I
could have knocked out a 3:45 marathon. Once mile 15 hit, the goal was to walk
for a few seconds at every 1/2 mile. I was also walking through every aid
station (they were spread 1 mile apart). Obviously, this was not the goal, but
you bargain with your mind at this point to get you to the finish; I was
passing SO many people, it was unbelievable; Proves the point that if you
can just restrain yourself and not let your pride get hurt on the bike, it
will all pay off on the run :) It started getting a little more tough around
mile 20---it feels so close, yet so far away; The winds were kicking since we
were running along the lake side; I was really struggling mentally; I kept
thinking of my family and friends cheering me on and tracking me back home; I
didn't want to disappoint them; I looked down and saw, written in chalk on the
road, "This too shall pass." I almost started crying. I am very close to my
mother. This is one of her quotes she has given me through the years, when the
tough roads occurred. I actually gave her a plaque that had this quote on it
when I moved from Meridian and was about to get married. It was like she was
right there with me from there on, every step of the way :)
I kept keeping on
and felt better. I was taking a gel in every 3 miles and alternating Gatorade
with water or Coke every aid station. From mile 22 on, I couldn't take anything
else in; The sugar from the gels and Gatorade was actually starting to make my teeth hurt!!!!!I was starting to feel more nauseous, and I knew at this point, no
nutrition was going to get into my system that quick to the finish line.
I found a girl to run in with; She was from Canada and this was her first IM.
We talked along the way and this really helped me get my mind off the hurting
quads and hamstrings. I saw one of our other crew members, Jackie heading out on the run: She yelled, "Matt's 10 minutes ahead and he walking---go get him!!" When we hit mile 24, the crowds took me in the rest of
they way. You will not find better support in any other Ironman, I don't
believe!!!! I picked it up and finished out with sub-9 minute miles :)
No Triple-Crown award for hubby ;) Although he still beat me overall ;)

26.2 mile run: 4 hours, 2 minutes

And to finish: I saw Matt right under the finish line ;) So happy to see him---crazy to think the last time I talked to him was 12 hours ago in the water :)



We took a finish line photo together, got some pizza and fluids, and waited on the rest of the crew.

It is really amazing what your body can do; It's so much a mind game in Ironman. Your mind can quit on your FAR before your body does; You have to realize this in the midst of the hurt and self-doubt. It's not a matter of if you will doubt yourself along the way; it's a matter of when and how many times those demons will come out. Scare them away with prayer and an upbeat mind and it will take you all the way to the finish line :)

Thank you for the many prayers and good luck wishes along the way----I have the best family and friends a girl could ask for :) I love you all!!!!



Final Time: 12 hours, 11 minutes