Something iron on the horizon...

Something strange has happened over the past few months. I have gone from someone who could barely figure out what gear she needed to be in to someone who is leading group rides. When I registered for the 70.3 in Augusta, it seemed like such an incredible stretch now it seems like something very realistic. For the past few weekends, we have been riding 50 to 60 miles on a regular basis in addition to our regularly scheduled swim/bike/run training throughout the week. Yes, I am tired and cranky sometimes and the pile of sweaty laundry never seems to go down but my confidence in my ability to finish this race is sky high.

A few weeks ago, it occurred to me that since I am already training for a 70.3 and a fall marathon simultaneously, maybe this is the year to try the iron distance. Since hiring at coach at this point is not economically possible, I started looking at training plans. I laid the iron training plan over the one I was already following. It pretty much matched the plan I was already on right up until last week when the iron plan start creeping up mileage and time spent in the pool. Decision time.

I started looking at races. The WTC races were out of the question. Those sell out so quickly they would require much more thought and planning than I was giving myself. I narrowed it down to two races, The Great Floridian and Beach 2 Battleship. Both are smaller races which I love and both are in the same general time frame. After that, there were pros and cons to each. The Great Floridian has a notoriously hilly bike ride with a flat run course. While the Beach 2 Battleship has a super flat bike ride with a somewhat hilly run. Temperatures in Florida are hot whereas every race report I have read on Beach 2 Battleship talks about the finger and toe numbing cold. The Beach 2 Battleship is the same weekend as my planned Atlanta Marathon. Until last week I was sure which race I was going to do and then had a change of heart.

Granted, most people register for their ironman a year in advance. Registering three months before the race is not the norm, I know this. I truly feel like I have the training base I need to build up my endurance over the next three months. As they say, I respect the distance. By no means do I think it will be easy but I am up for the challenge. Today, I thought my heart might pound out of my chest as I hit the register button. I think I might need some arm warmers :)