Ironman Quilt

Mom made me a quilt for my birthday with all my Ironman pictures and times...turned out AWESOME! She's so talented! Absolutely LOVE it! Thank you Mom!!!

2009 RACE SEASON RECAP:

Frame Done

I got my frame back from Michael's, after having it redone - as the dimensions were wrong the first time I got it back. I think it turned out pretty good! It has my Finisher Certificate, my Bib, my medal, a plaque with my times and my finisher photo.

Tat is Good!

Well, the tattoo is holding up and staying on! Been lotion-ing it up frequently, per instructions from Lucky. Doesn't really hurt at all, but a little scabbing is starting on the M-dot. I stopped by spin class on Thursday to do the unveiling to the peeps. Then took off...no spinning for me! So far I'm happy with the location that it was put at. Went to the gym last night to lift weights and it stuck out 'just enough' from my t-shirt to be visible with my hair up. Perfect!

 

So, now that I got the M-dot...now what? I don't know the answer to that yet. I have been resting this month and trying to take it easy. I may start going back to spin class in November, but not at the frequency and intensity that I did last season.

I have no real plans for races next season, yet. I will debate that this winter and see what I want to do...for sure it will be shorter distances and all for fun. For now, I'm just trying to readjust to my extra time and figure out what (outside of triathlon training) I want to focus on and or take up that I could not do over the past year due to training.

I will keep up the blog, but it may have a little less frequency of postings...due to less intensity and energy focused on training over Fall/Winter months. We'll see! It may transform into something totally different. Who knows?

I Finally Got My M-Dot!!!

Today was the big day! I headed to see Lucky at noon for my tattoo appointment. I got there and he got me all set up with my tattoo design on my neck and Jake showed up shortly after that to oversee the procedure. The inking didn't hurt that bad... I think that the worst part was the positioning that I had to hold my head/neck in for that extended period of time! So, I was pretty much gagged laying on this bed, trying to keep my neck stretched out for the inking for over 2 hours! In the end, I think it ended up good! I got my M-dot and I think it turned out awesome! He even put in a little 'pink lightning bolt' in one of the swirls to commemorate my bike! So cool!!! Noelle showed up to watch the activity and photograph, and then Jen and Val arrived for their appointments after mine! When I got off the table from finishing the tattoo - I was really light headed. Felt like I was totally drunk! I think that the head position that I sat in for that period of time was just enough to make me a bit loopy. It took about an hour or so to feel a bit better. Jen got her tat done on her calf - looked awesome!!! Then Val bucked up and got hers done too, on her calf. Turned out really nice too! All-in-all, we had some really good ink done today! Afterwards, Jen and Val and I headed out to grab some grub and some drinks at a local establishment. Ironman Heidi joined us, but we couldn't show her our tats because they were all under bandages! Oh well...we'll display them tomorrow at spin class, I guess. 

 

Jen - Pre-tattoo

Outline Complete

Lucky Working on 'Swirls'

Getting Back Into It...

Today I'm a bit sore, from doing one of my new workouts from Nicole yesterday. Was actually nice to hit the gym again after taking some time off. I ended up doing a brief warm-up on the stair mill with Jake and Carmilla, then about an hour of my total-body weightlifting session - including my rehab stuff. This week I need to get out all my winter clothes (as we had our first snow yesterday), and go through the painful process of trying things on and tossing things out. Should be an interesting endeavor, as my post-Ironman weight loss is making my clothing options interesting. Not that I'm complaining, mind you - just makes things interesting. Guess I need to go shopping!

Time Off and Trainer Day

So, for the past few weeks since Ironman, I have been giving myself some much needed rest. The leg/foot numbness has been minimal, but still there - so I've been keeping up with my rehab exercises. Other than that, a few visits to the gym to lift weights, but no swimming, biking or running (for the most part). Today, I went back to Nicole (trainer) to get some measurements taken and some new workouts to ease myself back into the world of weights. I actually have dropped some weight since Ironman, and I was anticipating seeing that coming from lost muscle (due to not working out). However, my measurements indicated that I had dropped almost NO muscle, all the weight from fat - thus dropping my body fat by 1.75%! Amazingly, this level is the lowest that I have been at (that I know of) since monitoring my body composition over the past 7 years with Nicole. Woo hoo! So, my plan is (for now) just to do some weight lifting and low to moderate cardio in a non-scheduled manner - since my life has been run by workout calendars for the past 1-2 years and I just need to rest my body with the whole bulging disc thing. But, I want to maintain my current body composition levels (obviously). 

 Today, I also got my Ironman frameset back today from Michael's, containing my medal, bib number, finisher's certificate, time plaque and finishing picture. I'm not overly excited about how it turned out, as the frame is WAY too big and everything is matted very far apart. So I will be taking it back to get redone. Grr.. Now, all I have to get is that darn M-dot tattoo! Stay tuned...next Wednesday is the big day!!!

Tattoo Consultation

Today, me, Jen and Val went to see Lucky to get our consutation done for our tattoo! We met at the tattoo shop in Maple Grove and laid out our ideas for Lucky to sketch and mull over. We all are kind of sitting in a similiar design mode - which was funny.

Mine: I will be getting my M-Dot on the back of my neck, so that when I'm working out (or racing), you can see the tat with my hair up in a ponytail. However, put the hair down - and it's 'professional-Jen' with no tattoo showing. Clever, eh? I want the M-Dot with some swirly lines and stars, and maybe a small lighting bolt to give some props to "Pink Lightning". We'll see how the final design turns out.

Jen: Jen is going for a side-of-calf M-Dot, with some swirly-leafy design. Leaving some room for when she completes Ironman Canada next year to put in a maple leaf.

Val: Val is also going for a side-of-calf M-Dot with swirly lines and star-bursts, but integrating that design into the butterfly tattoo that she has at her ankle.

We're set up for our actual tattoo appointments on Oct 14th! Us three are all going in, back-to-back. So we'll have Lucky all day long - poor guy! So stay tuned for the final result!

1o Random Thoughts on Ironman

1. After completing a new distance (any new distance) in racing, your perception of shorter distance races changes. What used to be "the ultimate", is now not quite so grand (or hard). I experienced this when I did the 200 butterfly race, and my perception of the 100 fly completely changed. I believe that now this has occurred at the Half IM level for me as well. So Wierd!

2. The absolute best part of Ironman has to be the fans and volunteers! If they were not out there yelling your name (complete strangers, mind you), I believe that the purpose of this day would be lost

3. I cannot believe that I kept moving for 13:11:49... only sitting in T2 once (to lace up my shoes). Otherwise, consistently moving forward the entire race. Go! Go! Go!

4. The marathon is almost a blur, it flew by so fast (not technically...as I wasn't running a 3:30 or anything), but before I knew it the miles were done. I've never felt that way in a 'regular' marathon before!

5. I've made some great friends in my training for Ironman. Crazy people tend to stick together, which is what we are good at! (I never said that we were sane)

6. I can't believe we were swimming with a dead body in Lake Menona...glad that he surfaced after the race and not during! But, I doubt that anybody would have known, with all the arms and legs flailing.

7. The "Bitches" (hills) didn't seem as bad as when we were on training rides...attributed to the adrenaline pumping with all the people on those hills cheering and yelling I think. During training rides, not so much. Just you and your legs (and snot).

8. I think that besides swimming, biking, and running...nutrition is almost as important - if not more important during a race of this magnitude. Teaching your body to keep moving for that length of time on certain nutrition is required well in advanced of this race...every training ride and session counts!

9. They need to have a full book written on mental Ironman preparation, not just one sentence or paragraph stating that "you may become emotional during your taper period". They fail to mention that a fly could send you off a cliff with an emotional outburst or breakdown, causing the people around you to wonder if they should call 911 to commit you or not.

10. I cannot believe that I didn't sing to myself all day long on the course. I do this in shorter races and I even made little 'playlists' to pull out in case I couldn't think of other songs to sing to myself during the day. Nope! I think I only sang to myself in two spots - during the swim...which paces my arms (and what else do you do when you swim?) and when I was climbing up some of the "bitches" (hills). I was too entralled in watching people and fans to sing to myself, I think.

Post Race

Post Race: After chatting with family and friends for a bit at the finish line, I attempted to eat some food. Didn't really want to, but choked down a piece of pizza and a cookie. (You really DON'T feel like eating after these long races...believe it or not). Then Jake and I had to go get my bags and Pink Lightning and head back to the hotel to pack up our stuff, because he had to leave super early to get to work the next day. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hang at the finish line to see Cindy cross it - which bummed me out.

The crew at the finish line

Jen & Noelle showing off their pipes (a post race tradition)

Cindy & Noelle at Finish (Rockstars!)

"Team" at Finish (Jen M., Jen & Val)
Back at the hotel I did get to run into Cindy and get her 'recap' of the race, which made me happy. Both her and Noelle did so well! At the hotel, the fam met us up for a little recap at the room. I attempted to have a beer...choked down maybe half of it. Food + Drink = Not appealing to Jen at this point. That night I didn't sleep...I think I was too jacked up on caffeine from the Cokes at the water stops and the Gus that I consumed. That, and just the realization of the whole day just wasn't going to turn my brain off. Which was OK, as I had to get up early and head back to the Terrace again to go get my "Finisher's Gear", which opened up at 7:00 AM. We were in line by 6:00...let me tell you why.

Waiting in line for the Finisher's Gear (Jen M., Pam, Jen & Kim) By 7:15, the 'normal' sizes for all the decent gear were pretty much picked over and rampaged. It is just like Black Friday with crazy shoppers when they opened up those doors. People rushed in and just grabbed things off the racks. So funny! I ended up putting another small dent in the pocketbook on this little trip to the store too. The Finisher's gear I got: 2 jackets (1 normal, 1 bike), sweatshirt, ribbed 3/4 zip sweatshirt deal, t-shirt, tech-shirt, water bottles. After that craziness, I sat in the hallway and chatted with Brian, one of the coaches from our training weekend and recapped the race with him. What a super nice guy! Am so glad we met those people in June...was great to familiar faces during the race (except Brian was working in one of the Penalty Tents...so was a good thing we didn't technically 'visit' him during the race - ha ha!). Then I stood in line to get my pictures with Jen M., Kim & Pam (a.k.a. Mrs. Kona Qualifier!!! or Rockstar!). Picked up my pictures and my plaque - which turned out pretty good - and then headed back to the hotel to meet mom, dad & Stacy. Jake had loaded up the truck and was already half-way home, so I got to ride home with the fam. We stopped at Perkins on the way home, and saw Jonny, Val, Jen, & Mimi - just keep running into people we know! Surprisingly, I felt really good 1 day post-race. Legs a little sore, but not bad! The marathon this spring was 100x worse - as I was walking like a 100 year old for about 3 days! The only thing that hurt were the blisters on my toes. Still hadn't popped them, so everytime I hit them on something (back of car seat) - they just throbbed! Ouch!

Blister on Toe! (Yes, I know! Pedicure is a MUST!)