Friday, December 17, 2010

Crazy Cool Inspiration

Every once in a while, K will send me a news story that she thinks I'll find interesting.  She hit the jackpot with this one - Amputee Sets Out to Complete 8 'Ironman' Challenges in 8 Months.

Have you guys seen this story?  It is all about Jeff Glasbrenner of Little Rock, Arkansas, who set out to complete 8 Ironman Races in 8 months.  All of this in honor of the 30th anniversary of losing his leg at 8 years old in a farming accident.  You can read all about it at Jeff's site - http://www.teamglas.org/.

His 8th and final race was scheduled for December 15th - I don't know how he did yet...I just had to get this out there.  Amazing!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A Birthday Celebration

Sunday, December 12th was my birthday.  If it weren't for the weather keeping me from doing an early long run, it would have been the best b-day ever.  Oh well...

I got some GREAT gifts from K and my family.  For starters, we should talk about the gift that arrived last night.  My mom and dad bought me the TRX Suspension Training Pro Pack!  I can not wait to redesign the workout area in the basement so that I can incorporate my new toy.  I really wanted a TRX, but since I have access to 5-6 of them at the gym, I couldn't justify the cost.  Now, though, I have no excuse not to have a strong core, better balance and fewer injuries.  Once it is all set up, I plan to write up a serious review, and like others that have done the P90x challenge, I aim to commit to a similar challenge and track my results.

Some other great gifts - gift card to Amazon (workout gear), gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods (workout gear), money from Grandma (workout gear), more money (workout gear), Jef Mallett's Trizophrenia (hysterical).  You see where I'm going with this?  I am trying to set it up to where there are seriously NO excuses.

Finally, the gift that meant the most to me...K gave me The Distance: A Triathlete's Journey.  I'm not going to say that it is the best amateur triathlon stories DVD I've ever watched, my vote still goes to 140.6: The Triathlete's Journey (a college film project by Wes Wheeler).  I like 140.6 better because it highlights three amateurs in their quest for Ironman Lake Placid.  I seriously burned up the DVD in training for IMLP 2010.  Back to The Distance...we haven't watched the full movie, but what was so meaningful to me is that when they were talking about only wanting to hear those four words, "You Are An Ironman," K teared up.  Yep.  I looked over, paused the movie and asked what was up.  Her reply, "I was right there.  I watched you cross that finish line.  I was right there and I didn't hear it.  I didn't hear him say, "Jeffrey Weir, You Are An Ironman."  I offered my condolences and said that it didn't matter if she heard it or not - it mattered that she was there and part of the journey.  So...

I suggested a solution.  I'll do an Ironman again in 2012 and she can make sure to listen intently.  We'll see how that goes.

46 days to ING Miami Marathon.  I am so not on track.  It may turn out to be ING Miami Half Marathon.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Delayed Onset Post-Ironman Depression Syndrome

Ironman Lake Placid was almost six months ago.  Since then, I have completed a few 5k, half-marathon and x-country races and training runs - setting personal bests at the Monson Half-Marathon, Hatfield Harvest 5k and Talking Turkey 6-mile X-Country.  A fairly successful triathlon off-season.  I've been doing all the running to get ready for the ING Miami Marathon on January 30, 2011.

However, after coming up somewhat gimpy on what was to be a 16-miler on 11/21, I haven't been feeling great.  Everything seems to hurt - well, more like ache.  Which reminds of the commercial that says, "depression hurts, but you don't have to."

Ipso ergo oreo - I am suffering from Post-Ironman Depression Syndrome (PIDS) - the delayed onset variety.  Or...maybe I am in stage four - Depression - of the injury cycle as articulated in "Good Grief" (Runner's World - September 2010).

Either way, I'm struggling.  I'm not totally detached, though.  I've been keeping up with you all - your ups and downs.  I hope that I am on my way back up.  I like being up.  It is a good feeling.  I have to remember that life is full of peaks, valleys and plateaus.

The valley I've been in really isn't that bad when looked at with some perspective.  But, it is real.  This week, I've worked to pull myself back out.  I ran on Wednesday and then again today.  Nothing crazy, just getting my blood pumping.  More importantly, though, I'm back to doing more core work.  This will give me a better shot at staying injury free, keep me looking good and help me in my triathlon performance. 

We'll see how this weekend goes...