IronJourney

The results are in. No NYC Marathon this year for me. Not the worst thing in the world but I am definitely frustrated. I had been fighting with Plantar Fasciitis since about March 2016. Took a Cortisone injection in April, relief until mid July. Since then it grew progressively worse. With each training run came pain afterwards that lasted hours to a day. Lots of ice, rolling, splinting, stretching, ART and TLC. I did everything I was supposed to do.   KT tape was my best friend. Until 2 weeks ago, during a 17 mile run it took a turn. The whole run was painful but I can deal with pain pretty well. It was worsening and I was getting fussy. My times were good, I was 30 sec/mile ahead of goal but I knew the last few miles were going to hurt and I’d lose that which was fine. One step lead to another and then ... Rip! I feel a tear and burning in my foot. It stops me in my tracks. I didn’t like to ever stop because starting up hurt more. I take another step and it’s really sharp. ...

This race was my first triathlon DNF. It was a tough race. I am writing some of this a week later after much reflection and an awesome family vacation. http://donnerlaketri.com/half-triathlon/ Swim- I felt prepared for the swim. I came into this hoping for a swim PR. I was pretty confident in this. My training went well. I was swimming the fastest ever and have PR’d on my 100’s several times over. I was solid. On race day I was nervous. You would think by the 6 th 70.3 I would have this down. I still fear a random panic attack in the water. I don’t think that ever goes away no matter how strong of   a swimmer I become. I am late to the start. I line up as the racers are getting ready with less than a minute left. I forgot to set my Garmin to multisport mode and I still have to put on my cap and goggles. I fight with all 3 after the start. I continue moving in the water while trying to get my Garmin to work. No stopping. Done. I’m in and time to swim. Water is n...

I had been looking forward to the USAT NCC challenge since before completing IMAZ . Is set my goals right after Ironman to keep myself challenged, otherwise I’d do nothing and regret it later. I committed to putting more effort into the swim and maybe being top 10 in my Tri Club (TCSD) . Last year, in the last week of the challenge, I realized I could do well as I was fine with swimming more. While I am slow, I am determined and willing tot put the time in. Last year I saw my rankings climb, not to the top but it reflected how much work and time I put into it. I can do better. And wouldn’t it be neat to be up there with the REALLY amazing swimmers on Tri Club. I established a plan. Goal was consistency, less yardage early in the week (2.5-3K) mostly due to my work schedule, working my way up to a 5-6k by Thurs and Friday and attempt a 10K every Sunday. The 10K was added after the first week. I told myself to stick with the plan and I will see myself go up in the ranking...