FIRST things FIRST--good luck to my buddy JenC as she tackles her first Ironman in Lake Placid! Jen has worked so hard and I just know she's going to rock the course. Also, good luck to Cliff as he takes on IMUSA, too! These guys are both just awesome people and I wish them an amazing and memorable race day. I'll be cheering for everyone out there!
Second off, I never got to disclose the Super Fast Blogger I got to meet last week....drum roll please...it was Kurt! If ya don't believe me, here's proof:
(agh! my camera is swallowing pictures...stay tuned for proof!) :)
Kurt was just as nice as could be, which is how I pictured him exactly! It was great to meet him in person and I hope our paths cross again. We talked about all kinds of stuff, and I asked him what the secret was to his super fast 5 and 10Ks, since my favorite thing to do is go out way too fast. :) Wish we could have hung out longer, but he had to go to work! Thanks for having lunch with me!
Onto next year...my races are EXTREMELY subject to change, and they are already changing by the day. I think what I really want to do is to balance my family with my friends and racing--and racing friends. That's a tall order. So, I decided I really, really wanted to be able to go back to WIBA next year. There are just so many awesome people that I met there, and hopefully there will be a good crew next year as well. So, turning around and doing Muncie the following weekend is just too much traveling for this chick with a little one--I can already tell and Baby Z ain't even here yet! So.......here's my new plans: (don't worry--they might change in 5 minutes)
- End of May: Cleveland Half Marathon, hopefully to race, but at the very least just to run!
- Early June IF life permits: Maumee Bay Sprint or Oly Tri....cuz why not? It's not too far-and I can be back by the afternoon!
- July: WIBA with my Ironfriends (maybe I can pick up Jacks on my way to Madison....? :) Hear that, Jacks?) and perhaps a local sprint tri, like Huntington, since I earned a free race by volunteering this year--boo-ya!
- August: Greater Cleveland Half Ironman--this is a great race put on by an awesome guy and HUGE supporter of all things triathlon, Mickey, and TONS of peeps in my tri club do it every year. It would be a great chance for me to get in a 70.3 close to home. It's not the flattest bike course, which for me means probably not a big PR, but I might need to sacrifice finishing time for distance. The other option is Steelhead, which I believe is a flatter bike course...but requires a 4 hour or so drive and a night at a hotel. Boo. So...we'll have to make that call probably more in May or so, when I see how I'm handling life at that point.
- October: Chicago Marathon--big trip and a big A race...and hopefully a sub-4 or at the very least a PR with my IronSis Wil !!! Lush might be there if life allows it for her, which would be hella sweet. And I know another SuperAwesome person who might be on the course somehow, too! :)
This sounds a bit more doable. And, it only really calls for 2 weekends (possibly 3 with Steelhead but that would really just be one night) away: one to Madison, and one to Chi-Town. AND, I'd get to see lots of my IronBlogger friends while also doing a great race with my Cleveland TriClub friends. I've never done a "big" marathon before, and I think I could really feed off the crowd support and atmosphere when the going gets tough, as it inevitably will if I'm (able and) trying to go hard.
So that's the new flavor of the week. I'll have to update my chart! But for now, a storm came through and cooled things off, so a nice long walk is in order.
Sammy and Justin are coming into town this weekend for Cerveza's wedding, as are Po, Lush, and Hedda...so I'm pumped! And HAPPY 30TH TO MY GIRL JACKS! I have a few days on her but now we're even. :)
GOOD LUCK to all at IMUSA this weekend!
16 comments:
Flexibility with goals, the perfect balance. Best of luck with all of it, just take it as it comes.
Sounds like things are coming together (or at least trying to!)
Would LOVE to join you for the Chicago marathon. I grew up there and always watched the runners go by my house. So it's time for me to actually do it! Let's chat.
The Chicago Marathon is fantastic. Fast, flat and the spectator support is really strong. Though I do have to admit that New York is still my favorite marathon.
You can totally run sub-4. No problem - 1 long run, 1 tempo run and 1 speedwork session per week.
Ahhh. The wheels are spinin :-) The nice thing about being an uber-blogger, triathlete, and all around Ironperson, is that you won't have any problems finding someone to spoil Baby Z for ya while you do endie-related stuff. That is of course, if we can get him/her away from dad!
you bet that if i'm not running it, i'm going to be on the street corner SCREAMING MY HEAD OFF FOR YOU!
hahaha! what a great time we had! :)
Looks like a nice set of races to get your groove back next year...
Just remain open to anything that comes along. Also know that you will race, but there are a lot of unknowns. Motherhood brings a LOT of changes.
Anyway you could let us know where or how you got your IRONMAN watch countdown timer?
I have just am just setting out on my own IRONMAN journer
http://ironmanyear.blogspot.com/
Good Luck!
It was great meeting you also and I thought you were more than nice. Funny you think I am fast and I think your an Ironman studette!
I'm sure you'll rock any event you set your mind to competing in. Including the event of motherhood. Rock on, Sara!
I think it's cool how you're planning races after your due date. It gives you structure and really shows your dedication to the sport. (I like the flexibility part too, however).
P.S. Chicago marathon '08? I was thinking of doing that one for my first.
TriSaraTop,
Thanks for the encouragement :). I am considering doing IM-Moo for '08. If I am going, I would consider WIBA as well :)
No Muncie! I was so prepped to travel to the mecca of good times! :-) Seriously, that's a bummer, but I think we could be talked into a WIBA weekend. We are doing the Halifax 101 so that would be a great training weekend. The biggest consideration will be training and teaching time vs family time- so the later the tris the better.
YOU are way too funny! I'm still trying to decide if I'll do my August 4, 200-stinkin-7 race. Do you have your race clothes laid out too? ;)
YES, WIBA! I'd love to meet you at last - not to mention Baby Z.
Your post inspired me to make a Dream Schedule for '08 -- WIBA is on it! I do have to remind myself that I'll have an infant that will need to be taken care of and fed every few hours. You're definitely right about needing to be flexible, but it sure is exciting to think about racing again, isn't it? :)
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