THE LITTLE HILL HOME

CRAZY?

What is the definition of crazy? One definition I read
was - deranged; demented; insane. Ouch, that hurts.
I decided to participate in a Ironman 70.3 race sometime
in 2013 and the word crazy has been a common response
to my news. I located a definition for a Ironman while I was
searching out crazy and found - a strong man ( or women ) of
exceptional physical endurance. Now that sounds more like it! A full Ironman event consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a marathon (26.2 miles) run.
Add it all together and that is how you get the
IRONMAN 140.6. I however am training to do a half Ironman or
IRONMAN 70.3. I have learned that training for a Ironman ( either
full or half ) is time consuming for one thing. It is referred to as
taking on a second job. Since I already work a 51+ hour work week
this has become a challenge in itself. A drawback is that it's
considered one of the most expensive sports out there due to
the obvious, you need everything for swimming, cycling and
running! Did I mention a coach for each one OR a triathlon coach
( which might cost more than the three put together ). I have
learned that those are only the beginning. Food, well good food, is
expensive and not very convenient.
Race fee's? Goodness that should be illegal
what some of them charge. Anyhow here I go. Currently my training
consists of an alarm going off every morning at 5am and depending
on the day either 3.4 mile or 4.3 mile trail run. Three nights a week
I race out of the house at 530pm to make the masters swim class.
Two nights a week I take a spin class since it is too hot to do
anything outside in the evenings.
By 9pm I either drop, fall or limp into bed depending on
how I abused myself for the day and read a training book.
Currently it is " I'm here to WIN" by Chris McCormack and
it is wonderful. Now I agree that might sound a little
unpleasant to most, however it does have some great benefits.

1. Healthy and physically fit. With the training schedule I am
doing how can I not be! Not to mention I am counting on a rocking
body by the time I am done with this. ;) 2. Tattoo. Yep, said I
would never get a tattoo in my life unless it was a Ironman tattoo.
This is what it will look like and once
I complete a full Ironman I will just have the
white numbers filled in with the red.

3. Mike, Hunter and April said they will do it with me. Unfortunately we
will not be training very much together due to our schedules but how
awesome it is to have this experience with them.
4. Being a IRONMAN or woman. Proving to myself that I am strong
enough physically and mentally. The best part will be seeing my biggest
fan at the finish line. Taylor has always believed I could and would
do it. Celebrating that victory with her will be the true reward.
So needless to say the next year to two years will be busy for me
and every month I will add more time and mileage to my workouts.
I know it will be hard - check out my theme song under the
blinking training box on the home page. Strong Enough by
Matthew West. I'm excited, overwhelmed and a little scared
but I refuse to complain about any of it. God has blessed
me with the ability to do this (I have loved ones that would
be thrilled to do a physical activity but health issues prevent
them from doing so), a wonderful life and a very supportive
husband. Who could ask for anything more?

I'll leave you with this...

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must out run the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run
faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't
matter whether you're a lion or gazelle -
when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

- Unknown