BeWare, Read lightly

Its early morning and I am highly caffinated. So, beware. I left for early morning masters and it was dark and very brisk; I had a great swim thanks to Carla's good workout and my lane mates pushing me, but once done I was headed for caffeine. I have some bike hill repeats to do and thankfully the sun is out but we'll be wearing layers for sure. I tend to put away a little more caffeine than usual when its cold out so.....read cautiously as I am not sure what may wind up spilling out of my mouth (fingers) this morning. My normal ability to keep my opinions to myself might be lost!

I think Ironman fever has hit the entire tri-city area and all of Chicagoland. It is everywhere. I turn on my computer and there are 57 messages a day from the club about who is in, who signed up for 09; I show up to swim and there is more talk of who is in, who signed up for Ironmoo. It was a 2 day process for some of determining how to sign up and get in because the race fills so fast. Madison, Louisville? Early a.m. road trips were planned to be in line first, some volunteered to get early registration, some were talking community fund..a whopping 1300$ just to get in.......its Ironman mania! At one point in my life I was there, and did 1 Ironman a year for 3 years in a row, chasing that perfect Ironman. Then you actually had time to think through what you were signing up for. I believe I signed up for Ironman FL once in Jan.! Then I did 3/4 of an IM in Madison the year it was 107 degrees and ended up in the gutter with my insides coming out. I admit I was even caught up in some of this mania last year as I signed up for Lake Placid sending poor Papa Joel Zucco to stand in line for me! It was suggested that since I am older, longer races would be my thing as the high end speed starts to go! Ha! That maybe so, I bought into it, but the parts that were forgotten were the 6 hr bike rides, the 7 hr bricks, mostly solo becuase of my crazy schedule: the fact that hard intervals, hard track workouts, triple bricks ...the fun stuff really isn't included in Ironman training. Just go ride in zone 2 for 6 hrs, run 2 hr s and......have fun! Turn into a slug, then go to work and be professional the next day without falling asleep!

Ironmania is in full swing at home. There are times when I"m talking to the Hot, IRON MAN at home when he'll say "so here's my plan>..." and I'll think he means about dinner, or what to do tomorrow, but instead he starts giving me his run pacing plan. When in full Iron mode it is always on your mind, and, it needs to be, because it is huge. Not to mention when you spend 6 hrs with yourself you might think about the race a little. And, if you've done an Ironman before... you know you can do better if you just tweak this or that, or just eat this or that. That is what sucked me into do 3 in a row , then a 4th A.J. (after Jack)

All kidding aside. Yes, I am exaggerating (some). Mostly poking fun at myself for starting out to do an IM this year than completely switching gears. Who decides not to do an Ironman 4 weeks before, unless injured? Ironman North America made $$ off my mom guilt and me deciding to follow what I like doing most. I have said before my Ironman Florida training was the most fun training and racing I have ever had. And, I love coaching my athletes to finish their first or improve on past Ironman performances. Crossing the finish line at an Ironman is a huge accomplishment and by far some of the most memorable triathlon experiences there is.