25 Days and Counting.....

We hit the one month mark until Ironman Texas last Saturday. It is a little surreal that we are so close to race day. I am excited, nervous, and even a little emotional when I think about running my first Ironman. The fact that it is in our hometown where so many friends and family will be there to cheer us on and we will be able to race with so many of our fellow Houston triathlon friends is even more exciting. Most of all I am excited for my training to come to an end:)....it has been a long, tiring journey to get to this point in training. I think I can speak for most of my fellow Ironman Texas trainees when I say we are ready for this race so we can take a break from the 6-8 hour bike rides, 2+ hour runs and the long hours in the pool. I received an email from Coach Boo yesterday reminding me that my last long run would be this coming Wednesday and I found a whole lot of satisfaction in knowing that this is where the training starts to taper.

This past weekend the tri4Him team members being coached by Jeff started race preps. Race preps are the time in training when you try to simulate the different disciplines as you expect them to happen on race day. I did my bike/run race prep on Good Friday but it did not start out as I had expected. When I started out with the group for our 117 mile ride I found that my new cleat on my left bike shoe would not clip into my pedal. After several attempts by my teammates I gave up and headed home to grab my old shoes then head South with Cindy to do our ride closer to home base. This was just another reminder that no matter how well we plan some things just don't work out the way we want them to and we have to be prepared to change directions quickly. Luckily I have a sister-in-law who can roll with the punches and move quickly to the next plan! We got on the road late and just like our fellow riders in The Woodlands we hit 25+ MPH winds....and they never died down. This is where Jeff's plan comes into play. Regardless of the conditions Jeff has spelled out a plan that we must stick to in order for our legs to still have enough juice left in them for the run....so I stuck to the plan, just as he prescribed. Even with the wind I finished faster than my race prep plan had called for and when I hit the 1 hour run after almost 7 hours on the bike I felt GREAT! I was so excited to see that my pace was right on track, my heart rate never spiked even though it was 90 degrees and I felt like I could have kept going for many more miles. All I could think was wow....Jeff is a miracle worker:) I actually see how everything will come together on 5/21. My nutrition is on target, my paces seem to be dialed in and I am mentally convinced this is going to happen and I'm going to cross that finish line. So many things can go wrong in any given day and when they do we have to trust in Gods plan. Mr. Tom reminded me that it must not have beens God's will for me to be riding in The Woodlands on Friday and that he had other plans for me.

I believe the toughest part of an Ironman race is probably the mental part. There are no ipods allowed in any triathlon which means you are left to your own thoughts each hour of the race. That means that I will be spending a lot of time in my own head telling myself to keep going. I also know I will spend a lot of time talking to God, thanking him for giving me the body to be able to compete in this race, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of tri4Him and racing with so many of my friends. I know he will be all over that course on May 21st, showing himself through us and to us. I will be printing out stickers with scriptures and prayer requests that I will place on my nutrigrain bars, hammer gels, water bottles, etc. If you have something specific you would like me to pray for you during my race please email me and let me know what it is, I will be sure it is added to my collection of stickers to remind me to raise you up during my race. You have all been so generous with your support of me during this journey and I will be thanking Him for all of you that day.

Cindy, thanks for doing my race prep with me, you must be nuts for riding all day with me when you are not even training for anything! Brother, thanks for changing out my wheels and making the adjustments on my bike...also want to thank you for all of the guidance you have given me. Racing with you in IMTX is so special and one of the biggest reasons I will keep going that day. Tobey, thanks for the pep talk before race preps...it definately helped keep me focused on Friday. Coach Boo, thanks for the great coaching! Your plan is exactly what I needed to get to this point. I'm looking forward to finishing this thing out strong.

As we get closer to May 21st I ask that you pray for all of the participants of Ironman Texas. We still have a few long days ahead and with high winds and hot weather I pray that we can all finish out this training with no injuries and make it to the start line with healthy bodies and minds. Here is a list of participants I ask you to pray for over the coming weeks....Ronnie, Tobey, Karen, Joanna, Suzette, Rik, Erica, Slade, Mark, Todd, Tommy, Greg, Marti, Wendi, John and of course me.

Every week Coach Boo adds a different scripture to the bottom of our training schedule and I want to leave you with the one from this week, I think it speaks to what many of us are feeling now in anticipation of race day. "Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him." Jeremiah 17:5,7.

~Kelly