Adventures with an Average Ironmom

This year has flown by so fast I can hardly believe it. Talk about an awesome life I have. My amazing family allows me the freedom to be me, while making my life full and rich with limitless potential. My work is never work, but an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of already incredible people. I got the chance to do something I have dreamed of for 10 years by competing in Ironman. None of this could happen without the most loving and supportive people for whom I am completely and entirely grateful. My Family I have the best husband EVER. He has sacrificed so much for our family and allowed me to stretch my entrepreneurial legs creating Trunk Trainers Inc., my personal training company. We serve the everyday person in our community and beyond. This makes me responsible for a lot of people and takes a lot of hours for the company to be successful.   Hours upon hours he spends with our two boys while I am working or training. He has sacrificed his job...

There are a lot of ways to train for a triathlon. With as many training programs as there are athletes, it can be hard to decide what advice to take. There are a few things I wanted to do while training for Ironman that didn't happen. I feel for learning purposes I wanted to compile a list. Even though I ended up having an amazing and successful experience I still probably should have done most of the things that follow. Here's the list... Didn't Do It 10. Interview all the Iron-parents on the island for their advice Wanting to celebrate the special nature of training for Ironman while parenting, I was going to interview all the Iron-parents I know. At least I talked to Alika, Eric, and Jeff...but no formal interviews. Maybe for the book... 9. Blog every week/Weekly YouTube Recap I did what I could but it's hard to fit it all in. I found training outside was more effective than on the indoor cycle, so I will have to re-visit some of the topics I would have blog...

There can be a let down after accomplishing a huge goal, where depression sets in and an athlete feels lost without their training plan and something to look forward to. I have had so many things going on since the big day I have not felt the let-down. I have gone back to work/wifehood/motherhood full steam and there is not enough time to feel the let down as I clean up the loose ends left from 10 months of training. There are a lot of loose ends, and projects yet to be undertaken. I'm organizing my busy season with personal training and the gym, helping at Jason's school, cleaning up everything, helping with races, taking the boys to Cub Scout camp, and trying to spend quality time with Jeff. I have no let down, but I am no longer making my health and fitness a priority. All of the things I am doing with my time now are fun and overdue, so it's hard to squeeze in the workout I should be doing. Remember, I'm an Average Ironmom, not a regular competitor, so I have not ...

It's been almost 2 weeks since the amazing race in which I officially became and Ironmom. I've been reliving the events in my mind since then, while catching up on everything I've put on hold in real life preparing for the race. I've finally found a moment to get it all down, so here it goes... The week before Ironman I left the gym in the capable hands of the Trunk Trainers team and enjoyed all of the race week festivities. Between the Parade of Nations, packet pick-up, the Underpants Run and Pre-Race Banquet and meeting I was a little over extended. I tried to squeeze in my final workouts and also enjoy the stay-cation on Alii Dr. sponsored by one of my support crew members, Louise. It was fun, but I was more exhausted from pre-race activities than during training.   I wound up scrambling Friday to get my gear packed, find a new bike tire, and get a new pair of goggles. Jeff made spaghetti while I packed things up and when I finally turned my bike and gear i...

Out of the three sports of triathlon, the run is by far my favorite and the easiest to train for. Putting on a pair of shoes and heading out the door is way easier than deciding where to swim or bike, what gear to bring, and how to best keep from getting hurt. The wear and tear on the body is greater, but it also tones and conditions best too. Before moving to Hawaii the most running I had done was for soccer, track team, and for fun runs like Race for the Cure. I had never run or walked more than a 5k at once unless it was on a hike. While training for my first Lavaman in 2008 I ran on a treadmill 6.2 miles one time before the race. Since I had never tried running before I had no idea how much I would enjoy it. I decided to enter the Kona Half Marathon and have participated in that event 3 times, two when the race was on Alii Dr. on the Ironman course before having the boys, and one 2015 in Waikoloa. I decided to go big when I turned 26 training for and running in the Portland Mar...

I still can't believe I rode 100 miles on my bike yesterday. I never in a million years thought I would ever ride a bike for 7 hours straight. It was extremely challenging, and something I will never forget. I'm on a mission, and it had to happen. So when I woke up yesterday at 4:30am with the opportunity I've been waiting weeks for, I went for it. And I didn't stop until 100. A 100 mile ride on Queen Kaahumanu Hwy is daunting on any day. The sun is hot, the winds push you all over the road and the traffic is not only fast, but unpredictable too. Everything is loud. Cars and trucks rushing by are loud, the wind is loud. So loud you can't hear your bike, which is unnerving because you are constantly shifting and trying to avoid debris like nails, glass, and roadkill. The shoulder is uneven, and with the sun just up over the mountain by the time I got on the road at 6:10am, I could see every bubble in the asphalt, with their shadows marking up the shoulder. No wonde...

Now I know what people mean when they say "the struggle is real". Ironmom training is hard. I was hanging in there, with my workouts going pretty much according to plan, but the last few weeks have been quite challenging. The first bump in the road came after my glorious 91 mile bike ride July 24. My friend Dot followed me from NELHA all the way to Hawi and back. We left about 8:45am and didn't get back until around late afternoon. It took me 6 hours, 2 minutes and although it was hot, windy, rained, and intense with traffic I felt great. I was ready to ride further or run, but I had to get back to the family. I had also swam 2.4 in the pool in 93 minutes and had a good run  that week. After the ride I noticed a crack forming in the fork of Baby Blue. As I looked closer I read the sticker on the fork. I showed the crack to Oliver and he suggested I take it in to BikeWorks to get it inspected. Perhaps there was a warranty to replace it, since it looked like more than...