Last long run before the PPD Beach 2 Battleship Half Ironman!!
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That's right folks, we are 14 days away from the biggest race and one of the coolest opportunities of my life. Armstrong asked me on the run this morning if I was getting nervous..saying no would be a lie. I am not nervous that anything will go wrong or that I won't do well in the race, it's more of an "I am so excited for everything that is going to happen and now I have butterflies whenever I think about it!"Not only will I be doing my first 1/2 iron man, but I'll also be speaking a few different times around town and meeting some incredible people; other PPD heroes and of course everyone at PPD!
Yesterday I started back with my PT guru Greg who is going to do enough to get my knee and hip feeling good but not too much that could inflame anything. Everything felt pretty damn good today. No knee or IT issues after 10 so that's a good sign. My hip was a little sore but nothing that would alter my stride or stop me.
I got my last double digit run in at 7am today, 10.2 miles. Now I will start to dial everything down while staying healthy and not doing anything stupid....that is hard to do. Becky ran the first 6'ish with me and then I finished up 4 on my own. Today's run wasn't my best, I was coughing quite a bit, spitting some sticky situations up, my lungs felt harsh and my stomach wasn't 100%. No big deal though...Could be the 18 bean soup I've been eating all week, or the shredded wheat cereal...definitely dropping my fiber next week and the week after. Yikes.
Around mile 8 this morning my mind really started to wander. Thoughts about the race were running (and cycling) through my head, how's my transition going to work? Is my nutrition and fueling going to work? I gotta make sure I pack everything!..and a whole lot more. I also started to think of how big of an event this is, how much time and training I've put in, and what it really means for me. In 5 years I've done 7 half marathons, multiple 275-350 mile bike trips and have spoken to crowds of 10-5,000. 4 of these half marathons and 3 of these 300+ mile rides were done before I was on blue lighting/Kalydeco when my lung function sucked and I was in the hospital 2-3 times a year. When I started running I couldn't even run a block without coughing and spitting and gasping for breath. Slowly I built up and in 2 weeks I'll be biking 56 miles and then running 13.1 miles? Hey, wha happen?...of course this is after my awesome "Violent Phlegms" teammate and fellow CF rockstar Scott swims the 1.2 miles and tags me. Leading up to the race I will be joining a few other PPD Heroes where we will be telling our clinical trial and personal stores to groups around Wilmington, N.C. Exciting stuff here.
During these last 2 miles today thoughts also went to all of my CF friends around the world. Mostly I thought about my friend Gloria who passed away almost 2 years ago now. She lived in the neighborhood where I bike and run daily and she is constantly on my mind while training. Today though it really hit me and I had a really tough time finishing those last two miles. Why isn't she here anymore? Why am I able to train so much and then in two weeks do a half ironman distance triathlon, something that only like 70,000'ish people sign up to do each year? (I may be off a little..) There has got to be a reason for this of course and I realize now after living through so many of these "why" moments, that this is the way life goes and you cannot change it. You simply, not it's usually not simple, must keep moving forward. All I know is that I miss Glo and I'm going to take her spirit to N.C. with me to do this race. We both loved The Who so maybe if I start to go crazy on the course I will sing the entire Tommy soundtrack in my mind during the race, although she like Quadrophenia better.....
The coming weeks will be amazing and I will be excited with anticipation for everything that's coming up. I cannot thank my friends and family who have trained with me to make sure that I will be ready; 5:30 am rides, 6 am runs, windy as hell rides, hot rides, dark and cold rides, shitty runs, flat tires, ice cream rides and funny stories. Next weekend will officially kick off my carb load week with the Pancake run! I've never felt more ready for a race before...so let's do this!
Go Green and Go Tigers!!!!!
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