Off to Panama City . . .

"It is a comforting moment when we suddenly realize that our commitment to race, to participate in something so important to us - our dream - will be actualized. We have made it to the starting line. In this moment, the probability that we will do the event reaches 100 percent. The hundreds of things that can go wrong leading up to an Ironman have been cleverly averted, and the thousands of things required to get to the start are all now officially history."

We are ready, ladies.
Let's go do an Ironman!

Much love to all . . . and I'll see you when I hobble back home!

Random running thoughts . . .

I don't like seeing people drive around stuffing fast food into their mouths. You know the ones with the mayo dripping down their chin and they're still chewing that big bite of burger as they're loading a handful of fries into their mouth? I know. I shouldn't be bothered by this. To each his own. But, for some reason, it irks me. Anyway, Big Dog and I decided on our run today that we want a healthy alternative so we came up with the Ironman Happy Meal: I'll take a Kenyan with a side of Michael Phelps. And, sure, go ahead and supersize that to include the Lance Armstrong for an extra 50 cents. Oh, and of course it comes with a toy: every meal comes with one of Carmen's clear wetsuits.

Yes, this is the crap that Derek and I come up with while we're running. Clearly the closer I get to the Ironman, the wackier I become.

I am nervous. Anxious. Excited. Scared.

I know I have trained but my head is filled with so much self-doubt. So, I've been spending much of time avoiding any thought of Ironman. I have not put together my packing list. I haven't checked out all of the course information. No non-TriGirl blog reading. Nothing. I'm tapering, focusing on other family stuff, and just waiting for my turn on the IM roller coaster. I have allowed myself until Saturday to simply chill out and get in the required training. Then I will officially move into freak out mode. In the meantime, the one thing I have let myself do is to try to do some mental training for the long-ass day of IM. So, here are some of the good tips I've gathered:

Commit to the Battle Before it Begins!

You must make the decision to invest yourself emotionally 100% to your preparation. If you only give 80%, then 20% of you is saying it's okay to not be prepared. Make an individual commitment to be strong mentally!

Self-Talk:

You influence the way you feel by the way you think.
Negative self-talk leads to negative emotions, anxiety and wasted energy;
Practice positive, confidence building self-talk in training! "I feel good! I feel strong! I love how it feels to run hard!" (hahahaha! I'm laughing even as I'm writing that!)

Never use CAN'T!

Think energetically even when you're hurting!!

Try not to complain about meaningless stuff that is not under your control. It will drain you.

Distance Concentration:

Long distance races produce physical fatigue, but even more mental fatigue because of the concentration required.

Concentration will resemble a funnel. Broad early in race, narrow late in the race. Early in the race remind yourself to relax. Conserve energy!

Work to focus in the PRESENT!! Can't be worrying about how you "might" feel in 5 kilometers based on how you feel now. You "might" feel better or you "might" feel worse.

Learn to recognize when you're losing focus. Negative self-talk is the surest sign! Work to re-focus!

Use Positive Mental Imagery:

"Winners see what they want to happen in their imagery. Losers see what they are afraid "might" happen in their imagery." (Sorry to include a quote with the word 'loser' -- it's such an awful word!! Big Dog and I have this long-standing joke where I do crappy in a race or something and I say "I'm a loser" and he always jokingly responds, "No, baby, you're not a loser. You tried and failed. You're a failure." Yeah, we've got a messed up sense of humor!! Okay, now I'm totally off-topic. Back to this mental training thing -- dammit, look how quickly I already screwed up that whole "concentration" and "focus" thing. I'm such a loser! Argh! Now I'm screwing up that "self-talk" section! Man, I suck at this. ;-)

Develop feeling in your imagery. Try to feel yourself running smooth, fast and effortless.

Negative images will create negative emotions. Visualize yourself overcoming difficult points in a race, especially late in the race.

TRUST

Trust in your preparation!

When you trust your training you are free to let the race happen instead of forcing it to happen.

Trust=Confidence!!

Tell Yourself Each DAY . . .

I will not surrender.
I will not turn against myself when things get tough.
I will be excited about this race.



Hopefully, soon, I will be able to put together some type of inspirational and thoughtful blog that is worth reading. Until then . . . well, I'm just going to continue to ignore the fact that I'm going to get a major ass-whooping in 10 short days. YUMMY!