Make decisions with your heart...

I often turn to my 8-ball app or fortune cookies to help make life changing decisions... The decision to do my first Ironman was no different. Allen & I had just flown back from a weekend in AZ & were talking over dinner.  The pros and the cons were laid out on the table, and then came my fortune cookie... Make decisions from the heart and use your head to make it work out. Of course!

So, rewind about 24hrs before I made this crazy decision... We were in Tempe, AZ cheering on our friends who were racing their first Ironman: The Iron-Whiners! I had spent the better part of the summer training for 70.3 while Kris, Shelly, Orissa, & Herb trained for their "crazy" 140.6! I swore up & down that I would NOT sign up for IMAZ 2013 before leaving there Mon. morning! I was not ready to do a full Ironman! Well, long story short... about 5hrs into the race, we got the call.  Kris called Robert that she got clipped on the bike & went down... She was done! Our hearts all collectively sank, but were relieved Kris was ok. Immediately, I started thinking, "OMG, all that training... What is she going to do now?!"  The answer came as obvious as the question... "She's going to do another Ironman!... And she's going to need a training partner!"  Well, I did stick to my guns... I didn't sign up for IMAZ 2013... But I did sign up for IMTX 2013!!!

So, week one of training is in the books! It's like riding a bike, getting back in the saddle. I try not to laugh when my "long run" is 1hr or my "long ride" is 1:30hr... I know in a few weeks, I'll be begging for mercy! A couple things I realized: I missed paddles, buoy, band swims!, I still find the trainer mentally exhaaaauuusting!, ... AND I have a LOOONG road ahead of me, which means A LOT of conversations in my head! Now I know why Ironmen blog :-)