My Epic Challenge

It’s finally time…time to get to work and put myself out there.  The sticky notes are posted on my fridge and on the bathroom mirror.  The clock is ticking to the starting line and there can be no more…”Starting Monday….”   Several Mondays have come and gone and my training goals have been pushed to the back burner. 

Easter tradition...brother pic.  Not one of their favorite things I ask them to do:)

The question I have asked myself so many times since Kona is….Why can’t I flip the switch and just be dedicated?  I have spent a lot of time wondering why it feels so different this time and why do I so easily decide to sleep in instead of heading to the pool or why do I so easily say yes to baking chocolate chip cookies.  I think part of it was/is I feel Lee and the boys supported me so much to reach my goal in Kona.  There was this unspoken feeling that all this “sacrifice” was temporary and then mom would be back.  So for me to say… hey guys…let’s do this again…mom wants to go for it again.  There is this feeling inside of me like I am being very selfish.  There are things I know to be true in life from experiences and one is actions speak louder than words.  It’s possible to dream big dreams, go for it, and still be a mom, wife, teacher, and student (for one more semester).  

We took a short weekend trip to Nashville in January.  He is my best friend and the funniest person I know!

I don’t have all the answers but I believe it comes down to true motivation and my belief that anything is possible - if you’re willing to put the work in.   Kona was always my goal...just to get there.  Then to make the podium on race day and go under ten hours was just pure bliss.  I’m proud of my training leading up to that day and proud of how I handled all the race day decisions I had to make.  I’m able to look back at the experience with no regrets.  HOWEVER…I know I have more in me.

So what has held me back and stopped me from blogging?  My last entry was right after Chicago and I had one for the beginning of the year, but it never surfaced.   I always want to make sure what I put in my blog is really how I feel... what I'm doing...the truth.   I've been all over the place with training and my race goals from having an epic week to throwing in the towel. It's been a roller coaster of emotions these last months and I've honestly struggled to find my way and see what I want to do in terms of my job/jobs and hobbies. This last week I finally felt at peace with all the decisions and changes that have happened lately and I’m ready to go all in for IM Wisconsin. 

Wyatt, Gavin, and Riley...where else but at the hockey rink!

When did my oldest, Mitch, get so tall? We were partners for the Easter Scavenger Hunt.

Wes picked New York for his 13th bday trip and he loves his Starbucks just about as much as I do. 

I’ve blogged before about my journey to Kona and this time around I wanted a new challenge and a new focus to go with my training for IM Wisconsin.  The part that has been a challenge for me since Kona is my nutrition. I am 100% on board with training and can and will find the time to get it in. The problem is will I be able to race at the level I want to through eating pizza and cookies?  As much as I would love for that to be the case I know I cannot out train a bad diet.  I learned through my Kona training the power of good nutrition, but I never really got serious about it until the final 6 weeks. 

 

The last few months I’ve been thinking…I need something different, epic, and unique for me, and a real challenge to blog about.  Recently I read an article on training peaks, The Effects of Taking Sugar Out of Your Diet, and I knew I wanted to do something similar on a smaller scale.  So here it is…I’m giving up all junk food until I cross the finish line at IM Wisconsin.  I was asked, what constitutes junk food and the way I’m going to decide what is healthy and what is junk is through the question - Will this help me race my best on race day?

I will not be visiting these types of counters for a while.  Bye to sugar.

For some it may not even be an issue. Lucky you!   I ask myself - why train/work so hard in one area and not the other. In my experiences with IM the nutrition piece is truly the 4 disciple. Not only on race day but all the days in training.  One thing I know about myself when it comes to racing is I am either all in or all out.  An epic challenge needs motivation, passion, and discipline to be successful.  

MY EPIC CHALLENGE

My plan is to blog my struggles and triumphs (there better be some).  I want to find the power of nutrition and then decide was it worth it or is life just too darn short. Just because I know better doesn't mean I always do better, but for the next 4.5 months I’m going to do better with not only my training, but my nutrition.  

The questions and data I plan to track and explore -  

      1. Can I change my view of food ... As fuel vs. pleasure?

2    2. Weight

3    3. Body Fat %

4    4. Power – FTP and watts/kilo

5    5. Run paces & swim pace

6    6. How I feel and sleep

7    7. Struggles – being busy & having 5 teenage boys who can & do eat just about anything

GAME ON!!  

 I’ll keep you posted on all that entails along with more on the journey to getting my CR back and setting a new PR.

Only a few races this summer:
Honu 70.3
IM Canada July
IM Wisconsin September
Olympic Worlds – the week after IM Wisconsin…that will be interesting
 

Biking around Key West with mom in January

So much has happened since my last blog...we have had a broken leg, broken arm, an appendix removed, two go through the ice on wheelers on Gull, a fender bender (not me), speeding tickets (not just me), snow goose hunting, hockey games, turkey hunting, hockey games, downhill skiing for the first time at 38, deer hunting, duck hunting, hockey games, races and trips, and many more adventures.  Life is never boring in the Andres house. 

First time downhill skiing with the LAMS crew.  I have to admit the hike up was more my style than the ski down.

Chicago

You gotta want it…

Race morning...all smiles on the way to the start.

Interesting day…a learning day…a day I have no regrets about and one I will always remember.  

One year ago, October 12^th, 2013 I was running down the Queen K with a pain in my leg so intense that at one point I just didn’t feel it anymore.  I never once, for not even a second, thought about stopping or even walking.  Every part of my being wanted to run down Ali Drive and cross the finish line.  It was my dream and something I thought about every single day in training.

Now, exactly 365 days later I’m running through the streets of Chicago with a similar pain and some foot pain along with it…nothing like a year ago…but they were both singing to me from the word “go”.  At mile one I knew the finish was probably not in the cards for me today. Not because my body couldn’t handle it, but because I wasn’t willing to go to “that” place.  “That” place is special to me and reserved for only the most important races.  Today, the Chicago Marathon was not going to get that honor.    

It takes passion.  I truly believe we are all capable of so much more than we think is possible.  The interesting part of the puzzle which needs to be there is…. passion.  There is no dream and no goal too big if you have it…the passion.  We all need to do what WE love and then anything is possible.   

What I found out today about myself is my passion and my goals don’t involve the Marathon Olympic Trials.  

This whole year has been a great year.  There are no regrets.  I have thought so many different times about different goals and different paths I want to take with my training, occupations, and just living life.  I’m not someone to settle and I’m not someone to just go through the motions.  Life is way too short to walk around regretting not taking chances, not putting yourself out there, and not dreaming big dreams.  I will always set the bar high and aim for the stars.  It’s just sometimes I need to change what the bar looks like and what star I’m shooting for. 

My heart is in the lava fields of Hawaii and that is where I want to spend every second Saturday in October.

On a side note…the most exciting part of the day was lining up with the American Development Team.  Heated tent and no lines for the porta potties were FABULOUS!  

I have so much fun with this guy!

We took in all the sights and treats of Chicago.

Lee and I at the Blackhawks store.

I'm such a liar...

I’m totally a liar…I told Lee and my boys never to believe anything I say in the weeks after an Ironman.  Some of you may remember my blog post right after Kona where I said I was done with triathlons and putting my bike on eBay.  

What was I thinking...sell Black Beauty on ebay??

This past year I’ve been trying to find my passion and see where my next big thing is calling my name…I believed it was the Olympic Trials in the marathon.  I kept seeking and asking myself….what is that goal that drives me each day.  The thing I think about when I fall asleep at night.  The thought that come to me right after I’ve ran through the boys’ schedules for the next day, what time can we all sit down for dinner, my daily grocery shopping trip, did I get all my work submitted for my graduate courses (yes I have 4 right now), making sure I have my lessons planned and grading done for my real job.  After all of those thoughts leave my head was comes rushing back in?????

 I’ve been working on my run and it’s been slow progress.  Probably because I haven’t been as consistent and been as focused as I was for previous goals.  Why is this?  I have been asking myself this since my PRP injection for hamstring last fall.  

This is my conclusion…I am a triathlete at heart.  I love running, but I just can’t walk away from swimming and biking.  Another thing I learned about myself this year…I love epic stuff.  Running a marathon is a big deal, but I need a little more crazy to go with that run…like swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 first…then I can run a fast marathon.

So, with that being said…I am all in for Honu 70.3 (trying to qualify for 70.3 World Champs in Austria), IM Canada (would love a Kona slot), IM Wisconsin (going to get my CR back), and AG Worlds Oly distance in Chicago (Just want the tri kit that says ANDRES USA).  And don’t think I have forgotten about my marathon Olympic trials qualifying time…this fall sub 2:50 and by spring 2:43.  If I’m planning to be around the 3 hour mark for an IM marathon I need to be able to run around a 2:40 open marathon. Simple as that.

I guess I can’t leave Ironman racing and triathlon.  It’s who am I am.  It’s in me. 

Running stuff…

My mom makes all these donuts from scratch...special family tradition.

Chicago is less than 5 weeks away and I feel I’m so far away from where I wanted to and planned to be.  5 weeks is a long time and I know I have the training under me to get across the line faster than I have ever before.  However, my goal is a sub 2:50 this fall.  This means my average can be no slower than a 6:29 pace per mile.  I’ve done the math for a 2:49:59 and it is 6:29.2 to be exact. I’m right on the edge of knowing it is totally doable.  A huge part is getting on top of my nutrition these next 5 weeks and staying away from the dessert table!  Seriously, carrying just a few extra pounds around for 26 miles makes a big difference.  

I love this guy so darn much!

My struggle…to be honest…is how differently I feel about this goal vs. how I felt with Wisconsin in 2012 and Kona in 2013.  It was a no brainer to make all the sacrifices in terms of training, nutrition, sleep, etc.  But this time, this past year I feel have had no will power in terms of putting certain parts of training in front of other priorities to reach my goals.  Life is all about balance and finding the balance of what truly makes a person happy can be very hard.  There is so much to be learned about ourselves, life, and the people around us through sport.  

Other life news…

Tri for a cause

Race went good…not great in terms of times in the swim, bike, or run, but after a 75 mile run week and adding some biking, swimming, and yoga in there I was a bit on the tired side come Saturday.  Maybe next year I will shoot for my old course record and try to throw down a little speed.  It’s hard training for a marathon and then doing sprint races.  

AG Nationals

I put my write up under race reports.

Fun time for sure...but NOT my favorite distance!

4 weeks of summer

Getting our deer stands ready

There were 4 weeks from when I finished my summer courses until fall classes rolled around and I went back to teaching.  I finally felt like I have a little bit of summer.  Before the school year started we planned camping trip, the State Fair with a Toby Keith concert, a mini vacation at a local resort, drive-in movie theatre, and a 3-D bow shoot. Plus, Grandma is even making her homemade donuts one Sunday!  Fun times for sure!

Mitch and his big bass fishing on our camping trip.The only time the boys are up before me is when we are camping.

Wyatt, Mitch, and I bringing the canoe back across the lake from our campsite.  Lee and Wes are in the boat behind us and I couldn't get Riley and Gavin in the kayaks in the photo.

Annual Labor Day Crab legs...Mitch and I were the last two at the table.  There should be an award for that!

Family dinner campsite style

State Fair...eating and people watching!

3D bow shoot...not bad for my first time.

Bow Hunting
One great thing about the boys getting bigger and getting bigger than me is I’m getting some pretty nice hunting gear hand me downs.  I’ve wanted to start bow hunting and was looking at getting a new bow.  Well, Gavin has outgrown his bow which is perfect for me.  The fall is a busy time in the Andres house.  We all love hunting…duck hunting, bow hunting, pheasant hunting, deer hunting.  Balancing new school schedules with hockey and hunting schedules gets interesting and is always a balancing act.  Throw in a few races of mine and Team Andres loves us some fall. 

Races coming up…
Stillwater 10 mile September 27^th
CHICAGO MARATHON October 12^th (I’ll be able to relax the day before and follow Kona all day in the hotel on my computer)