Almost Ironman CDA Time!

It has been quite the long struggle with getting down from my 20+ pounds heavy weight from normal race weight since January. The most difficult thing has been paying attention to diet and sticking to it. Doing it the natural way instead (unless coffee doesn't count?) of unhealthy methods. There are a lot of eating disorders out there so I am not one to fall into that mode, but rather, through consistency in diet & exercise. After stepping on the scales yesterday I am happy to report I am near my high school weight (within only a couple pounds), but without all the baby-chubb! I'm sure there are a few pounds I could melt away yet but those reserves will be used for Ironman CDA in only one month.  Either way, I am likely entering 2012 race season at my lowest race weight to date, so it will certainly be interesting to see how that works out.

Race day is a completely different kind of story, one where the stats you may find on places such as Athlinks.com really don't matter. The numbers can't tell the story of the day in an Ironman, only passion after 140.6 and all you did leading up to that day from the previous 6-months will be able to tell (provided there are no mechanical or illnesses taking place!) It remains to be seen whether the obsession of getting rid of the extra chubb I'll need to carry will pay off or not. It may in fact hurt my chances of a good day due to loss of power--too light and there is less power on the bike. However, less weight means I have less to carry around so do I really need to worry about it--because the pay off in the long run is less junk to use my power for all day long right? It should help the run provided the calories get in the body and I stay on top of nutrition. Can't wait until the race is over because it isn't easy eating like a Monk from Tibet!

This is a clip from one of my long rides...so beautiful here in Colorado...I just love it!