Oh the miles I'll go...in my living room

So, because I have a 30 week training program, I have to start training in the winter. And because I live in Chicago, winter extends through March. You may think I'm tough because I am training for an Ironman; however, let's be honest...I'm a wuss when it comes to cold weather and training outdoors. Maybe you'll get me outside to run a few miles (as long as there isn't ice on the sidewalks) but you WILL NOT see me out there sprinting away on my bike. Enter my new Christmas present from Grandpa Long!

During those chilly (ok, downright freezing) months, I can now saddle up on my bike (Canondale SIX Carbon 6 for thsoe of you who care) and ride in my living room thanks to the Cycleops Magneto Trainer. (Photos will be soon to follow once I get back to my apartment...gotta love blogging on my lunch break!) I may not have room for the coffee table anymore but I can ride my bike while watching the news in the mornings before court.

I set up the Cycleops when I got back home after Christmas and used it for the first time yesterday morning. I woke up and hopped on and reacquainted myself with my bike (I haven't ridden since October). Let me tell you, there are a LOT of advantages to this thing. 1) I don't have to brave the elements and go outside. 2) I'm riding my own bike so I can stay in tune with it and get comfortable on the bike that will carry me 112 miles. 3) My apartment is warm. 4) I can ride and get my daily dose of what's going on in the world. 5) I can experiment with different riding positions without jeopardizing my stability. 6) And did I mention I don't have to go outside?! The only downside I foresee is that I'm stationary and have no change of scenery. But I can surely mix up the morning television so that I'm not bored.

So, overall, I'm quite pleased with this Christmas gift and think it will make training a little easier for me.

Follow my Journey and Join the Celebration

My sister-in-law recently committed to running her first marathon and started a blog to document her training. Check out Mom on the Run at katerunfast.blogspot.com! As an athlete with big dreams myself, I am so excited to follow her on this journey and see her accomplish her goals by finishing 26.2 miles. Her idea of blogging out about the experience is genius and I owe this blog to her. (Sorry Kate for stealing the idea!) But the idea of being able to document each step of the adventure, of letting others see the agony I’m putting my body through, and of having a group of people to hold me accountable when I am slacking off is too attractive to put aside. So that’s why I’m here.

I guess I should start with where this all began. I started swimming around the age of four and continued until I graduated college. The pool is my second home. All of my summers were spent in the pool and as time progressed, that’s where you could find me most mornings and afternoons. During my freshman year of college, I decided to compete in UE’s Bike Race (think IU’s Little 500 but on a much smaller scale). After that first Bike Race, I was hooked. I bought a road bike that summer and began riding. During my junior year of college, my brother competed in the Chicago Triathlon. I thought to myself that I could probably do that. I should probably point out that at this time, I HATED running. Not only did I hate it, I was pretty horrible at it. But I decided I was going to do it. And because I can’t half-ass anything, so began the Ironman Dream.

So I graduated college and moved to Chicago for law school. My first apartment in Chicago was conveniently located along the route of the Chicago Marathon. I watched the runners that first October in Chicago and decided that day that I would not only do my first triathlon the coming year, but I was going to run the Chicago Marathon. Fast forward one year, and I did just that. I completed the Chicago Triathlon in August and the Chicago Marathon in October of 2008. I’m not going to lie and say it was pretty; it wasn’t. I’m fairly certain I should have died during the marathon. But after those two races, I was addicted. I’ve gone on to do two more Chicago Tris, two half marathons, and this past July, I finished the Steelhead Ironman 70.3 in just over six and a half hours.

That brings me to today. Five and a half years after the Ironman Dream was born, I am officially registered for Ironman Louisville on August 28, 2011 in Louisville, Kentucky. I am using a 30-week training program from the book Be Iron Fit to prepare my mind and body for the most grueling task I am asking it to do. My first day of official training is January 31; however, fatty here got lazy through the month of December and needs to get some sort of a base back before starting. Check back in periodically and keep me accountable! I need your help and support more than you know.

So follow my journey and join me on 4^th St. in Louisville on August 28, 2011 around 10:00pm with a celebratory beer! And don’t forget to check up on Mom on the Run (katerunfast.blogspot.com) and give her the same encouragement!