Hi! I’m Amy Riley. I’m an average runner – or at least an average marathoner.
I’m not a stellar athlete, yet I tend to jump in with both feet. I started running 6 years ago and within 15 months was doing my first marathon. I then completed 6 marathons over the next 4 years (once doing 2 marathons in 1 month – because I wanted to be efficient and get 2 marathons out of 1 marathon training season).
I’m not sure how long ago an Ironman event started to intrigue me. It seemed SO audacious at first. Then, I just kept thinking about it and the more I thought the more I wanted to jump in.
I did start saying out loud to a few people at the beginning of this year, 2015, that I was going to register this year for next year. Things didn’t go as planned in the first half of 2015. Read more on that here. I waffled, yet ultimately decided to register for Ironman Wisconsin 2016. I’ve got 12 months to get ready!
Can I finish an Ironman? Obviously, I think it’s possible. I also know it’s a big, big ginormous stretch.
I have a base of endurance training from my marathon training. I’ve done 2 cycles of marathon training in a year. I’ve pulled out 2 marathons at the end of a training season.
At the same time, I have also “lost it” mentally many times in the last 30 to 60 minutes of the marathon. Now, I’ve always run marathons with a time goal. There will be NO time goal for this Ironman. It’ll be a primary goal of finishing. And any secondary goals will cover items such as “not puking,” “not falling,” and “enjoying as much of the race as possible!”
The idea of swimming for 2.4 miles is super daunting. Super, duper daunting. I have A TON of work to do on swimming skills and endurance.
Then the idea of running a marathon after getting through a swim and riding a bike for full work day is unbelievable. And, I’ve just got to go slow and steady. I’m actually pretty good at that. I can tense up and panic under the pressure of a time goal or critical moment. I think when the game plan is to “hold back” and “hold back” and just go slowly all day long, I might fair better.
Well, one thing’s for certain. I’ve put myself on this journey. I know it’ll have ups and downs. I’m really hoping it’ll be one hell of a ride!!
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