Forecast: Snow, with a chance of well, snow!

Argh!  What do you do when you are supposed to swim, bike and run when there is 18+ inches of snow on the ground?  SNOW SHOE!  I came home to Seattle for a nice break to relax and recharge before getting back to Nashville to hit it hard for the next six months of training.  The weather was frightful and it snowed 5 of the 8 days I was home.  I didn't want to turn into a lard ass, so Meghan and I decided to partake in our annual winter wonderland tradition...snow shoeing.  

It was a beautiful day...yes, it was overcast, cold and snowy, but any day you can get out and be in the mountains with your best friend is a truly beautiful day!  

Meghan and I logged approx 6 miles and 3,000 feet of elevation.  She and I love getting out in the woods and getting dirty...we always have the best time, even if we are a little hungover from being over served! 

Check out my sweet snow shoes...yay!

Meghan and me getting ready to start our trek up the mountain.

"Running" in the snow...we did more trekking than running.

Meet the Makers, er, Coaches

In order to complete the CDA IM I am going to need some help, and that's an understatement...I am going to need an army of professionals! I have quite a motley crew of bad arse coaches to help me prepare for the next 6 months of training and completetion of the Ironman!

Meet my coaches!...

Coach Stephen Taylor is the one who got me involved in the wild world of triathlons...I had done some triathlons the year prior to working with ST, but since joining his classes and working with some amazing athletes I have decided to take on some higher, loftier goals! ST has helped push me to a higher level in my training and has really given me confidence to take on the IM. www.sttrainer.com

Ashley Whitney is my swim coach, and not just any swim coach, an Olympic Gold medalist, and not in rhythmic gymnastics, but swimming! So, I get to learn from the best! Ashley is already kicking my butt in her Excel Triathlon swim class and makes us do crazy ass stuff like swim with our tennis shoes on...it's just plain mean! ;) www.exceltriathletes.blogspot.com

Richard Baker, aka, Triswami is going to be the man to take me to the Ironman. "Coach" as I call him will be working with me on a specific IM training plan to help me balance hours on the bike, miles on my feet and laps in the pool. He is sure to provide some comic relief on the way and hopefully keep me out of my "Zone B" during my training...aka "Zone Bitch" Triswami has been doing triathlons for over 20 years and has a wealth of knowledge that I am going to feed off of for the next 6 months. www.triswami.com

Todd Nordmeyer is a cyclist extraordinaire. In my limited knowledge of biking, he's a certified bad ass...and that's as technical as I can get. He wins races, period...and does so on an elite/professional level. Todd has an indoor bike/computrainer class (more to follow on that in another "blog entry") that really kicks your rear and helps to keep you training in the correct zones (hopefully not "zone B" as noted above). Todd is constantly telling me to keep my upper body still while riding, but it's hard to do so when he plays such funky music. www.endeavorperformance.com

It's Officially Official, gulp!

While checking my bank account today I noticed that my checks for the Coeur d'Alene Ironman entry fee had cleared, yikes!  So, it's officially official...I am going to train and complete (hopefully) an Ironman.   

How did this all start?, you ask...

I have been a "marathoner" for a few years now.  Sitting comfortably in the middle of the pack, never veering far from my 4:30 average finishing time (ahem, I did just have a 4:04 PR which I am very excited about!).  I find joy in traveling to new cities locally and internationally to explore the world and run marathons while doing so, never putting a lot of pressure on the race outcomes.  Marathoning has afforded me the opportunity to hang with my mom who has become my official cheerleader and the two of us have had some fun adventures together in these endeavors (ask about the pepper spray incident in London, whoa!).

I started participating in triathlons in the summer of 2007, putting a few sprints and Olympic distance events under my belt.  The summer of 2008 started off not so much with a bang, but more of a whimper, so I joined a local triathlon training group, ST Trainer, led by Stephen Taylor a local bad ass in order to ramp up my motivation.  (www.sttrainer.com....a little plug!)  The group was great and I was huffing and puffing the first few weeks trying to keep them in my sight!  Over time it led to a greater confidence in my running abilities and faster times.  A few triathlon PR's and a half marathon PR (many have asked...PR=Personal Record) had me pumped to run the 2008 Marine Corp Marathon.  And pumped I was, I ran a 15 minute PR and felt awesome!  I was on such a high I was searching for "what's next?!"  

Fast forward to breakfast the following week after a two hour spin class.  There I was still on a high a week after the marathon and hungry for another race and breakfast, of course!  My friends Ben and Sara (a super cute and fun couple I met through ST Trainer) had signed up for the Coeur d'Alene IM and were enthusiastically trying their best to talk me into it.  "NO WAY" I said..."you have to be crazy!" (which doesn't mean much as "crazy" accusations have been directed my way many a time, so I was breaking down and seriously considering it...damn).  After a run the next morning with Ben, Sara and Pete I was feeling great...one more text message from Sara gave me the final push and then I found myself at the computer signing up for the CDA IM...damn again!

Ben and Sara found me at a weak moment, a post-race high with no solid plans for a spring race.  I will either be cursing them or thanking them come June 21st! 

I plan on keeping my friends and family updated on my training with this "blogging" thing so check in and help keep me accountable in this adventure for the next 6 months!