Four Weeks, An Ah-ha Moment and Shirts ;-)

Just four weeks until the big day!!!  I am getting excited and nervous for what is yet to come. This past week was a great training week for me. Fun but challenging rides with Alison and Jacque, my longest training swim of the year, and my longest training run ... SOLO, and on a TREADMILL!!  I was pretty proud of that one and it was a great confidence builder :-).  

This week will be the biggest volume yet. About 10,000 yards in the pool, about 35 miles running and 200ish miles on the bike. Biggest focus is to be rested going into all of the sessions, make sure that I am fueled properly and HAVE FUN!!!  

That brings me to my AH-HA moment. This has probably been evolving over the past few weeks and, I'm sure has been there all along, but I just wasn't truly aware of it until now. While I benefited from the time that I had Blake as a coach and really appreciate everything he had done to get me going and to have my best half marathon ever ... I have determined that having a coach isn't what is best for me. 

I am not knocking coaches in any way shape or form.  I have seen what they have done to help many of my friends to be prepared for their big race whether it be their first half marathon, full marathon, sprint distance triathlon, olympic distance triathlon, half ironman, full ironman or working to set a personal best in any of these events and definitely respect and appreciate what they have done for many, many people, including myself, as I have seen so many achieve great success with the guidance of a coach!! 

My thing, is that one of the biggest reasons why I participate in this sport is because I LOVE it, I have so much FUN doing it whether it be the training for races or just spending time with my friends training. Swimming, biking, running, strength work and overall general fitness are all a HUGE part of my life, both work wise and socially, so having fun has to be at the top of the list of priorities.  I was starting to lose some of the fun in the process.  This gave me that ah-ha moment that I needed to reevaluate what I really wanted from this journey.  

I wanted to go out and run with my girlfriends and solve the worlds problems and catch up on what is happening in their lives in the 30min - 2+ hours we have together on a given day.  When I couldn't do this, it made me sad and was an eye opener. They have been some of my favorite moments of the day (even though, we at times grumble about how early in the day it is as its usually at the pre-buttcrack of dawn).  

The same went for the bike, there were specific training sessions that needed to get done on certain days (which I understood as there is a plan and process for the goal), but I was wanting get the necessary miles in AND spend time with friends.  This year has been incredible as I have REALLY enjoyed my bike this summer (which hasn't been the case in past years) ... And a lot is due to the training rides that I have had with Alison, Jacque, Lyndsey and Synthia. We work, but still make sure to have fun while getting the necessary work in. A win, win :-). 

So, these past few months, I have been setting my training schedule weekly with a plan that is flexible to when my friends are available, but still getting the necessary training in in an organized and purposeful way.  Who knows, maybe someday in the future, I will hire a coach again, but for now ... me being my own "coach" is what works best for me, gives me more balance in my life and keeps me and my family happiest :-). 

I know this is frustrating to some as my original thought was maybe I could hit a certain time goal.  People have asked if I would like to be faster than in 2010. Well, of course I would like to be faster, but we will see what happens on race day, how I am feeling, what the weather is like, etc. I do know this: I want to soak in the ENTIRE day (the course, the spectators, friends and family that have taken time out of their day to support me and the others out there racing, the volunteers (I think I said thank you about 500 times in 2010 to the volunteers), the accomplishment itself, the reminders as to why I do this and the sweaty hugs on the run ... Those are important things for me to embrace) ... It's a pretty incredible feat and no matter if I come in at 11 hours, 13 hours, 15 hours or at 16:59:59, I will still be an IRONMAN :-).  In my mind, that's pretty AWESOME!!  

So, stick with me for a just a little while longer :-) ... I appreciate you all joining me on the journey!!!  

Now, last but not least ... the shirts ...

I believe, that as of today, we are at over 40 shirt orders for Effcansah - Team IronMichele Wilkinson!!  So exciting!!   There are still 9 days left to place your shirt order, so keep them coming in!!  All of the shirts are a unisex cotton t-shirt and come in Sapphire Blue :-).  When you place your order online, it will state that they are on backorder.  No worries, they will definitely be done in time for race day.  The company printing the shirts will be doing one mass printing, so that is the reasoning behind the backordered on the site.   

The cost for the shirts are $15.00 each and ALL of the proceeds will go to Dr. Mark Burkard's breast cancer research at the UW Carbone Cancer Center.  

You may choose to have your shirt(s) shipped (at a minimal cost) to your door or you can choose to pick them up in Madison from yours truly on Tuesday, September 4th from 5:30 - 7:30pm at Fleet Feet on Old Sauk Road or in Janesville on Thursday, September 5th from 5:30 - 7:30pm at the Janesville Athletic Club On Blackbridge Road.  

Please email me if you have any questions.  It would be great to see a lot of you out there supporting Effcansah!  Thanks so much to Dawn Whyte for getting this set up!!  You are awesome!!  It'll be so exciting to see Effcansah shirts out there on the course :-) ... Smiling and sweaty hugs will definitely be given :-).  I have attached a picture of the mock up of the shirts too.  

And, below is a link to the website :-)

http://shop.effcansah.com/Team-IronMichele-Ironman.htm

I hope you all have a fantastic evening, and an awesome upcoming week!  And remember ... Life is good. Enjoy it, love it and be kind to one another!!! Until next Sunday, when I will be able to embrace all of work that has been done and start to enjoy the taper!!!