Tick-tock

I am now two weeks out from the official start of my Ironman training. My good friend and Ironman partner Deanne and I were joking about how we should go on a week-long bender before the training starts -- nothing but pizza, beer and cupcakes. In reality, it feels like the better part of the last year has been one long dress-rehearsal.

I registered for the Patriot 1/2 last winter and used that race as a deciding factor: if I could manage the 4am wake-up times and stick to an aggressive training plan, then I felt like I could register for Lake Placid. I trained hard for that race and felt even stronger than when I did the Timberman 70.3 in 2004. I hadn't done a 1/2 IM since before I had kids, when I had the luxury of time. Now I feel like my training is so much more streamlined. No more junk miles, every workout has to matter. It's made me so much more efficient and disciplined.

It's still not pleasant when the alarm goes off at 4am, but once I'm out there, I have no regrets. There's something satisfying about feeling like you've accomplished something before most people are even out of bed. My husband says it's like I have this secret life while he and the kids are sleeping, and I like that because it makes me feel like I'm some sort of double-agent. Not to mention that I feel less guilty about taking so much time to train if the rest of the family is unconscious while I'm doing it.