The Ironman I'm training for is two months from today.
What am I thinking about this? If there's anything that really wigs me out about the triathalon, it's this altitude map:
That is, I not only will I have to be able to bike 112 miles forward, but I'll also have to be able to bike a full mile straight up. (And then get off the bike and run a marathon, but for some reason that doesn't seem quite so scary to me).
Here's what people my age say when they find out I'm going to try to do an Ironman. They say, "I know you can do it!" They always say this immediately before or immediately after they say, "I could never do it!" I do not know what to make of this. Are all my friends incapable of logic, or do they believe I have super powers?
Here is what my college students say when they find out I'm going to try to do an Ironman. Especially if they do any athletics themselves, they ask me my running pace. I tell them that I generally try to run at a 10-minute-per-mile pace, and this impresses them, but mostly because of what they see as my incredibly advanced age. They say things like, "I've heard that that's a really decent pace for older runners." My students are adorable.
I'm now to the point that I have done an Ironman in one week, broken into manageable (for me) chunks. Not sure yet about doing it all in one day. . . and I'm still wigging out about all those bike hills. Yeesh.
What am I thinking about this? If there's anything that really wigs me out about the triathalon, it's this altitude map:
Here's what people my age say when they find out I'm going to try to do an Ironman. They say, "I know you can do it!" They always say this immediately before or immediately after they say, "I could never do it!" I do not know what to make of this. Are all my friends incapable of logic, or do they believe I have super powers?
Here is what my college students say when they find out I'm going to try to do an Ironman. Especially if they do any athletics themselves, they ask me my running pace. I tell them that I generally try to run at a 10-minute-per-mile pace, and this impresses them, but mostly because of what they see as my incredibly advanced age. They say things like, "I've heard that that's a really decent pace for older runners." My students are adorable.
I'm now to the point that I have done an Ironman in one week, broken into manageable (for me) chunks. Not sure yet about doing it all in one day. . . and I'm still wigging out about all those bike hills. Yeesh.
Of course you have super powers! They may be all in your mind, but that is where they are important. More power to you! I'm rooting for you.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think that given how well I go up-hill on a bike, my super powers are all in my *friends* minds! But thanks for being my cheerleader! -MM
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