70.3 vs. 5:00

Twas the night (and one week) before my first 70.3…

Since not everyone knows what 70.3 means, I’ll start there.

1.2 mile swim + 56 mile bike ride + 13.1 run = 70.3 miles total – Which also happens to be half the distance of a full Ironman. Hmmm… why is that important to remember??? *wink, wink*

On October 24^th I will be participating in my first ever 70.3 event. (Some of you will notice that I didn’t call it a “race”.) The Challenged Athletes Foundation – San Diego Triathlon Challenge (CAF – SDTC) will be taking place early Sunday morning at La Jolla Cove.

This is an amazing event in support of an amazing cause. (Please, check out this link to get the full scoop.)

As most of you know, I’ve been doing a lot of training lately to get ready for the big day. More than I’ve ever done. I’ve pushed myself farther than I ever have before. With the direction and support of my coach, yes, I said COACH (she's kind of a bad ass - ever head of "Leadville"?)... I’ve accomplished things I never thought I’d ever be able to do.

Last Saturday I swam for 1.5 hours then rode my bike (up hill, both ways… seriously) for four hours, then got home and did NOT fall flat on my face immediately. That did eventually occur, just several hours later. There was a time when a 3 hour ride would ruin me for the rest of the day. Ride, eat, sleep… done.

Next Sunday I’ll be relying on all of my training to get me through the very long day. I will also be relying on my Support Team and Family.

Since this is NOT a race I’ll be able to do some things to help get my through each leg of the event that I will NOT be able to do at my Ironman.

My friend Jon will be my swim buddy.

My goal is to “sight” on Jon and “just keep swimming”. Jon will sight on the buoys and keep us on the swim course as accurately as possible. No zig-zagging! This will help ensure that my swim is as efficient as possible. Nothing like wasting time in the water by swimming off course!

My friend (and training partner) Jeremy will be riding with me.

Jeremy will be providing me with much needed moral support and company (and the usual wit and sarcasm) on the 56 mile ride. I did make sure to warn him about the hills. I hope we’re still friends after this.

My friend (and other training partner) Kat will be running with me.

Once I’ve completed my swim and bike, I get to tackle a half marathon and Kat gets to help me through it. Since this is probably going to be the hardest part, Kat has her work cut out for her. I made sure to warn her about the hills too. Again, I hope we’re still friends after this.

70.3 vs. 5:00 - My dilemma…

Can I go the distance?

Yes!

Can I cross the finish line by 5:00 PM?

Not so sure about that.

5:00 PM is when the course closes. They roll up the "red carpet", take down the lights and the folks that have put on this amazing event get to go home.

The reality is I’m still not “fast”. I’m determined and stubborn and bull headed. (Those of you that know me are all nodding your head right now.) These are super important qualities to have if ya wanna participate in an endurance event of any kind. However, “speedy” is not my middle name (yet).

Who wants to do a word problem with me???

If the event starts at 8:00 AM, and it takes Liz 1 hour to swim 1.2 miles, and 4.5 – 5 hours to ride her bike 56 miles and 3ish hours to run 13.1 miles… When will Liz be done with 70.3 miles? (Don’t forget to include time for transition and eating and bio breaks.)

Answer: Sometime AFTER 5:00 PM

What’s a girl to do?

I have two options…

1. Shorten the distance.

Yep, that simple. I can shave some miles off the ride by taking some short cuts. And since the run is an “out-and-back” I can turn around whenever I feel like it and head back. This means that I could get back in time to cross the finish line. But I won’t have done the full distance. Note: This is NOT something you can do in a race.

2. Do all the mileage

Yep, that simple. But, I won’t get to cross the finish line. And I’ll be out on the course when folks are wrapping the day up and heading for home.

I had been wrestling with this decision for several days, weeks actually. Until this past Thursday night when I sat down with my awesomely amazing daughter and talked it through with her. I told her my concerns about not being able to finish in time. And that I was torn between getting across the finish line in time, and doing the whole thing. She asked me one simple question, “What’s your goal?”

My goal is to complete 70.3 miles in one day.

My choice was clear... I won’t be shaving off any miles in order to save time. I’m going the distance!

Yes, it IS possible that I will be able to accomplish both… Complete 70.3 miles AND cross the finish line be 5:00 PM. That would be AWESOME! And something that I WILL be striving for.

For June 26, 2011 my goal will be different… Complete 140.6 miles before midnight.

You get 17 hours to do an Ironman. The canon fires at 7:00 AM and the race ends at midnight. If you don’t cross that finish line before midnight you are NOT an Ironman… don’t pass Go, don’t collect $200.

However, when that day comes I’ll be a different triathlete than the one I am today.

Just like I’m a different triathlete than I was a year ago.