Fucking A. We did it. OK, so the bike leg was a bit short (104 vs. 112), but we swam the full 2.4 miles and ran a marathon. I can't believe we did it. NothingMan goes down as the most extreme thing I've done. But for Jostein--today was his first 100 mile or more ride and his first Ironman. I told him I was happy to help.
Time to lay down and try to sleep. Will post pics tomorrow, and the report will take a few days, as it will be a collaborative effort.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Shit, It's COLD!
34 here in Madison area this morning. On the plus side, there is no wind. I think it's a good call that we are swimming in a pool. I don't care what the lake temperature is--the surface would be too cold for me!
It's predicted to be 45 by 9AM. Holy blue lips, Batman! I don't think I've ever been on my bike in those temperatures. Let's hope my cold weather gear does the trick.
I didn't even take my bike out of my car last night. Or my swim gear. Or my bike gear. Or my run gear. Hmmmmm....maybe we should have called this non-event "CarMan" or "AutoMan." "BackseatMan."
Nah...NothingMan it is. Stay tuned!
It's predicted to be 45 by 9AM. Holy blue lips, Batman! I don't think I've ever been on my bike in those temperatures. Let's hope my cold weather gear does the trick.
I didn't even take my bike out of my car last night. Or my swim gear. Or my bike gear. Or my run gear. Hmmmmm....maybe we should have called this non-event "CarMan" or "AutoMan." "BackseatMan."
Nah...NothingMan it is. Stay tuned!
Friday, September 14, 2007
The Beginning of Nothing
Photo documentary here; check in tonight for updates once I get to Verona and then either really late tomorrow or Sunday morning or whenever I get to it for during and post-race updates.
For those of you reading about NothingMan for the first time, me and a friend are doing a self-supported Ironman distance training day tomorrow in the Madison area. Since it is going to be rather chilly, we will most likely swim in a YMCA pool starting at 6AM rather than in Lake Wingra. I am concerned about starting my day in a state of hypothermia and near darkness! While the lake may still be in the upper 60's, the air temperature will only be in the 30's in the morning, and if we weren't doing a full Ironman, that would be fine, but I think the pool will be the better option.
We'll bike from Wingra Park, making our way to the IMWI bike course and completing that, ending back at Wingra Park. I will have all my bike nutrition with me on the bike at the start, but will need to stop periodically for water, since I'm using concentrated Infinit.
For the run, Jostein (my NothingMan teammate? Not sure what to call him except crazy like me) measured out a loop in Wingra Park, that we will complete 59 times in order to achieve the marathon distance. It's on grass, so that will be really nice. He bought us candy necklaces so that we can eat one "bead" each lap to keep track of where we are. Jostein will finish before me, so it will be interesting to see if I decide to go the full distance or not. Something tells me I will, because, well, I should.
Jostein is even nuttier than me. He's a fireman, and will be driving up north late tonight, getting in around midnight or so. Hopefully he can crash for 4 hours before we start the day!
My car is packed up except for the coolers that will hold my bike and run nutrition (all liquid) and assorted other drinks I will need today through Sunday.
This is the first time ever that I am doing an Ironman that I am not completely sure I can finish, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? I messed up my recovery from IMLP somewhat, not to mention my mental state hasn't been ideal lately. But, I have had some good to great training rides and runs since IMLP, and I have to believe I have the endurance to go the distance. We won't be racing at all; Jostein is much faster than me, but we will mostly stick together through the bike.
We had extended an invitation to people via Slowtwitch to come join us to swim, bike or run with us or just watch, but it looks like that isn't happening, which I guess makes this even a bit more hardcore. So it's just me and Jostein toughing it out for a day.
OK, I need to shower and get driving so that I can stretch and relax for the rest of the day. Good thing I've been sleeping a ton this week, since I doubt I will sleep too well tonight, even though I truly don't feel the usual pre-Ironman excitement.
Oh--there will be no online coverage, no timing chips, no official photographer, in the spirit of "nothing." Like I said, whatever pics we get (I'm pretty good at conning strangers into taking pics) I'll post up and update my blog, but that's about it. We're not doing this as a stunt or for publicity or anything.
Peace out until Verona!
For those of you reading about NothingMan for the first time, me and a friend are doing a self-supported Ironman distance training day tomorrow in the Madison area. Since it is going to be rather chilly, we will most likely swim in a YMCA pool starting at 6AM rather than in Lake Wingra. I am concerned about starting my day in a state of hypothermia and near darkness! While the lake may still be in the upper 60's, the air temperature will only be in the 30's in the morning, and if we weren't doing a full Ironman, that would be fine, but I think the pool will be the better option.
We'll bike from Wingra Park, making our way to the IMWI bike course and completing that, ending back at Wingra Park. I will have all my bike nutrition with me on the bike at the start, but will need to stop periodically for water, since I'm using concentrated Infinit.
For the run, Jostein (my NothingMan teammate? Not sure what to call him except crazy like me) measured out a loop in Wingra Park, that we will complete 59 times in order to achieve the marathon distance. It's on grass, so that will be really nice. He bought us candy necklaces so that we can eat one "bead" each lap to keep track of where we are. Jostein will finish before me, so it will be interesting to see if I decide to go the full distance or not. Something tells me I will, because, well, I should.
Jostein is even nuttier than me. He's a fireman, and will be driving up north late tonight, getting in around midnight or so. Hopefully he can crash for 4 hours before we start the day!
My car is packed up except for the coolers that will hold my bike and run nutrition (all liquid) and assorted other drinks I will need today through Sunday.
This is the first time ever that I am doing an Ironman that I am not completely sure I can finish, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? I messed up my recovery from IMLP somewhat, not to mention my mental state hasn't been ideal lately. But, I have had some good to great training rides and runs since IMLP, and I have to believe I have the endurance to go the distance. We won't be racing at all; Jostein is much faster than me, but we will mostly stick together through the bike.
We had extended an invitation to people via Slowtwitch to come join us to swim, bike or run with us or just watch, but it looks like that isn't happening, which I guess makes this even a bit more hardcore. So it's just me and Jostein toughing it out for a day.
OK, I need to shower and get driving so that I can stretch and relax for the rest of the day. Good thing I've been sleeping a ton this week, since I doubt I will sleep too well tonight, even though I truly don't feel the usual pre-Ironman excitement.
Oh--there will be no online coverage, no timing chips, no official photographer, in the spirit of "nothing." Like I said, whatever pics we get (I'm pretty good at conning strangers into taking pics) I'll post up and update my blog, but that's about it. We're not doing this as a stunt or for publicity or anything.
Peace out until Verona!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
A Little Bit of Pain
I can't wait...
All you ask for is a little bit of pain
It goes a long way
All you wanted was the stinging of her rain
rolling down you face
It´s like you told her- there´s nothing you won´t do
Crawling comes so easy
Now that you´re older you will lick her dirty boots
Nothing is too sleazy
You didn´t know what love was
You didn´t know what pain does
Let your arms ache
Let your heart break
All you wanted was the clinging of her vine
to wrap around you
Now you´re dying for a swallow of her brine
so she can drown you
Gone to heaven, then it´s back to hell
you´re climbing down her staircase
All you wanted was to love this Jezebel
Even angels make mistakes
You didn´t know what love was
You didn´t know what pain does
Let your arms ache
Let your heart break
All you ask for is a little bit of pain
All you ask for is a little bit of pain
It goes a long way
All you wanted was the stinging of her rain
rolling down you face
It´s like you told her- there´s nothing you won´t do
Crawling comes so easy
Now that you´re older you will lick her dirty boots
Nothing is too sleazy
You didn´t know what love was
You didn´t know what pain does
Let your arms ache
Let your heart break
All you wanted was the clinging of her vine
to wrap around you
Now you´re dying for a swallow of her brine
so she can drown you
Gone to heaven, then it´s back to hell
you´re climbing down her staircase
All you wanted was to love this Jezebel
Even angels make mistakes
You didn´t know what love was
You didn´t know what pain does
Let your arms ache
Let your heart break
All you ask for is a little bit of pain
Its Possessive
As I continue muddling through this mentally difficult yet enjoyable period of time, that I realize is truly a luxury experience to have (to paraphrase effendi, if you aren't struggling just to survive, only then can you bask in your own mental gyrations), I find myself thinking a lot about triathlon and particularly Ironman, as it's been a big part of my life for the last 7 years.
I still vividly remember crossing the finish line at my first Ironman. I had heard all this hype about how happy and proud you feel. I felt none of that. In my head I was saying what the hell was that? I was happy it was over, but I just couldn't process anything more than that. It was just a thing I did.
Six years later, at my most recent Ironman finish, I can honestly say I knew what the hell it was, and yes, I was happy it was over, but in a way I wanted to keep going in that place in my head.
What is that place? It's that deep, dark core of myself that only those brave enough to attempt real intimacy (not the "I live with you and have sex with you and exist in a modern society" kind) with me will ever know, because it's not something I can put into words.
I may be a lot of things, but I am not an Ironman. I do Ironman distance races. They are just a vehicle to drive myself to that place that I love so much. Where I can escape my physical self by appearing to do something so physical.
So this Saturday I get to go there. Without crowds. Without medals. Without someone shouting (it's a lie, anyway), "You are an Ironman." Now if someone wants to come out and shout at me, "You are Sheila!" I would really believe that!
I still vividly remember crossing the finish line at my first Ironman. I had heard all this hype about how happy and proud you feel. I felt none of that. In my head I was saying what the hell was that? I was happy it was over, but I just couldn't process anything more than that. It was just a thing I did.
Six years later, at my most recent Ironman finish, I can honestly say I knew what the hell it was, and yes, I was happy it was over, but in a way I wanted to keep going in that place in my head.
What is that place? It's that deep, dark core of myself that only those brave enough to attempt real intimacy (not the "I live with you and have sex with you and exist in a modern society" kind) with me will ever know, because it's not something I can put into words.
I may be a lot of things, but I am not an Ironman. I do Ironman distance races. They are just a vehicle to drive myself to that place that I love so much. Where I can escape my physical self by appearing to do something so physical.
So this Saturday I get to go there. Without crowds. Without medals. Without someone shouting (it's a lie, anyway), "You are an Ironman." Now if someone wants to come out and shout at me, "You are Sheila!" I would really believe that!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Quickie IMWI Report
Caught up with Cindy and Shelley on Friday night, and proceeded to hang in downtown Madison with Cindy and some guys we know from various places. I don't know how many bars we visited or how many drinks we had. But we drank and danced a lot, and I think it was around 3:30AM Saturday that I decided I needed to quit drinking and get back to my hotel, so I just walked out, walked about a mile back to where my car was parked, and managed to drive 12 miles back to Verona. Funny thing is there were so many people (not racers!) out and about at that time of the morning. I drove back safely, and was so starved that I hit the 24-hour McDonald's. I chowed that down and passed out at I don't know what time.
Saturday morning was not fun. I was supposed to swim, but considering I couldn't move until about 8:30AM, swimming was not in the cards. But I figured if I put on running clothes that eventually I would do some of that. Cindy called to be sure I was OK, and I told her I felt bad about eating McDonald's, and her comment was, "Oh, you feel bad about that but not about all the drinking?"
Headed down to the expo and met up with some folks from the TRI-DRS list, collected some bottles at the Infinit booth, and about noon decided I'd try running. I actually didn't feel too bad as I started, probably because I had no sense of pace. I wanted to run for an hour, but figured whatever I could get in would be enough, and that it would work out some of the cobwebs. I managed to run for 1:04. While I was out there, racers were checking me out to see if I had "the bracelet" on, and if so, why was I running? I was sporting a fake tattoo they could see (you can see it in the pic), and man were people trying to figure out what it was. It means I'm Ironman royalty!!!
After running by Lake Monona, I headed back to Verona, got some lunch and proceeded to lay about the rest of the day because I needed to feel good for Sunday. I organized my stuff since I'd need to leave the hotel by 5:30AM.
Sunday I woke up before the alarm and felt pretty good. Downed some coffee and put my biking clothes on and headed into Madison, where I basically got on my bike and took off out onto the course. I didn't go watch the swim, since I just wanted to get in a decent ride. I rode out on the course, and when I got to the loop, I rode it in the reverse direction. At the bottom of the big Garfoot Road downhill, Rich Strauss and Patrick McCrann caught up to me. For some stupid reason, I decided to take a mini break down there, which meant I had to walk my bike up a short hill before I could mount again.
We rode to the intersection of Garfoot and Mineral Point and waited for the first bikes to come through. What a beautiful day! It was like the weather in 2002, the inaugural year, when I did the race for the first time. I was wearing my Trashy Cat tiger kit, which seemed to brighten the mood of some of the racers. After watching many bikes go by, we headed back to make our way back to Madison.
Somewhere after Mount Horeb, Rich and Patrick took off, which I expected anyway, since I'm not anywhere near their speed, and I just haven't had much in the way of biking legs anyway. Also, I was happy to keep looking at the racers coming the other way to see if I could spot anyone I know.
When I got back to Madison, I changed back at my car, dumped my bike, and headed out on the run course on State Street. I saw pretty much all the folks I know head out onto the run, and then I stayed to see most of them complete one or some even two loops. There were some great performances yesterday! I thoroughly enjoyed cheering for anyone and everyone. I left town at 6:44 and made it home at 8:45, so I think that was record time (141 miles--I just realized how ironic it is that I live that distance from Madison). I really just wanted to get home, shower, eat and get a good night's sleep.
I unpacked, sort of, but kept thinking maybe I should just leave it all in my car since I'm going back on Friday! I can't believe Nothingman is coming up, but it is, and I'm doing it!
As to my mental state, well, nothing like a long night of drinking and dancing to deliver some perspective, I guess. I've let go of some mental crap that I needed to let go of, and almost feel like my "reset" button has been pushed, so that's good. It will be good to get Nothingman done and then really rest up for a few weeks, and I think I'll be able to rest physically and mentally finally.
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