So this spring our church did a series on marriage. (no I didn't forget the title of my post) During one of the sermons our pastor gave us some time to pray over marriages, our marriage, hurting marriages, future marriages, whatever was on our hearts. So Joe and I prayed together and as we prayed the Holy Spirit spoke to me (trust me this wasn't my idea) and told me that we should celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary in 2011 by completing (that isn't supposed to say competing) Ironman Coeur d'Alene. We were married June 28, 1996. It just so happens that Ironman CDA is the same weekend as our anniversary (usually, although I don't know the 2011 date yet). We also went to Coeur d'Alene for our honeymoon, so it just makes sense right? This wasn't how I planned to celebrate my 15th anniversary but who am I to argue with the Holy Spirit.
So once I accepted the Holy Spirit's plan for my life, I got out my calendar to start planning. Somehow I decided that if I was going to do Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run) in 2011 I should jump right into a Half Iron (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run) this summer (I can't put that on the HS, that was me) after my marathon in June. I also convinced 2 friends that they should join me. I planned to do the Black Diamond Half Ironman which is a small local race that is heavily supported by Raise the Bar, the triathlon team I am on, and very reasonably priced. Well then my friends decided that if they were going to do a Half Ironman they wanted a road trip. So they looked into the Grand Columbian Half Iron. I was going to go on a road trip with them to check out the bike course but I happened to slip in the bathroom while hanging up my wetsuit and fell flat on my back and jammed my thumb into the wall on my way down. (incidentally it has been 3 months since that happened and I wonder if I broke it as it still hurts) So needless to say I wasn't up for biking and I missed the road trip.
When my tri buddies reported back on the course I learned that the first 3.8 miles of the bike course was an 8% grade (for 3.8 miles!!). That is a heck of a way to start a 56 mile ride. So 2/3 of those on the road trip decided to find a more reasonable course. There was talk of Canada. I wanted to do it with friends so I was still planning on the Grand Colombian. But after training a bit on the bike and talking to others I just decided to do Black Diamond and one of my friends decided to do an Olympic instead and the other decided to have sinus surgery. So here I am several decisions later doing my original race in Black Diamond by myself.
LOOOOOOONG set up!
So I finally went to ride the bike course at Black Diamond this weekend after 3 failed attempts due to family obligations or weather. So we arrived to meet our group to ride the full course (2 loops) for a total of 56 miles. One person was late so we got a late start. I packed up all my gear, helmet check, shoes check, bike glasses check, Garmin....Garmin....Garmin....ahhhh no Garmin! I didn't think it would be that big of a deal but I didn't know the course and I didn't know how far I had gone or how fast. The first loop I just focused on hanging with the people in front of me and memorizing the course but the second loop I was really irritable (poor Joe, he was the only one riding the 2nd loop with me) and it only made it more frustrating to know that my husband was tracking his own data with his own Garmin, which he remembered. I was really grumpy and kept asking what our pace was "right now!" and then he would tell me and I would be mad (not fast enough). I was not a good riding companion. I NEED to know my pace! I will definitely admit that my Garmin is a crutch. I am sure there are zen runners and bikers out there who can tell by the wind in their hair how fast they are going but I need cold, hard, indisputable facts.
So I learned something about myself that I had always suspected but I now know for sure. I NEED my Garmin when I race and train. I guess it's better to have learned 2 weeks before the big race.
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