I thought it would be fun to try to recreate what she shared in hopes that I can include anyone who wants to travel this road to Ultraman Worlds with me. I'm not going to speculate but there are likely to be some highs and some lows along the way.... which always makes for good reading.
So a little background...
By racing Ultraman Australia 2017, I qualified for the World Championships-- which just means that I can apply and actually have a chance of being invited. Lucky for me, I WAS invited. Preparing for OZ was a 6 month process and I felt completely ready. Ready for the distance. Ready for any challenge thrown my way. Mentally ready. Physically beyond ready. I. Was. Ready.
This time around... I wasn't feeling so ready. I'm not sure if it was because I was out of training for 8 weeks last spring, and pursued my goal of qualifying for Ironman World Championships anyway? But I feel like my training has been, well, delayed, for lack of a better word. The workouts I should have been doing in August and September, I'm looking at tackling this week.
After the new Ultraman bike course was announced I messaged Hillary and said, "we need a Mt. Lemmon double STAT!!" The Mt. Lemmon double was one of my key bike workouts before UMOZ, and ironically the climb mimics the climb we have in the early part of day 2 in Hawaii. But we had to wait until after IM Hawaii to tackle this beast as we didn't want to go into that race overly beat up... and well, there just wasn't a lot of time on my calendar to fit it in.
Last weekend I headed down to Tucson after work on Saturday. I refused to set my alarm any earlier than 4 am, which put me on the mountain just after 5 am on Sunday morning. For almost 3 hours, I didn't see another person. And I got to see an amazing sunrise... but that's beside the point. The point is, I went into the ride with a calmness that comes from having no expectations. I knew exactly what lay ahead. I knew how difficult it could be mentally, and physically. And I legitimately thought there was a chance I could fail. I would just reach a point where I couldn't go any further. Certainly there would be tears, I thought, as there were in 2017 when I pulled over to the visitor center in Palisades and cried on the curb for 20 minutes.
But actually... it was fine. There were never any highs (other than the sunrise!) and there were never any lows. I rode from Le Buzz, to the Cookie Cabin, back down to the base of the mountain (mile 0 as we call it), back to the Cookie Cabin, and then back to Le Buzz. And other than a couple of stops to pee and refill water I just kept pedaling. And I rode 10 miles farther, and 90 minutes faster than 18 months ago. Whoa. Wait... what?
Dude. I am fit. I can do this. This Lemmon double was exactly what I needed 4 days before boarding the plane to Hawaii to know that this dream CAN become reality. I am no longer afraid of what lies ahead. I know it will be challenging. I wouldn't have applied for it if it wasn't. But I believe this is a challenge I am up for.
So with Girl Scout Cookies in tow to help me get through day 2, and #alltheluggage, I landed in Kona this afternoon. From now until the 28th when I board the plane to head home, I'll share some snip-its of my days on the island as I prepare for this challenge!
Day 1 (which also happens to be November 1, which is really great because I don't have to remember what day I'm on!!):
3:20 pm. I've been awake for over 12 hours now. We finally got all of the luggage up to the room and I've tossed a few things into the dresser while searching for my running clothes. I need to head out for my second run of the day, and I better do it now while I still feel somewhat awake and even remotely motivated to do it.
3:30 pm. I eat a couple pieces of prickly pear licorice that I bought in the Phoenix Airport on the elevator ride to the lobby. I step out of the air conditioning and am enveloped in thick, warm air. I put my airpod into my left ear, turn on a podcast, and start jogging down Ali'i drive away from town.
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| From where I run. |
4:40 pm. Back in my room and I can't stop sweating. I sit for a few minutes trying to dry off and eventually give up and start building my bike. When that's finished I unpack a few things and try to get stuff situated. This is my home base for the first 2 weeks and I need to not live in chaos. At some point I realize it's getting late, and my body thinks it's even later, and I better go get dinner before I fall asleep.
5:55 pm. We eat a spicy-sweet Asian inspired chicken dish with rice and veggies while sipping sleepily on a Red at the Kona Brewery. Thankfully service is quick and we're out within an hour and I feel inspired to make a quick stop at the natural grocer for a few things that we can live on in our hotel room. We have a Nutri-bullet to make smoothies, a rice cooker (both of which we brought from home), a mini-fridge and we were able to get a microwave brought to our room. Oh, and a coffee pot (praise Jesus). So eating is going to be creative. Canned tuna over rice with steamed spinach, and avocado. Frozen Amy's burritos. Oatmeal (thank you Picky Bar!!).
7:58 pm. It's basically 11 pm, and I'm basically falling asleep. I nearly laughed out loud when we were discussing what time we should ride tomorrow... and I realized that we literally have NOTHING to do besides train. So I do not need to set an alarm. I don't have to rush off to work. I have zero responsibility (ok, maybe not zero, but you know, way less...) other than a bike ride and a swim. So I'm going to leave you with this amazing pic from my run earlier. And bid you good night.
Aloha.
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