V-I-N-E-M-A-N

Vineman sounded like a good idea several weeks after completing Barb's Race for the second time.

This is not the face of someone that thinks she can finish an "Iron" distance race

Vineman sounded like a horrible idea about mile 18 of the California International Marathon (even worse above!) How was I going to run a full marathon after a 2.4 mile swim and 112 miles on the bike? I was suffering just running a straight 26.2 mile race! Honestly, last Sunday during the middle of the marathon, I wanted to cry when I thought about what I had signed up to do. What was I thinking???

Registration

I registered for Vineman on November 1st...day one. It was more symbolic than anything. I wanted to commit to the race.

I made HS push the [Enter] key with me as our joint commitment to this race. I've been doing triathlons for over two years now and I know there are going to be days when I'm done with the whole thing and there are also going to be days when my loving husband is just as sick of it as I am...this photo represents our agreement to tough out those times.

The Original Plan

Back in October, I blogged about my plans for Vineman...

The Original Plan

I figured would just read The Triathlete's Training Bible for the fourth time and I would figure out what I needed to do to survive Vineman. In fact, I had a very rudimentary training calendar planned by the end of the month. However, everyone I talked to that had done a full "iron" distance race, told me that I needed to get a coach that had raced this distance. Ugh!

The Revised Plan

My dilemma was solved when Coach James posted this on the team's Facebook page...

A Kona finisher that was willing to coach the likes of me? Let me be frank...when I first heard about this training option I Googled Coach K...I then Googled athletes that I found that had been coached by Coach K (serious stalker status, really!). All I can say is "Wow!" I feel incredibly fortunate that he wants to spend time coaching someone at my level. I hope I don't disappoint...I hope I can keep up... I hope I am coachable!

My Blog

I will be taking a page from Meredith Atwood in her book "Triathlon for Every Woman" and I will not post my actual training calendar/schedule. Of course, I will continue to post about individual trials and tribulations, but if you want the experience and guidance of Coach K, then you need to pay him his due ;-)

Stay tuned! In the mean time, I'm enjoying a three week break before things start to get real ;-)

#dreamingseason