November 23, 2010

Never Say Never!!

There are two things that I have always said I would NEVER do: run a marathon and do an Ironman.  Well, you all know that I did my first marathon in October at the Denver Rock-n-Roll event, and I will be doing my second marathon in January at the PF Chang's Rock-n-Roll event!  The second thing, well...I have some exciting news!!

Ironman Arizona: Nov. 20, 2011.... HERE I COME!!!  Yay!!!


Why Now:
The reason why I always said that I would never do an Ironman was because of the 2.4M swim and the marathon.  Seriously, the swim TERRIFIES me!  So what changed my mind?  Well, I think that I have really improved with my swimming this year and have overcome some of my open water fears, which was a major issue for me.  Don't get me wrong, I am still TERRIFIED of the swim, but I have 7 months to get rid of my fear!  Then, after I started training for the Denver marathon and realized that I actually COULD run over 20 miles, the idea of doing an Ironman started swimming around in my head.

Without even discussing it with my husband, I bought the book, "Be Iron Fit" and started reading it along with some Ironman forums/articles online.  It was exciting to think about actually doing an Ironman.  But, I knew that I would have to have my husband's support if I was ever going to make it work.  I started talking to him about it and he got really excited about the idea too! :)  Now, with two kids, I still don't know how I'm going to make it work, but at least I know that I have my husband's support and encouragement.  I know it will be crazy, but we are a good team, and I know that we will work together to figure it all out.    

Reasoning:
You might be wondering why I choose Ironman Arizona.  Well, there are lots of reasons actually!
1.  Family:  My mom and dad, two sisters, and my husband's parents all live there.  So, I will have lots of family support with me on race day, which I think will be key for me making it through the race.

2.  Spectator Friendly:  The bike and run are both 3 loops.  Yes, it might get boring, but it's going to be so cool to see my family multiple times throughout the race.

3.  No hotel:  We won't have to pay for a hotel because we can stay with family.

4.  Childcare:  Someone will be able to watch our two boys during the race.

5.  Convenience:  We can drive there and I don't have to worry about packing up and shipping my bike to the race.

6.  Thanksgiving:  The race is the weekend before Thanksgiving, so we're thinking about making it a mini vacation and celebrating Thanksgiving with my family, which is something my mom has always wanted!

Registering:
Registering yesterday was absolutely hilarious!  My husband had the day off, so we parked ourselves in the office with the main computer and my lap top.  I signed into Active.com and had the "registration" page open on both computers.  Then, once 12noon hit, we just kept hitting the button over and over again.  We kept getting a "the system is busy...blah, blah...please try again later" message.  It was really nerve wracking!!  Finally, my husband made it through and I said, "You got in, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!"  I took his seat and started typing as fast as I could.  Why do they make you answer all of those lame personal questions about previous races and accomplishments???  Anyways, I finally finished filling out all the information, clicked submit, and got a confirmation!  WOOHOO!!!  We were so excited that we both started jumping up and down and giving each other high fives!  It was awesome!!

I think I'm still on an adrenaline high from actually getting in and actually registering for an IRONMAN!  It's sooo crazy!!!  I'm excited about the adventure that lies ahead of me, and I am so grateful to have so many awesome blogger friends that have experienced racing in an Ironman event, or will be doing one this year too!  Oh, and now I can be like all the other cool bloggers and join the 201Ironman blog HERE! :)  Yay!

58 comments:

Big Daddy Diesel said...

Wow, 2011 is the year of the Ironman for a lot of us. I am excited, cool thing about this all, since so many of us are going through this next year, we all can lean and learn from each other.

Jen said...

WAHOO!!! That is HUGE!! I am SO excited for you and can't wait to follow your training and accomplishment!!

And you will ROCK the swim!!

AM! said...

I saw your post title...and I just KNEW.

woo-hoo! congrats chica! that is some news!

and tempe is a great, great race and venue. my dh did his first there in 2007.

awesome;-)

A Prelude To... said...

What a huge decision!! I can't wait to follow your training. I've also said I'll never do a full Ironman...unless (until :-) Ironman officially comes to Oregon.

Swimming was what I feared would be my downfall when I started doing tris and now it's always my favorite part of the race :-) You'll do great!

Angela and David said...

That's awesome! Congrats. It will certainly be a journey. I hope you enjoy every minute of it.

Foges said...

ROCK IT!!!!! wana talk to my wife about letting me do one?

Unknown said...

AIMEE!!!!! I'm so excited for you! You are going do awesome (and don't sweat the swim... you'll be fine!!!) YAY!!!!

Emz said...

Reason #7: EMZ will be there to cheer me on wearing who knows what ... but "GO AIMEE" will be all over it!!

I am soooooooooooooooo happy!!!!!

ONEHOURIRONMAN said...

Good choice. Also, the swim isn't bad because it is in the river (lake...not) and it is calm. You have pegged into all the right reasons to choose IMAZ (for you) as I point out in my book.

TRI714 said...

Very cool. You got into a race. I cant even seem to get signed up to volunteer. CLOSED, CLOSED, CLOSED !! Damn. Nice job.

Christi said...

OMG!!! I am so excited for you that I am doing my happy dance right now! I can't wait to hear about your training adventures! And if you ever need a training partner let me know! I would be more than happy to come up and do some training with you for the day!

AWESOME!

KovasP said...

Awesome news! Sounds like it will be a fun weekend and you will definitely be earning your tofurkey meal!

Julie @ HotlegsRunner said...

I want to do an Ironman but I don't think I can. That's my problem. But hey, you've proven you are the poster girl for never say never right? Such an inspiration!
Woohoo! I'm so excited for you! =)

Velma said...

SO EXCITED FOR YOU!! I bought that book as well. Can't wait to follow the journey

Amy said...

Yippee! Can't wait to read all about it!

Krista said...

Congrats! I'm looking forward to reading about your training!

Unknown said...

Congrats! That's so exciting, you're going to do great!

Heather said...

That is great! I also said I would never do one of those. I was wondering if you would like to do a small write-up for my blog? Please let me know if you are interested.
bellarosabikes.blogspot.com
Thanks,
Heather

Dawn said...

WOOT! I am so proud of you! AMazing!!!!
My goal for this summer is an Olympic Distance Tri and a half marathon- I can follow you!!!
.....can't wait to follow your training.
:)
Way to go girl!

Anne-Marie said...

YAY!!!!!!! I'm so, so, so excited for you! You will love the IM experience, it is truly amazing.

All of the things you listed under "reasoning" make it seem like IM AZ 2011 is MEANT TO BE! Don't sweat the swim - you have a year to work on it and you will do great!

Can't wait to follow your IM journey.

Unknown said...

Congrats! Here's my feedback, as I just was where you will be in 12 months.

1. Be Iron Fit is amazing. I followed the Competitive plan to the letter, and it worked really well for me.
2. Three loops is not boring at all. So much goes on during the course of the race, you'll be glad for the rhythm. Also, it's nice to look forward to seeing friends again and again.
3. I was scared of the swim and the run, but during the race it was the bike that was painful. The run and swim were a joy.
4. You'll be shocked at how fast the actual race goes by. You're swimming, then you realize you're on your 2nd loop of the bike Then you wake up in the tent for T2. Before you know it you're making the final turn at the finish line. What a day!

I can't wait to read your training updates as the year progresses.

Barbie said...

That is absolutely amazingly exciting. I am so excited for you. Can't wait to follow your training. Who know's, after doing my first 70.3 next year, I may just sign up for a full.

Heather said...

That's so exciting! Congrats on getting in. It's so cool that you and your husband are doing it together!!

Melissa Cunningham said...

thats so awesome and EXCITING!!!
looking forward to following along your journey!!

Unknown said...

How exciting! what a year you have ahead of you! I'm excited to read about all your training.

Jon said...

Woo hoo! I just KNEW you were signed up for an Ironman when I saw the title of this post! Congrats!

Welcome aboard to 201Ironman. It will be a huge pleasure having you on! You should do a weekly Ironman-food post!

misszippy said...

Awesome! I think it sounds like a perfect goal and the perfect IM for you! Let the journey begin...

Unknown said...

That is AWESOME!!!

I'm years away from doing one myself, but I'm already feeling jealous of the fact that you get to.

You will rock it!

Michelle Simmons said...

Good stuff! I'm totally picturing the scene of trying to get 'in' on 2 computers at once... it's like testing your perseverance before you're actually allowed to start training for the race. :) Looking forward to following your journey!

Jason said...

That rocks. I mean ROCKS....I plan on doing IMAZ in 2012 so I will obviously hit you up on information regarding the race.

I hate to pimp my coach out, but she is a mother of two and trains for IMs as well as training others. You might want to give her a shout on how to do all of the training and being a mom/wife/worker.

Bill said...

I found your blog through links from other blogs I read. Since you are doing IMAZ, which was my first (2009), I'm going to follow your progress this next year. I think you'll love IMAZ.

justme said...

love it !!!!!! so inspiring - can't wait to hear all about the journey all year long !!!!

1 thing i said i would never do is live in NJ....and here i am

i have said i would never do a marathon and i am starting to see one in my future.

Pahla said...

Aimee, this is so cool!! I'm already planning our bloggy meet-up, because I'm going to be there, too (just spectating this year, though)! It's funny, IronHubs decided on this race for the exact same reasons - it's spectator-friendly, we can drive there, we have family there and we're going to make a mini vacay out of it with the boys.
I'm so excited for you - congrats on taking the big leap!!

Unknown said...

Woo hoo! Congrats on signing up! You're going to be one busy woman for the next 365 days or so :)

Julie said...

I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!!!!! You are and will be AMAZING!

Barb said...

This is so exciting. I can't wait to follow this journey. My husband and I are hoping to tackle the IM distance in 2012. YEAH!!

Running and living said...

I am SO excited for you. Mine will be in 2012, looking forward to following your training!

Trish said...

Woot Woot! Congrats!! Let the training begin ;)

Unknown said...

AWESOME!!! Just hearing you say it gives me goose bumps (not to mention a little bit of green envy!!) Can't wait to follow your journey!!

DRog said...

NIIIIIIICE!
CONGRATS AIMEE!!
It seems to work out great with family and location.
Very Excited for you !!!

Derek

Jill said...

Woohooooooo!!! That's very exciting news! If you want to go for a run or a swim together, give me a holler. I swim at 24-hour a couple days a week.

RunningWhit said...

Aimee, congrats on your news! Ironman AZ sounds like it will be a great option for you. I can't wait to hear more about your journey over the next year. Have you done a post on the Iron Fit book? I would be interested in hearing what you thought of it.

Alisa said...

Wow I'm offline for a few days and all sorts of people are signing up for IM's in 2011. I can't wait to follow all your training. You're going to do great. I think having a little fear about a big race is actually a good thing, keeps your training honest. Can't wait!

Diana Tries-A-Tri! said...

THAT IS AWESOME AIMEE! You're going to rock it! Excited to hear about all the fun swims in the future :)

Patrick Mahoney said...

That's super awesome. Glad you got in. Love the dual computer thing.

RunToTheFinish said...

so exciting!!!! I definitely think having family support there is an awseome reason!

Johann said...

That is great! Your head and heart is in the right place for this so you've got it! Good luck with your journey!

Anonymous said...

FREE childcare huh? Ha ha just kidding, you better put me down for that task because I just can't get enough of my two little stinkers! YAY TURKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Julie said...

Holy cow Aimee!!! This is fantastic news! There is no doubt in my mind that you will kick butt and enjoy every minute of it!! If anyone can do this it is you:) I think it is awesome that you can do it where family is close. You will save money and have all the support that you need and deserve:) I am looking forward to following your training!

I hope that you and your family have a happy Thanksgiving!

Chef Amber Shea said...

Are you the most ambitious woman ever this year, or what?! :P Hehe, too cool!

Caratunk Girl said...

WAHOOO!! Aimee!! That is awesome!! YEAH I have someone to freak out about the swim with!

I am SO PSYCHED for you!! I can't wait to follow your journey to IMAZ!

Kathy said...

congratulations! you have more guts than I do. I still haven't told DH. and I have 4 kids. YikeS! :) 2011 is my 140.6 year also. I hope.

Amanda@runninghood said...

this is soooooo cool! Congrats! You rock! Wow, seriously impressed!

Unknown said...

So so exciting!!! Congrats on getting in.. let the adventure begin.. er, continue! Good luck w/ the swimming. That is what terrifies me too!

Mark said...

IMAZ? You have totally reached the level of: HARDCORE. I will be anxious eager to hear about your journey!

Mark said...

p.s. Oh ... and welcome to your new part-time job.

Trish said...

I don't know you, but I feel like I do since I read your blog! Very entertaining. I thought maybe you could help spread the word to your big readership.... Check out my blog post and hear about all the cool stuff some friends of mine are doing for the Blazeman Foundation. Its awesome! Several pros are doing similar things too (Chrissie, Andy Potts, Mike Reilly, etc.) Hopefully you can post something and get the word out!
Thanks!
Trish
http://ironbandmusic.com/emails/120110.htm
http://mypathtotravel.blogspot.com/2010/12/swim-bike-run-rock-and-help-fight-war.html

Libby said...

so glad you are doing it girl!!! so awesome! I can't wait to follow along on your journey. its going to be an amazing year for you!!!!