Pregnant Woman

No, not Kelley. No way, no no no no. Stop that.

It's me.

The counter I use on Google told me at 8 am this morning that I was 23 days and 23 hours away from the start line at IMFL. It is almost time. The big day is almost here.

Also this morning the scale said I came in at 168.6 lbs and 16.4% body fat, the lowest numbers I've seen since college. It's the first day I've weighed in under 170 in 13 years. Even yesterday came in at 170.8 lbs.

Right now I am incredibly lean, in the best shape of my life. My endurance and aerobic capacity is through the roof, and I feel strong as an ox. And this is not a peak. This is a sustainable platform that I will be able to hold for the next month at least. There are still two weekends of long workouts in the build phase, so this might not be the highest that platform can be raised.

I am ready to turn Iron.

Today I feel like the woman who's eight and a half months pregnant. She's plush with baby, carried the kid inside for 36 weeks (my training plan is 38 weeks) and can barely move. She's asking the doctors "can I just have the kid now? When can you induce?" because she's very ready to meet the new family member and be done with the anticipation of the change.

When the doctors tell her that she's got to wait another 23 days and 23 hours.... that's not a conversation you want to be involved in. This will not end well. But it might end with a bacon cheeseburger and fries.

Wes has told me several times that your body goes Iron long before the race. Have confidence in your training plan and it will get you through the big day. I've been re-reading his reports and lead up posts from when he turned Iron at IMFL 2008. Makes me feel like Obama reading Lincoln between the time he was elected and when he took the office. Good stuff in there brother.

To continue the metaphor, Ironman is becoming another member of the family. My training takes almost as much time as I get to spend with the kids (but most of my training is done while they are in school or asleep). This is my first attempt at 140.6, and while I'm not making any promises until I see the finish line or even a few weeks after, I anticipate that it will not be my only attempt at 140.6. This concept of Ironman has affected me emotionally; mentally I'm ready for the kind of change you get when your first kid is born. This has affected my family; my wife and kids are proud of the work I'm putting in and the example I'm setting.

When I finished my first triathlon in 2008 I knew I crossed that finish line a changed man. Not just by defeating my addiction but by accepting the multisport lifestyle as a part of the way I wanted to live. This is my fourth year racing tri's. It certainly has gotten more fun since then and I've gotten faster, stronger, and more confident. Now I'm ready to give birth to the next phase and see what it will hold. And I'm pissed at the doctor for making me wait another 23 days and 23 hours. Where's my cheeseburger?