PC BOUND

"For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going." Forrest Gump

It's funny how no matter what, time doesn't stop. It's hard to believe we are three days and a wake up away from Ironman Florida. Karen, Robin, and I are going to Panama City today so that we have plenty of time to focus on US and the race. No husbands, no kids, no responsibilites...only what WE want to do when we want to do it. We use this time to reflect on our year of training and friendship. I know I've mentioned how close we are as friends but this particular training year has brought us even closer. We have poured out our souls to each other. We are going into this race more prepared than ever. We feel strong.

I got an email from Maggie about how excited she is about the race. I think it is one more thing that helps keep her connected to Mac. She also said she has asked God to allow us to be strong mentally and physically and to allow Mac to be with us on race day. WOW! How powerful is that, how could we not have a perfect day? No matter how bad it hurts on race day (and it will hurt), I will just think of Maggie and Charlie and know my pain is nothing compared to thiers.

We are racing in our "IRONMAC" jerseys and everyone coming over to watch us has "Girls Gone Iron Support Crew" t-shirts with the IronMac logo. I'm really excited and nervous and can't wait to get to Panama City today.

9 Days and Counting

WOW!!! Nine days until Ironman Florida. I can't believe we are in the single digits. I honestly don't have words to express how I'm feeling at this point. Nervous, excited, anxious, happy, proud..... This year has truly been a different training year emotionally for me since I am racing in memory of Mac. He was 12 years old when he died. My daughter, Lauren, is twelve years old and I cannot even begin to imagine the pain Maggie, Charlie, and Savannah feel. I think about him and talk to him often, especially during those long training days. I didn't even really know Mac when he was alive but I must say he was a beautiful child, both inside and out. God brought me into the Crutchfield family for a reason. I immediately bonded with Maggie when I met her and knew I was going to do something to help keep Mac's memory around forever. So here we go....Ironman Florida.

15 Days To Go!!

WOW!! It hardly seems possible that we only have 15 days left until we stand on the beautiful white sand in Panama City Beach. It seems like just yesterday we were excitedly standing in line to sign up for the race. In some ways I'm ready to just be DONE but in other ways I'm not. Ironman is not just about the race, it's about the journey. The race is just the reward. I love training, I love long rides and long runs, and honestly, I hate long swims. I love being with the girls I train with everyday. So when I think about the weeks after Ironman, it kinda makes me sad. As much as I want it to end....I really don't. I can't remember what getting enough sleep feels like or not having to juggle my day to fit in my training, work, and Lauren's busy schedule. But somehow, I've made it work and I wouldn't trade this year of Ironman training for anything. It's been the best. We've never done back to back Ironman races but this could be the year. Looks like Robin, Karen, and I may be signing up for Ironman Florida 2010!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOOO! (But don't tell anyone)

The 130 Mile Bike, 3 Mile Run

On Sunday, our training consisted of a 130 mile bike followed by a three mile run. This was after a brutal week of training and one week after racing Ironman Augusta. Karen, Robin, and I expected this day to be hard but to our surprise this was one of the best 130 mile rides we have ever done. The three of us just kept saying, "I can't believe how good I feel." These kind of training days are always a blessing. However, there was one hiccup in our day. I crashed at mile 112, my first ever bike crash. I hit a small rock and lost total control of my bike. I went down a ditch, crashed in the woods, went over my bike and landed on my back. It definitely scared me but I think it scared Robin and Karen even more. I was told I looked like "Barbie on a bike rolling downhill crashing in the woods." I have lots of scrapes and bruises but no major injuries. I did finish the 130 miles and ran three miles off the bike. I think I landed in a "briar patch" because I look like I got in a fight with a cat. Besides the crash, it was one of my best bikes ever and best runs off the bike. I definitely feel it today. I'm very sore, scraped up, and bruised but I feel very blessed that I will recover. No doubt Mac was once again with us on this training ride.

The Race

Traveling to Augusta with Karen, Robin, and Barbara was a riot. We laughed until we cried many, many times during our trip. It's amazing how close we all are and how we share everything with each other. Even things we would never, ever tell anyone else. And somehow those things always end up being funny, even if they are serious things. We went to Augusta for a training race but Karen, Robin, and I all had PR (personal record) times for the race which could only mean we are getting stronger. Barbara was unable to do the swim portion of the race because she had mouth surgery and on the Thursday before the race her dentist told her she could not swim in the river for fear of infection. But Barbara went with us anyway (like she would miss a road trip) and we came up with plan B. I called Karen Allen, she was in Augusta with her son, Colby, who is seventeen and was doing his first half-ironman, to see if she or her husband, Jeff, might be interested in doing the swim for Barbara. While I was on the phone with Karen I remembered her daughter, Brittany, was coming to watch Colby race. Brittany is a collegiate swimmer at Western Kentucky (I think that where she goes to college). Brittany drove seven hours on Saturday and gladly swam for Barbara. Brittany rocked that swim. She even beat some of the pros.

Race morning started out cool, cloudy, and misty. Mine and Karen's wave was wave 25, the very last wave at 9:06 am. We've never started a race that late but I think there must have been a reason why. It was still cloudy and misty at 9:06. But when we got in the water and I took about three strokes, the sun popped from behind the clouds and right then I knew it was Mac. I've talked before in this blog about starting our training before the sun rises and when I see the sun come over the horizon I always know it is Mac saying, "Good Morning." Mac was definitely with me throughout that day. I had an incredible swim, good bike, and incredible run. I talked to Mac throughout that race, knowing the whole time he was right there because I felt so strong. When I crossed the finish line, I blew Mac a kiss. After the race, Karen and Robin both said they also felt Mac's presence and thought about him a lot without me mentioning a word. We asked for another finisher's medal to give to Maggie. We know Mac did that race with us!!

Augusta 70.3

Track us Sunday online at augustaironman.com; live coverage of the race.
Sherrie Peavy
Robin Safley
Karen McBroom
Barbara McNeal

Road Trip

Look out Augusta, here we come. Robin, Barbara, Karen, and I are leaving Friday morning to go to Augusta, Georgia to race the inaugural Ironman Augusta 70.3 (1/2 Ironman). Well not really, we are not actually racing since we are in high volume weeks training for Ironman Florida. We are hoping for slow times which means we did what we should have done and will be able to continue to train next week. No doubt, this trip is more about a girl's road trip. We are going to have sooooo much fun. I just can't wait.

My daughter, Lauren, will be taking her first road trip without a parent. She is going to Orlando for a swim meet with Charlene and her daughter, Lauren. Charlene is a great friend and a blessing in my life. She is like Lauren's second mom and is the only person I would consider letting Lauren go somewhere with for the weekend. I will not worry at all about Lauren. Charlene always has my back when I need her. I can always count on her to help me with Lauren when I have long Ironman training days. Charlene gets it. She understands what I have to do to adequately train for Ironman. And I never feel bad asking for her help as she is always more than willing to help me out. I so appreciate her friendship more than she probably knows.

Lauren has been on one other out of town trip without me but Paul was there. I had gone to Mexico for a half-ironman race with my training girls. Paul and Lauren were going to Orlando for the Athletes For a Cure Race at Disney. I made sure Lauren's suitcase was packed and she had everything she needed before I left. All Paul had to do was pick up her suitcase and put it to the car. I'm sure you know where this story is going. You guessed it, Lauren got to Orlando with no suitcase. No race clothes, no regular clothes, no bathing suit, and no Halloween costume. They had also planned to go to Disney's Not So Scary Halloween Party so she needed a Halloween costume. Thank goodness they were meeting Charlene and her family in Orlando. Once again, Charlene had my back and took Lauren shopping for everything she needed. This trip became way more expensive than it needed to be....

Lauren and I have a great, great relationship. She is so cool about all my training. She gets it!!! She understands that I have to spend a lot of time training but she also knows that when I get home that is her time. She has never made me feel guilty, not even once, about training or racing. She is a competitive swimmer so she understands the time commitments. I so appreciate her understanding of what I love to do. And she is very proud that her mom is an Ironman. This will be the first swim meet I have ever missed but I know she will be in excellent hands with Charlene. I LOVE YOU GIRL!!!

PCB Training II

Robin, Karen, and I went to Panama City Beach on Saturday to ride the Ironman course for the second time. We had three great guys - Alan, Brett, and Brian - join us. We had some wind and it was very hot. There were a couple of "firsts" on this ride. The ride was good up until around mile 95 when I became dehydrated and my quads were cramping. This was the first time I have ever cramped on the bike so I knew I must be really dehydrated. I basically "hit the wall" at this point. I think I scared Karen because she kept telling me, "I'm coming back to get you, I've never seen you like that before." Of course I told her, "NO YOU ARE NOT, I'M FINE!!" Around mile 105 (even though we only had 7 miles to go), we stopped at a convenient store to get something cold to drink. We went inside the air conditioned store, got our cold drinks and sat down on the floor inside the store. Yes, we sat on the floor in a convenient store. It was that hot. That is definitely a first. YUCK!!!!!

Rainy Day Ride

On Tuesday, our training was a 7 hr ride followed by a 30 min run. This was our longest training day so far. As I'm driving to meet Karen, Michelle, and Robin at 6:30 am, it is raining. But no one ever questions if we are going to ride (well maybe Michelle). The forecast predicted rain all day but no one said a word as we unloaded our bikes and geared up to ride in the rain. Moving the ride to another day was not even an option. So off we went for seven hours on our bike in the rain. We all got texts from our husbands basically saying the same thing, "surely you are not on your bike" but we were. Since we would be out all day, we all got someone to take our kids to school and pick them up. Yes, it was a very long day. I got a call from Sarah Williams (she was picking Lauren up from school for me and taking her to swim practice) saying her daughter was sick so did I want to pick Lauren up from school. Many times in her message she said, "I know you are not on your bike." But to everyone's amazement we were on our bikes. Bailing was never an option, we had to do it. Seven hours on a bike in the rain is great training for mental toughness. We were sooo tired of being wet, dirty, cold, and just yuck!! But we did it and actually laughed a LOT.

At mile 80, Karen had a flat tire and when we stopped to change it we saw a piece of metal stuck in her tire. But we weren't giving in and calling anyone to come get her. No way, we had to get in our 130 miles. Everytime her tire got low we just keep putting air in it until we could get to a store and buy some super glue. We hoped we could put super glue over the puncture of her tubular and it would hold for the remainder of the ride. When we finished that 130 mile ride we were soooo "done"! But we put on our running shoes and off we went. I just pray it doesn't rain for Ironman.

Beach Blast Triathlon

On a whim, Karen and I decided on Thursday to sign up for Beach Blast Triathlon in Mexico Beach. Well I should say Karen decided to do the race and convinced me to also do it. Since this week was our biggest training week to date for Ironman, this race would just be a training day. We decided we would do the swim together, stay in view of one another on the bike (no drafting allowed) and run together. Race conditions were not good as it rained the entire race. Since Karen is a better swimmer than me she basically floated around, doggie paddled, and talked to me while I swam as hard as I could. Yes, she talked to me during the swim. For those of you who know Karen well, you know she cannot be quiet for any period of time. So the swim was actually pretty funny. I never thought I would laugh so much during a race swim which didn't help my pace!! We backed it down on the bike and the run knowing we have another big week of training ahead of us. We absolutely did not race this race and still took 2nd and 3rd in our age group.

Ahhh...Sleeping In (my car)

My daughter, Lauren, is a competitive swimmer. She has practice everyday after school and three mornings a week before school at 5:30am. Since I take her to practice that early I also swim at that time. Somehow I convinced Robin, Michelle, and Karen to swim at that time also. So every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we are at the pool at 5:30am. Today (after our Monday 122 mile bike and Tuesday 18 mile run) I really, really wanted to sleep in but Lauren had to go to practice. After our Tuesday run, the four of us all said, "See ya at the pool at 5:30 tomorrow morning." When I got to the pool this morning, I dropped Lauren off and then went to park. I noticed I had three text messages on my phone. So I reclined my seat in my car to read the texts. One message from Robin, one from Michelle, and one from Karen all basically saying, "Bailing on swim, need sleep, will swim later in the day." I sat in my car thinking I don't want to do this, I'm tired, and I can't believe all three of those girls bailed on me. The next thing I knew my phone was buzzing in my lap. It was 7:15 and Lauren wanted to know where I was. Yes, I FELL ASLEEP in my car. For those of you that know me, I don't easily nap or fall asleep EVER!!!! It even takes me a long time to go to sleep at night. So I slept from 5:30 am to 7:15 am in my car in the parking lot at the pool. And I didn't hear a thing. No cars, no one getting in their car, absolutely nothing. I think that's a true indicator that I NEED MORE REST!!!!!!!

Gatorade? Who needs Gatorade?

Well, obviously there are some people out there who didn't think we needed that Gatorade on our 18 mile run today. We were somewhat concerned about how we would feel running 18 miles following a 122 mile bike day. But as the run started, to our amazement, the four of us were feeling pretty good. We ran at the St. Marks trail, not because it's convenient, but because it is FLAT. Michelle and Karen put out aide stations at three different places on the run. To our surprise, someone took our "stuff" out of one of the coolers but left the cooler. Our coolers are packed with Gatorade, water, gu, shot blocks (gummies for triathletes), Ibuprofen, salt tablets....anything we could possibly need on an eighteen mile run. Needless to say, we were pissed. We cussed, ranted, and couldn't believe someone took our stuff out of the cooler. But we decided there was nothing we could do...so just suck it up and keep going. When we approached the mile marker of our next cooler we could NOT believe it but someone had taken the ENTIRE cooler. Now we were really pissed, cussing, and trying to figure out what we were going to do. We always, always try to stay positive in our training but this was making it difficult. Someone said (not even sure who it was), "Okay guys, lets just figure out what we are going to do; we have to stay positive because we HAVE to get in our 18 miles." For us, turning back was NEVER an option. Then someone said, "Let's just pray." And thats what we did, right there at mile 8 of our 18 mile run. The four of us prayed. And we came up with a plan that we would go to the one cooler that we were unsure if someone had taken. A leap of faith. (Yes, we prayed that cooler would still be there.) And there it was!! We did the remaining miles circling around that cooler. And we got in our eighteen miles.

At mile 16, we began talking about Maggie and Mac. For some reason on this particular day, (hmm...maybe it was because we rode 122 miles the day before and had 16 miles behind us and were physically worn down), we all became tearful. Then Robin said, "And we were worried about someone stealing our coolers." Funny how God always puts things in perspective for you. I have to say, this was one of the best eighteen mile runs the four of us have had despite having to deal with a little adversity.

LABOR DAY II

We had such an awesome, awesome training day today. Got in 122 strong miles on the bike. Feeling really good about the progression of our training. I had a tough week recovering last week but am feeling much stronger this week. Looking forward to a good 18 mile run tomorrow.

Labor Day

Getting ready for two tough training days. Monday's training is 6 hr 15 min ride (approximately 120 miles...is that why they call it Labor Day?) and Tuesday's training is 3 hr run. Looking forward to two strong days! 61 days till Ironman!!!!!!!!!!

Why Ironman??

We are at a point in our training where we are feeling the physical and mental effects of training for Ironman. Training in the Tallahassee heat and humidity doesn't help. Our bodies feel incredible fatigue at this point and every workout becomes survival. Not to mention the emotional fatigue. As moms, we still have to go about our day just as we would whether or not we just rode 100 miles. Karen, Barbara, and I work part-time in our husband's offices and Robin works as a consultant. And we still have to pick up kids from school, taxi them around, do laundry, cook dinner, homework.....after we push our bodies to extreme physical fatigue. You may wonder why Ironman and why someone would put themselves through such physical and mental suffering. Hmmm.....there are days when that question is hard to answer. But most days, I know why. It's about accomplishment on a daily basis. It's about pushing your body to it's limits. It's about knowing you gave it all you had on that particular day. It's about learning to be strong through suffering. It's about friendship. It's about the women I train with. It's about love. And you know, its really not even about the race.

Training with the same group of women everyday brings you so much closer together. The grueling pain that is shared by everyone and the ability to overcome the intense urge to give up is the ultimate bonding experience. I could never do this without my training group. There is no doubt in my mind that God put the five of us women together for a reason. They are such a positive influence in my life and bring so much joy and laughter.

I LOVE YOU GIRLS!!!!

Robin's Birthday

Yesterday was Robin's Birthday! So to celebrate her birthday we planned to swim at 5:30 am and then run 10 miles (Ironman training plan). Since we all have kids in school, we swim at 5:30, go back home to take our kids to school, then meet back to run. But when we woke up, it was thundering and lightening. At 5:00 am, the four of us are all calling each other trying to figure out whether or not to go to the pool. Then the LOUD boom and lightening made the decision for us. Sooo....no 4500 yard swim. It's tough training for Ironman and missing workouts. With our busy lives, its hard to make up a workout. As I'm driving to the St. Marks Trailhead and its raining, not too hard but just enough, I'm thinking how cool is it that we are going to run in the rain on Robin's birthday? We love to run in the rain. But just as we began our run, the rain stopped and the sun came out. For all of you who are runners, you know that is the most miserable condition to run in...incredible humidity. We had a great 10 mile run especially considering the amount of training we put in this week. Off to shower then to Food Glorious Food to celebrate Robin's birthday (and mine). Robin's and my birthday are only one day apart. Imagine that!

Only two long swims this week. OUCH!!! I really need to swim as much as possible because that is my weakest of the three sports. But I'm hoping I'll be okay in the Ironman swim. I know I can swim the distance, I've done it twice before but I'm just SLOW. Karen swears she is going to paint the bottom of her foot orange (think construction cone) so I can draft off her in the swim. With over 2000 athletes in the water at the same time that's the only way she thinks we can stay together. Oh, and if she loses me she'll just stick that orange foot up in the air so I can see her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBIN!!!!!!!!!

Mac Crutchfield

Today is the one year anniversary of Mac Crutchfield’s death. Mac was a 12 year old boy who died on August 23,2008 in a tragic accident. I am racing Ironman Florida (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) in memory of Mac while raising money money for the Mac Crutchfield Foundation. We are 75 days out from Ironman Florida – November 7, 2009. I have three great training partners – Karen, Michelle, and Robin. We are an incredible group of friends with a strong bond. We are moms, wives, and athletes. We balance our lives so that we still have quality family time while spending many hours together training. AND most of all…we have fun. I mean we really have fun. There is no other way to do it. You can’t spend hours and hours on the bike, hours running, and hours in the pool without having fun. Karen is the crazy one, she keeps us laughing ALWAYS. She has no filter, just says what she is thinking (and sometimes she shouldn’t). We laugh a lot which keeps us going in our training. Barbara is also one of our training partners although she is not doing Ironman this year. I mean she has only done like 9 Ironman races, not sure why she couldn’t do one more. She still runs with us.

This will be the third Ironman for Robin and me and the first Ironman for Karen and Michelle. I will be posting our daily training hours and many funny stories that come out of our training. And oh, we take pictures. Many pictures. Yes you can seriously train, have fun, and take pictures. We are not competitive with one another and only encourage each other. In every race we all hope we ALL do our best no matter who is the fastest or slowest. Robin, Karen, Michelle, Barbara and I have a unique friendship. We race for soulful reasons, not to win or be fast. We all have lots of great conversations with God on those six and seven hour training rides on our bike. We appreciate life.

I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose a child. Maggie and Charlie are Mac’s parents and Savannah is his sister. My heart aches for them. I wear a Mac temporary tattoo everyday of my training. Just so I know Mac is right there throughout those endless hours of training. But I don’t need the tattoo to know he is there, I can feel his presence. We always start our training before the sun rises and when I see the sunrise over the horizon, I know Mac is saying "good morning." We rode the Ironman bike course (112 miles) on Saturday while many, many people gathered at the Crutchfield home to celebrate Mac’s life. I know Mac was with us on that ride. We were strong, super strong and we have never been that fast. Thanks Mac!:)