Home and off again

Jen and I made it home safe and sound from camp Placid very late Sunday night.  I think it was even a little after midnight.  Much too late for us two early risers to go to bed but we had to make do.  Lucky for me I was able to work from home Monday morning, and slept in till around 7AM. 

Mid morning I ventured to my chiropractors office for a quick adjustment.  Luckily he wasn't very busy and was able to spend a good hour on my back, hip, and shoulder (all of which are feeling much better now).  I told him this would go much better if he simply got a ultrasound tank that I could submerge myself in since everything on my body aches.

So I'm in full taper mode.  I've gone two of the past three days resting with a light workout yesterday.  I'm planning on running tomorrow morning for the first time since my killer workout on Saturday and am excited to see how the legs are feeling.

Oh yeah, I'm in Washington DC right now.  Monday night I had to drive down for some meetings...which are completely ridiculous.  I mean they're necessary, but still crazy.  We're meeting with the NRC tomorrow (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and only have 3 hours to cover a lot of material, so planning was required.  Today we had about 9 hours of "pre-meetings" preparing for tomorrow's 3 hour meeting.  Directly afterwards we have another 4 hour "post meeting".  Yep, that's 13 hours of planning for a 3 hour meeting.  Needless to say I needed about 100 cups of coffee today just to stay awake.   My mind kept drifting towards race day as it approaches ever so fast.  I still can't believe it's only 12 days away.

We're planning on leaving Thursday July 17th and my brother and dad are riding up with me.  My parents and family have seriously been my #1 fans since I got into Ironman racing and my dad has never missed one of my races and is by far my biggest supporter.  My mom is in a close 2nd only missing one of my "big" races so far....but watched online during the day from the confines of the computer screen.  This will be my brothers 2nd Ironman race that he spectates (1st being Kona).  He plans on bringing the video camera and will probably come away from the weekend with a 10 hour documentary.  I seriously think he filmed about triple that in Kona.  :)  I told him that IMLP doesn't beat Kona, but ranks in a close 2nd.   My dad and brother are both planning on volunteering race day which should be very exciting for both of them.   Even though my mom and sister will not be at IMLP this year, I seriously couldn't race the way I do without their support and am extremely thankful to have such a great family. 

So now for an injury update.  My ankle is not quite 100%, but close.  It doesn't hurt to bike or run or swim, but it's still a little tender to the touch and if I turn it a certain way it can get a little tender.  I've been extra careful everywhere I go watching for those pesky curbs to throw themselves in front of my feet...  My left shoulder has a little tendinidous in it and is a little sore when I swim, but I'm sure going light the next 2 weeks will do it good.  Last but not least, my left hip flexor is still really tight but I'm sure that with some more stretching, ultrasound, and more stretching I'll be good to go come race day.

"Whatever is your goal, whatever is your dream, just keep going; keep trying, keep pushing, keep pulling, keep fighting. Realize that pain and discomfort during Ironman WILL be present often enough to get you to think if all of this is really worth it. Realize that sometimes you WILL hear words of discouragement come from your thoughts. Ignore the pain as it will all be worth it.  When you know in your heart that you CAN achieve your goal, when you know your dream CAN become a reality, you accept these facts; you become aware that they will be a part of your Ironman journey. You acknowledge all of this, focus on what you desire and you just keep going." ~ Andres Lord - Argentina (modified slightly)

posted by Chad Holderbaum @ 7:54 PM Comments: 2