At 6:37A on Saturday morning I opened up a blue box, peeled back the tightly packed tissue paper inside to reveal two bright red Hoka Rincon running shoes. Next, I grabbed a Sharpie to write 6/5 on the inside EVA of each shoe, (the date of their first run), slipped in my orthotics, re-laced them with the “loop” method around the top two eyelets around my ankles, (a technique my stepmom, Sally, taught me after buying my very first pair of running shoes, Nike Air Pegasus, in the Summer of 1993), then I put them on my feet, and walked out the door with Big Red and a bag of cycling gear smiling excitedly for a full day of riding and running ahead.
The blue Hoka box had been quietly sitting in the closet in my office for a few months. The carefully chosen shoes patiently waited for their well-timed debut, and since Saturday marked three weeks + one day before Ironman Coeur D’Alene race day, their coming out party had finally arrived.
As most of you know by now, Triathlon means a lot to me. However, feeling healthy and in shape for an Ironman means more than I can convey through a handful typed words on the internet, because after being sick and injured before my last two official Ironman races, (Boulder, 2019, Wisconsin, 2019), it feels so good to simply feel good.
The human body is tremendous, and I am really proud of how mine handled and then bounced back stronger from setbacks the last couple of years. Moreover, I have zero doubt that I pursued every method imaginable to both heal and strengthen my body in order to show up ready to race in northern Idaho in a few weeks. If I perform well, awesome, but honestly, the alternative doesn’t bother me too much either.
I am in this for the long run, (ha!), literally, and have resolved to live for the everyday process of learning and growing, because after falling down numerous times, and then standing back up again, I am not afraid to fail silently or out load anymore. We are ALL always a #workinprogress, and truthfully, I wouldn't want it any other way.
Oh, the shoes felt really good, and will be ready to rock a marathon after a long swim and spin on June 27th.
Post Sunday Long Run.
I have two videos for you this week. The first is something different, a threshold workout from Sara Hall, because I channeled her during my extremely rare, but awesome “sports bra only” final two miles of my Sunday 18-mile long run. Also, her hub, Ryan Hall, shares some quality nuggets in the video, too.
CLICK HERE:
And then, a classic and fun song from Adam Lambert, If I Had You.
CLICK HERE: