Time for a Title Change!!

Time to put my thinking cap on because the blog title's got to GO! How happy I am to be able to say this 2 years in a row. Here's some history on the blog titles. After my 2009 Ironman in Louisville, I retitled my blog 'Pee on the Bike' since I missed a Kona slot by a little over one minute. I (jokingly) blamed this on my port-a-potty stop in T2. I new I needed to master this fine art and it seemed like an admirable goal! In 2010 I raced Ironman in Lake Placid. I conquered the task of peeing on the bike, multiple times. Gross, but true. Of course, I then credited this to my earning a coveted Kona slot! I was 6th overall and the slot came via rolldown. This then gave way to a logical new title. 'No Rolldown'. Please don't get me wrong. I was proud and humbled to be given the opportunity to race at the Ironman World Championships. I gave it my all at that qualifying race and grabbed the slot with utter glee. But something nagged at the back of my mind. I wanted to earn a slot free and clear with no doubt. I needed to experience the feeling that on one specific day against one specific field of women, I was the one to beat.

Hence the title was born. It seemed risky to put out there because there is an element of control which is definitely lacking. I have no idea who is going to show up on race day. It could be a soft field or it could be a field of ex-pros looking to relive their glory days. Who knows? However, one thing I DO know is that I am much more motivated to accomplish something if I put it out there for everyone to see. I think there probably was a bit of eye rolling by some who read my blog and saw my new title. Thoughts like "Oh that's dumb." or "Who really cares." or "Who does she think she is?" or "I hope she's not disappointed in the end." may have prevailed. But I guess it didn't matter, it was MY goal and I wasn't looking for approval.

On to the present.....My A-race this year was Ironman Wisconsin. I did this race in 2007 and 2008 when I was first getting into triathlon. I live 3 hours from the race site. In other words, I have lots of experience with the course and new what I was getting into. With the help of our generous Evotri sponsors and my coach Jen Harrison, I worked through a solid season of training and racing leading up to 9/11/11.

The day has since come and gone. I am ecstatic to say that my blog title lived up to its potential. It pushed me and motivated through to the bitter end. I got my Kona slot with no rolldown! I will never forget the last half of the marathon and how all I could think about was my desire, my goal, my unwavering need to prove something to myself. And yes, here comes the corny summarizing point.... Isn't that why we participate in sport? It doesn't matter what sport. The sheer act of laying it out there, striving to reach goals, gutting it out through the rough spots is a great part of what defines our character. I think it's an awesome thing and, win or lose, it's why I keep racing and why I hopefully get to always change my blog title!P.S. As usual, these race reports can be long and painful! Truthfully, I'm just too tired to organize any more coherent thoughts. More on the Ironman Wisconsin race will come in the next few days. Thanks for reading!