WHY!?

A little three letter word that could bring so much thought.

Yesterday we got news that my dad (stepfather, Sid) has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Some of you may know ALS as Lou Gehrig's disease. To put it simple it is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement. Nerve cells end up dieing which means that they can no longer send messages to your muscles. There is no cure for ALS (at least for now there isn't). This brings up that little three letter word, WHY. Why did this have to happen to Sid? Why isn't there a cure for it? Why does it have to be such a horrible disease?

Today Tulio, my sister Patty and I watched the 2010 Ironman Championship on TV. I had tears coming down my face the majority of the time as we watched it. Some athletes were out there to win it, some out there to prove a point, some out there to finish, some out there to accomplish something big in there life, some out there for a cause....the list goes on and on. Whatever reason(s) they have for doing the Ironman is their's, it is their WHY and no one can take that away from them. It made me think of all the reasons why I want to do an Ironman. I definitely want to do it to mark it off my list of things I accomplished in life. I also want to be able to be called an Iron(wo)man because I completed 140.6 miles. I'm definitely doing this because of FOMO (fear of missing out). And a little bit of me wants to do this race so that I can get an Ironman tattoo without being a poser (Ha!).

So I'm thinking why else can I do this race. How about to raise money for Sid!? He can no longer work. The doctors will not allow him to. I want to come up with a fundraiser to help support him and my mom financially. What I'm thinking is that for every mile that I do someone sponsors me. Sponsorship can be any possible amount of money that one would like to donate. I'm going to start working on this. I plan on having something up soon.

God Bless You!

FOMO Happy Hour!

Last night was super fun! My coach Carrie had a Holiday Happy Hour at her house. There I got to meet other FOMOers! There are some fantastic people in this group. People doing triathlons, ironmans, marathons, ultra marathons, there is even one gal who is going to swim the English Channel! WOWZA! I can't wait to really get to know these folks out in the trenches.

One word: CHALICE!

The chalice makes special appearances. Keep your eye out for it.



Here is a link to my coaches blog: (that is her holding the FOMO sticker)
http://www.fomotraining.com/2010/12/happy-fomo-holidays/

I'm coming for you!

This afternoon was my first time back in the pool since September. HOLY COW....I felt out of control during the warm up....more like "GIVE ME SOME AIR!" Haha! I'm determined to conquer this swimming thing. I know I'm not a bad swimmer. I just really like to breathe when I want, not when I have to. HA!

I will become a stronger swimmer!

Way to humble me today pool! Thanks for giving me that extra drive to want to be a better swimmer. You're going down! I got this!

And so it begins!

Today was the first day of my official Ironman training! I'm ready for this journey. I'm ready to pay the price.

As of today, I do not have a goal time for the Ironman. My goal is to finish the race. However, I know that will change. I think when I start understanding more about what I got myself into and how my body is handling it then I can make an actual time goal.

Psalms 23:4

"Pamela Gagot you are an Ironman!"

Computrainer Threshold Test

Today I went over to Carrie's house to do my computrainer threshold test on my bike. This test will give me my heart rate zones while I'm riding.

It has been a while since I rode my bike. Believe me when I tell you that Tulio reminds me all the time of how much it is worth...and how it's just hanging out there against the wall in our den. I love my bike. It's a baaaaaaaddddd bike! I just haven't been on it in a while (I completely blame crossfit). Well I unloaded my bike and Carrie pointed out that I had cobwebs on my pedal...LOL...how embarrassing!? The first thing I said was, "Oh my husband would just love to see this!" (not)


Well the test went well and I now have my heart rate zones. Carrie said that when she makes my workouts, she will put down what zone I should be in and how long. Here are my heart rate zones:

Martiza Dominguez - You Are An Ironman!

Congratulations Maritza!

Yesterday, my friend, Maritza Dominguez became an Iron(wo)man. She completed Ford Ironman Florida.

Her sister, Ariana and I are really good friends. Ariana was at the race supporting her. She kept everyone in the loop via text and facebook. It was so fun the get the updates. Tulio was in a wedding yesterday, so I couldn't make it to Florida to cheer her on. Every time I would get a text message I would get goose bumps and I would just feel so much pride to know that one of my friends was on her way to complete 140.6 miles.

It was a tough journey towards the end of the race for Maritza but she did it! She finished! She persevered!

When I finally received that message that she was done, I got very emotional and went the bathroom to let out a few tears. I was so proud of her! I'm still proud of her! She did something that many people can not imagine doing.

What an amazing accomplishment!

"Maritza Dominguez, you are an Ironman!"

Brag for the Rest of Your Life

Good stuff!

FOMO!

I made my decision!

Today I met my Ironman coach and immediately fell in love with her. She is super cool! Her name is Carrie Barrett. Read about her: http://www.fomotraining.com/bio/

Can't wait to get things rolling!

Mike Thompson

I had the privilege to meet, Mike Thompson today at Maggie's wedding. He is also doing Ironman Texas.

Who is Mike Thompson? Check out his story on Austin Fit Magazine. Mike Thompson: A True Ironman

AMAZING!

Keep up with Mike on this blog: www.ironmikey.com

I'm blessed to have met you Mike!

Coach or Training Group

Since I'm new to all this Ironman stuff, I don't know if I should hire a coach or join a training group. The only training group that I can think of joining is T3. However I would love to have my own personal coach. I noticed that on the T3 website they have a group specifically for the Texas Ironman. I have no idea what I should do. My friend Maggie sent me a link to a coach that she thinks might fit well with me. I guess I need to make a decision soon.

What will it be....coach or training group!?

It's Austin Marathon training time!

Today I started back up with Gilbert's Gazelles for my marathon training. It feels good to be back. February 20th, 2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the Austin Marathon. This training session and marathon will be my foundation going into Ironman Texas.

As for now, my goal for the Austin Marathon is to run it in a sub 4. I will revisit this goal toward the end of January. Although I can not predict what my body will do or how I will completely feel on race day, but my other goal is to conquer the race with no cramps. In years past, around mile 18 I would start cramping up. Last year I was good until mile 22. I'm getting better with my nutrition and hydration, so I want this year to be the year that I have NO CRAMPS. I understand that I may have some pain but I can do without the cramps! Pain is nothing to me. I can handle pain but cramps...well they are just straight up annoying.

I'm looking forward to the many miles on the asphalt with my fellow Gazelle's.

Iyo Ngwe!

Starting Fresh

Earlier this month I started T3's Swim Clinic. Basically this clinic is taking us back to the basics. I love it. It's breaking my swim technique down, which is needed.

Swimming is my weakest sport in a triathlon, but I don't want it to be. Shoot, I don't want any sport of mine to be considered weak. Who wants that!? So, this is why I'm taking a swim clinic. To this day, I have not swam an entire swim course in a triathlon doing freestyle only. I get tired and....boom...I switch over to breast stroke...which seems like it would make me more tired but for some reason it doesn't. However, I'm determined to quit doing that!

I will become a better swimmer. I will swim nothing but freestyle.

It's worth it! Try it out: Swimming Stroke Technique & Efficiency Clinic

Call me crazy!

One of my life goals is to participate and finish an Ironman. No, not a 70.3 Ironman...a full Ironman...2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run which equals 140.6 miles!! I've always talked about it, but have never moved forward with it until a good friend, Maggie, emailed me with the subject line "What do you say?" In the email was the link to Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas. I must have stared at the main page for about an hour. I actually was visualizing myself doing and finishing the race. Then tons of thoughts and questions filled my mind...."WOW, it's in Texas!?" "We would be swimming in a lake and not the ocean!" "SWEET, NO SHARKS!" "Awesome, no salt water in my mouth." "WOW, it's in May!?" "I wonder how hot it will be?" "Is this a good time in my life to do this?" "How do I train?" "Who am I going to train with?" "How much is all this going to cost me?" "Can my body handle it?" "I know I'm mentally strong for it!" "What do I have to lose...besides $630? ha!" etc.

Well after three sleepless nights, talking it over with my family & Maggie, and praying about it, I decided to register with the financial help from Tulio, my daddy (Papa Lu), Patty & Fernando. $630 is a huge commitment! But hey you can't put a price on a life goal/dream! I'm pumped!

I am registered for the Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas on May 21, 2011.

I WILL FINISH the race. I will be an IRON(wo)MAN!

It will be a fun journey and I am up for the challenge! BRING IT!