Run Eat Tri Yogi

The last few days have been a blur. Mostly due to lack of sleep and my body wondering WTF just happened. But I will never forget the moment I listened to my voicemail when I woke up. “Dye, happy Monday. It’s Mike Reilly…” My heart just stopped. In my groggy state, I wasn’t sure I heard that right, so I started it over as I read the transcript along with it. “I heard you did it all indoors...to do something like that it’s mind over matter...So from me to you, as I love to do, DYE..YOU ARE AN IRONMAN...” As I listen to it again, I’m in tears. It feels like a dream. The last few weeks have been full of ups and downs but what a tremendous lesson I’ve learned. How much I really wanted this. Not the title or being able to say I did an Ironman distance. But to know I could do it. All of the training and preparation wasn’t for nothing. And the fantastic support I have in my life. I am in a state of gratefulness. (PS That phone call from Mike Reilly was facilitated by my friend, Billy. You ma

photo credit Billy S The morning started off like any other race day: early morning alarm with 5 minutes in bed wondering why I decided this was a good idea. I quickly changed into my swimsuit and snuck out of the hotel room for my pre-race swim (if you missed Part 1 , the swim portion of the Ironman had been canceled) I saw that Billy and Gerry were already there and we got to work. I swam for 45 minutes before I couldn't take the burning of the chlorine on my skin and lips. And because it was small and not a lap pool, I kept hitting my hand on the ledges and scraping myself. I still had a race to finish that day. So I wished the guys a great race day and headed back. Gerry (center), Billy (right)  My girl Danyell drove me down to the start and waited with me until transition opened. I also saw my partner-in-Chattanooga-adventures, Greg. We did our first and second 70.3 here (he went onto his 3rd this past year) and now our first full Ironman. What a journey

The day before we were to leave, I was working another full day that included an early morning shift (4:30am) with only a few hours in-between before my late afternoon/evening classes. Everyone was out sick and finding subs was nearly impossible. I was starting to lose my shit.  I hadn't packed yet and we had a 13hr drive ahead of us --> after I worked another 4:30am shift on Thurs. My boss was amazing and found people to cover that morning shift and when I got to my 2nd location that evening, I walked into this Needless to say, between my friends and family (IRL and online) and the awesome people I work with, I had a phenomenal support system. My husband, 2 kids and I set off for TN on Thursday morning and with an overnight stop in Murfreesboro, we finally made it to Chattanooga Fri am.  I'd had more than enough nightmares about not making it to Athlete check-in so I was pretty anxious to get that over with. No check-in by 5pm on Friday, no race. I also found out

I finished my last brick workout today and unexpectedly, I broke down in tears. That's it. Now it's onto race week. And then race day. All those months of training have flown by. What seemed like a distant (crazy) goal to train for is finally within sight. All those hours plugging away on my training, sore & hating myself for signing up for this challenge ... I sat down on the porch to take it all in. It feels like awaiting a trip to Disney World and the death chamber at the same time. The taper madness... I thought I was ready. Believe me, I was physically exhausted and more than ready to rest! I'd been looking forward to these weeks and let my body reset after beating it up all the way up to peak training month. Here's the madness aspect of the taper. The mind argues that it wasn't enough. It's telling me I still have ways to go."What makes you think you can even toe the starting line?" It makes me question even my strongest training days.

Do you have a friend, family member or a co-worker training for a full Ironman? You're not sure? It's the person you know who is incessantly complaining about their IM training. Symptoms include irritability, constant hunger, no social life and some weird tan lines (that they're oddly proud of). Before you think about cutting off ties with that asshole poor person, let me explain what's really going on behind the scenes and how to best deal with the situation... I come mainly from an ultrarunning background. That's my jam. Which, by the way, they literally have jam out on the course too, which is not the main reason I love my ultras.  Somehow, I decided to go for a triathlon.  And then someone insisted we do a half Ironman. Sure, why not? I JUST signed up for a sprint but training for a 70.3 for next spring sounds more fun. After 2 half Ironmans under my belt, my ego got the best of me and thought, "I'm ready for the full." A full Ironman con

This is not my first DNF but it is my first for a triathlon.  I'll be 100% honest and say this was not a race I was taking too seriously. I had signed up to use this event as a training day on my way to Ironman Chattanooga in Sept. But as I took on more personal training clients and classes at work, my own training hours dwindled. I kept up with my swimming and running but my bike rides weren't what they were last year when I was training for Ironman Chatt 70.3. This particular event was also just a week before Titletown Ultra 15.5, where I was going to attempt my first 100k. I went back and forth on whether I'd even go ahead with Baycare 70.3. But what better way to get an open water swim session in? And a group ride and run with support along the way? So I went ahead with it... here are the events of that day. I settled into my hotel room (reserved less than 24 hours ago) by 7pm and tried to get some rest before getting up at 4:50am.  Everything was packed and rea

I wrote about what living with depression and anxiety is like in my post " Depression Hit Me Hard Today"   But I want to keep the conversation going. Like the #MeToo movement, this topic needs to be continued and be brought up until we treat it like any other illness that can be seen.  I know too many people who struggle with mental health issues that are hesitant to say anything because of the stigma. **And by the way, the following story isn't to bash police officers. Seriously, those who took offense to my Facebook post on this can stay gone.** I had a complete meltdown in my car a few days ago.  I got pulled over for going 2 MPH over the speed limit on the interstate. A small thing, right? Frustrating for sure. Especially since I was in near panic up to an hour earlier from dodging others doing their own high-speed chases. 2.over.the.speed.limit. It didn't help that I then got an earful from the officer about where I pulled over (side of passing lane "I

Disclaimer: I received free entry to Eau Claire Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews! Thank you EC Marathon & Reebok for the free race photos! Pictured with fellow BRP Amy P First of all, I did get my donuts and tacos. And they were glorious. Thank you for all of your concerns. If you saw my Instagram stories, you saw that I had some car issues as I was heading out for the race (again). It seems to be a theme. This time, my brakes went out. Luckily, I drive manual so I was able to drive the mile back home. Alas, we made it all work. We decided to make a family trip out of this race since it had been awhile since I've brought the kids to Eau Claire. First stop was the expo and packet pick-up.  It was crazy busy when we tried to find parking (around 3:30pm). I highly suggest parking across the street and walking the overhead bridg