Posts from — November 2008

Looking forward to the 5k “race” tomorrow morning.  Actually, NOT.  My stomach is feeling kind of “off” today.  I’m going to run/walk with Kathleen or jog with Gretchen and Marie tomorrow.  Just enjoy being with friends.  Why am I not going to race tomorrow, you ask?

I got yelled at by my friend and a local podiatrist.  He told me I wasn’t resting enough after Ironman. That I hadn’t healed enough.  Soooooooooooo I promised I’d be better and this is the start   See, I listen!

So, tomorrow I will enjoy being with friends and out in the fresh air.

Stay strong and happy Thanksgiving!

Check out Beth’s video of my finish!  You can feel the energy of the crowd.

Diane’s IM FL finish

I’m the second finisher from at the end of the video.  I was hoping I’d hear “Diane Stokes from Northboro Mass, you are an Ironman” on the video, but no such luck. Oh well!

personalized-video-demo

Yay, I got some of the pictures up!  Here are pictures through the swim start of the race.  The first picture is the cake I tried to previously post.  It was a delicious as it was creative!  Thanks again Laura!!!

If I have time in Austin this week, I’ll post more

Last night I thought I was going to the movies with my husband and our friends.  Little did I know, a surprise party was in the works!  My husband, last minute, says “oh, Dot called, you have to pick something up at her house that you left there last night”.  I of course was arguing with him saying “what did I leave?” and he of course was being incredulous saying “I have no idea, just run up and get it”.  LOL  So, run up I did and I entered Dot’s house quietly, and surprised the houseful of people LOL…

Needless to say, I have never been more touched than I was last night.   Thank you to Gretchen for thinking of doing this and organizing it all.  Thank you for Dot for hosting the party.  Thank you for giving up your Saturday night and in some cases driving long distances to be there.  And a HUGE thank you to all of my friends that attended, brought food, and gave me a LOVELY gift that I can’t wait to use (spa treatments ) in December!!!  When I tell you that your thoughts, prayers and workouts buoyed me during the race, I am not kidding.  Why else would I have felt so good doing something so rediculous LOL!!!

Here is a picture of the cake that Laura made for us.  It was UNBELIEVABLE!  Not only beautiful to look at, but delicious too!  I unfortunately didn’t get any other pictures!  If you guys did, feel free to post them, or send them to me to post.

having troubles uploading pictures   will work on it

I promise to work on posting my other IM photos this week.  I am traveling Thurs to Thurs this week, so again a busy week, but I’ll do it!!!

Thanks again for an amazing night.  I truly feel blessed to know you guys, and one last thought to leave you with….

I have sucked you all in……..feel the vacuum…. We are all tri geeks now! I can’t wait to work with you and train with you next year.

It is now one week after the IM.  I am just amazed that I’m back to working out and have no issues- other than the toe.  I would not change a thing about how my training or how I raced this race.  I feel so blessed to have all of you in my life.  I couldn’t have done it without all of your support.

Here is my finisher photo.  I don’t think I could have smiled any broader!

I was recently asked to reflect on IM for the Heartzones conference/training that I’ll be attending next weekend in Denver.  I am going to get my Level 2 Personal Training certification (look out athletes I train, I’m sure I’ll learn some new and fun ways to torture you guys ).  I thought I’d post what I sent to the organizers of the training.

++

When I started doing triathlons 6 years ago, a spin instructor convinced me to do the local Danskin triathlon. Why she thought I could do this, I had no idea. I hadn’t been swimming since I was 15. I didn’t own a bike, and I could only run a mile or so with extreme pain due to 2 ACL reconstructions on my left knee. But, I had just lost my mother to kidney disease, so I was up for a new challenge.

Fast forward 6 years and I am a certified USA Triathlon, USA Cycling coach, and a Level 1 Heartzones coach (soon to be Level 2 after the conference) and I just completed my first Ironman. Even saying this is still unbelievable to me. I never thought I would do an Ironman. As stated earlier, I have had 2 knee reconstructions and have a vertebrae missing in my lower back. Running 26 miles seemed an impossible task. Let alone after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles.

I set 3 goals for this race:

1. Finish and be able to walk afterwards;
2. Have fun and enjoy the entire experience; before, during and after the race;
3. Finish in under 14 hours

The day was PERFECT weather wise. If it wasn’t for my blister exploding on my big toe under the toenail, I would have finished probably an hour faster than I did (actual time 13:44), so I am thrilled. I can not express the sense of accomplishment I felt crossing the finish line. As I’m writing this, I think about what I did and just shake my head in disbelief.

One month prior to Ironman, my brother unexpectedly passed away and I had to fly to California to plan the service and clean out his house. Talk about throwing a wrench into my training and emotional stability at the peak of my training- Life, can be very interesting and trying at times. The other amazing thing I noticed as I think about my Ironman race, is that here I sit 4 days post Ironman; I’m not sore at all, and I feel great.

Reflecting, I asked myself, how can someone who did a race of this distance not feel badly or hurt at all, post race??? I know how it happened. I decided that I would complete the entire race solely on heart rate. I knew that I needed to keep my heart rate below 140 in order to feel good throughout the day.

So what are the biggest lessons that I learned? No matter what your adversity, if you train well, watch your heart rate, and eat healthy, you CAN finish an Ironman!

I feel good, so good (wish I could insert music bars here- think James Brown)….I’m sitting here 2 days post IM at 3:30am dressed, fed and waiting to get a taxi to the airport home….wearing my new IMFL Finisher jacket (it’s soooooooooo cool!).  Other than the blister/ purple toe, I feel GREAT!  It really paid not to push myself too hard.  It’s all about HR training people LOL.  134 average for the entire race- probably why I feel so good.

Anyways, thank you all for such great support, good wishes and thoughts during my race- I felt you all the way!  I’m still on cloud nine.  Can’t wait to catch up in person and show you all my “goods”!

#1 I finished!!!!  I said before the race that I’d be happy if I finished in under 14 hours, so, happy I am!!  I obviously can’t sleep either.

Diane, we are all here to cheer you on.

You can see some of the live coverage, or even track her progress as bib #2383.  Or get some “Live Coverage”

She has just finished the Swim at 1:22:07… Go Diane!

She’s past the 73 mile point on the bike at 4:14:36 (17.2mph!)… Looking strong!

She’s off the bike last 39 miles at 2:08:48 (18.2mph!) total 112 at 6:23:24 (17.5mph) great ride… now on to the run!

I can’t believe it, but she has finished it!  She did the run at 5:42:50 for a total time of 13:44:27!!!!

Hopefully she is recovering now and getting some food and much needed rest.

Diane, we are all so proud of you!!!

Congrats, Ironman!