DAY ONE!

Well, this morning marks the official beginning of Madison Training. I debated about saving time for this entry until I have more time to write and reflect, but the reality is clear to me after 9 weeks of preseason: there really will never be time! What I do want to share is that I'm ready for this to happen. I've cleared my mind (and my calendar) and prepared my body for full-time training to begin. There will be late practices until 10:30 on weeknights, early swim practices that will require me to rise at 4:45 am every friday, long rides a hundred miles and more with transition runs to follow, aching muscles, tears of fatigue and tears of satisfaction for accomplishing something more than I could ever imagine. My white board for Week 1 is color-coded, my favorite warm-up and cool-down clothes are washed, better bike shoes have been ordered and my bag is packed. I will be praying for personal strength and physical strength and welcome the challenge of Ironman starting today!