IMAZing!

we’re going to arizona and i can’t wait! i’ve been up to my eyeballs in work, oh now hush up my facebook friends, i can multi-task! j. and i are leaving early friday morning and it’ll be great to have a few days away.

however, i’m not going with the expectation of rest. i will be, as my coach’s hat says, a spectathlete. and let me tell you, i’ve practiced. even on this very course. i spent 13+ hours out there by myself last april simultaneously screaming my lungs out as j. and the course tore each other up and lugging around a heavy heart. more on that later.

i have a long run on my schedule for saturday, but that will be done with muppetdog molly, which i am very excited about. we’ve been chit-chattin’ online and as far as never having met a person goes, i sure do like her.

j. has a ton of work to do so plans to be on his computer for the drive out. the horror. that means i have to “respect the silence” and can’t terrorize him with my hellacious singing while i play ipod deejay… bummer. he’ll miss it … even if he tells you he won’t. he will … i hope.

my coach, liz was going race too which made this trip even more fun. i was under strict instructions to keep her husband away from any kind of bicycle to avoid this happening, but she got sick and is doing the right thing and respecting her body for the long haul by opting out of the race. she is, however, still coming as is my grandcoach, jen. yahoo!!!

jen is affectionately referred to as “miss daisy”, due to her, ahem, advanced age. well, if she’s miss daisy, i fear that makes me jessica tandy’s other oscar worthy character, “alma finley” from ‘cocoon’ … uhm, before they all got in the water! anyway, i cannot wait to meet jen and witness her live in all her pink splendor.

we’ve had plans to come back to arizona since last april and here’s why. last year j. and our friend chris set out to tackle the 140.6 at IMAZ. chris is a seasoned swimmer, former water polo player and crazy advanced SCUBA diver. needless to say swimming is his strongest leg (though the others are pretty dang good too). this was chris’ first IM. his wife, wendy, and i waited at the swim out. we were looking for chris. we knew he’d be out before j. (no offense, honey). we waited and waited. all of a sudden we’re screaming and cheering for j., but still no chris.

i call my sister in l.a. and ask her to track him online, maybe we missed him coming by? nothing, he hasn’t come out yet. we wait. we shift nervously. wendy’s cell phone rings and she heard just what you never want to here, “we have your husband in the med tent”. turns out a mile into the swim, and may i say up in the front of the pack, chris was struck by intense vertigo. suddenly down seemed like up, which is really not something you want to confuse in a body of water. he kept diving down further despite trying to surface. he started to vomit. he got to the surface, took a breather on the side of a boat then started again. same thing. he tried and tried, but just kept vomiting. he did the courageous thing, he trusted that voice that said “not today”. he got in a boat and sadly turned over his chip.

chris spent a miserable day in a dark hotel room continuing to be sick. but the next day he rallied and took his still woozy ass down to sign up for IMAZ 2009 (then later decided he didn’t want to wait and got a charity slot). he was beaten up, but he again showed his courage and trusted that this too would pass. and it did. now 7 months later he’s stronger, faster and ready to kick the shit out of IMAZ. he is, as the shirts we so proudly wore back on april 13, 2008 … IMAZing.

so when you log on to ironmanlive this sunday, join me in cheering louder than you thought possible for my friend chris, the courageous one who has taught me a couple of things about picking up the pieces and not letting circumstances rob you of the journey.