sweet

"We are just getting started here." Coach emailed me the other day. I smiled so big.

A friend emailed me last year before Gulf Coast 1/2 Ironman..... "Think Musselman 2004", that was the year I won the Mussel and I set the amateur course record (which still stands). My reaction to that email was.... good lord I hope not. I executed that race terribly. I threw out my nutrition and only took water for the 13.1 mile run. Yeah I had a good run and I won but oh my gawd did I almost die during it. I never want to feel like that again, it wasn't going to the well, it wasn't HTFU'ing and it wasn't going into the box of hurt.... it was entering the stupid store.

Who throws out their nutrition? In the garbage. Gone. Don't need it!

Eeks.

I have never truly executed a 1/2 Ironman well. I can nail an Ironman and I can nail the short distances but this distance has eluded me. Until now, until I am focusing on it. 1/2 Ironman / 70.3 has always been part of something bigger. On the way to the Ironman.

My 2009 goal was to learn to execute this bastard and it didn't start very well. However that experience led me to QT2, and in case i have not mentioned it before.... I love it here. We've got very specific pacing plans for this race, execution plans that won't yield me the time I won this race in, but will help me gain so much more on the way to Cheatwarer.... oops... Clearwater.

Thus far I have learned so much, and as you may know the majority of my lessons have been nutritional. I love the way Chuckie V recently stated it in his blog:

"Eat more during, eat less at rest."

The more during is something I have never done, like I said before I am known for doing a 3 hour workout on water. Tuesday brought a wonderful brick workout. A 2 hour tempo bike and a 1 hour endurance run.

Jesse (for reasons I will learn during our next chat) believes in certain products and is pretty strict about using them. While the critic in me wants to say... well QT2 is sponsored by them.... knowing Jesse there is a very good reason for this. I trust my coach. If he says use a product ... then I use a product (do you have a bridge to sell me?) and I know the reason will be explained to me.

Exactly as prescribed I took in my nutrition for the three hour event. While this might seem like rocket science I know..... but I felt incredible at the end. I was awake, I was alert, I was ready to get started. I nailed all the things I needed to nail. I had taken in solids at a high heart rate and I did not puke. That was the biggest victory yet.

I am a new berry eater, I just learned how to slice a mango! Remember that I am a swimmer, I could live on bagels and bananas all day long! So if I can convert, you can convert. Here's my fruit salad snack: strawberries, mango, blueberries. Rich in antioxidants and sweeter than sweet can be: