31 days, 16 hours, 5 minutes, 32 seconds to Ironman Wisconsin

At least at this moment.

Eighteen months ago I looked at my TNT coach in awe at the amount of time he was training for an Ironman and said, "you are nuts . . . cool, but still nuts."

Eight months later I signed up for Ironman Wisconsin. I got lucky to get in because the race was full, but there were plenty of openings in the collegiate division. Now I know why I went back to get my Masters!

Now it just a month away and I can't believe that I am actually going to do this thing. What is a reformed coach-potato -- still BOPer, 35-year-old mother of four, full-time grad student doing in an Ironman race? Like many my motives for doing this are complex. But something drives to keep training through all the setbacks I've had over the past 10 months. It is as though the race is calling me, begging me to meet the challenge. I am certain that I will hurt during this race. Right now I can't ride for more than an hour without lower back discomfort -- going over 3 gets really uncomfortable. I know that it won't be easy. I've tried to train hard and consistently, but illness and old injuries have come calling more often than I had hoped.

However, that said, I keep thinking of all the children I have meet since my son was diagnosed with cancer . . . the hours I spent watching them play through their discomfort and disappointments. And somehow this voice inside of me says, "you can do this . . . do it for Jonathan, do it for Noah, do it for Gabbie, do it for all those kids who have faced cancer in the face and lived the life that was given to them. . . either for years after diagnosis for for only a few precious months, these children grabbed life by the horns and lived the life that was given to them."

So, am I ready . . . have I made huge amounts of progress? Well . . .

Swim: I've definiately improved on the swim. In 10 months I learned to swim freestyle (I was a confirmed breast-stroker before) and have conquered my fear of the wetsuit. I'm still slow as anything, but I'm not afraid of the swim like I was 10 months ago. This last month I have seen a great improvement in both my level of comfort and endurance in the water. I'll still be facing an almost empty transition area when I get off the swim, but I'm not longer afraid that I will have to be pulled out of the water.

Bike: I'm most disappointed in my biking ability. It used to be my strong point, but after 6 months of low back pain that comes on after 2 hours of riding (and endless trips to the chiropractor, stretching, massage, bike fittings that don't seem to help) has worn me down. My average speed has gone down from 17 mph to 15ish and with hills it is even slower. Getting the bike done in less than 8 hours is going to be a challenge. But, I'm ready for a challenge!

Run: I'm most surprised about how good I feel about the run. My earlier half-marathon this year gave me tons of confidence and I have found that I actually really like to run. Big surprise. The few transition runs I've done after long bikes have gone fairly well. I still plan on walking aid stations and maybe much more, but I am actually really looking forward to getting off the bike and onto my own two feet!

So that's me . . . how about the rest of you IM Mooers? How are you feeling? Ready or not, 31 one days from now I will be on my bike, hopefully less than 2 hours away from getting off.

Melissa