JOSHUA IZUMIGAWA... YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!

Possibly the greatest feeling I've felt in my entire life so far!

Making my way to the finish line...
Running down the shoot...
Making it to the red carpet...
All the fans...
The bright lights...
Roar and cheer of the crowd...
My name being said (correctly) on the speakers...
YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!

There just hasn't been anything as euphoric, as fulfilling and as special as crossing that line!

I'll write a race report eventually when I can really think and be really coherent. Right now, I'm just tired and pooped but just so happy. It was a long journey. So many ups and downs. And to be so nervous for Race Day. To hope that everything went well enough.

I mean other than the complete wreckage and breakdown that resulted in me falling apart at Mile 21, everything else went relatively well. That's not to say that I performed well, because I didn't have my best race. But most things went well enough to give me a fighting chance!

The swim was packed due to a rolling start and there was a lot of times getting kicked and grabbed and punched. And the swell getting out for lap two was rough. Not to mention that the swim was announced at 77 degrees meaning that it was NOT wetsuit legal. So naturally, I played by the rules to be in the official AG results and went sans wetsuit. But I got it done and at a time that wasn't too terrible.

The bike went about as well as I could have hoped for. No mechanical issues. No flats. Nutrition relatively on point with no cramping. The only issue was somewhat gastrointestinal... ie... I had to poop... Twice... I'll have to figure that one out eventually, but I'd say that using the bathroom was a nice relief as opposed to trying to hold it in. We even had a little bit of rain around mile 70 to 90, but it was a welcomed occurrence and didn't result in any significant challenges or anything due to the flat and straight course at that part. But again, got it done and was at a respectable time.

The run went well enough until Mile 21. I was making some good time and picking up the pace a little bit during loop one. I even got to the dreaded Mile 18 marker feeling strong. But I hit that Mile 21 marker and it was all downhill from there. Legs locked up. Water, salt, bananas, gatorade, coke... Nothing worked... A lot of walking and then running for a few minutes before walking again. It was terrible. I actually I almost cried. I kept thinking that Ava would fight, that my tri friends would want me to fight and that I can't be so weak as to walk this close to the finish. But there was no motivation to pull me out of the depths then. Nothing I tried mentally could get my body feeling good enough to run that last 5 miles. I succumbed to the dark side and just walked then ran...

But after walking midway from Mile 24 to the aid station at Mile 25, I mustered up every once of strength and fight in my body to run that final 1.5+ miles! That's also where the crowd lines the street and the cheering... Oh the cheering! I mean that uplifts you and helps pull you from the depths! I mean it took everything I had but I fed off the energy and the will to get to that line with strength! But...

I did it!!! I AM AN IRONMAN!!! And nothing feels better!!! :D

IMFL RACE WEEK!!! The Real Countdown Begins!!!

And so it begins!!! It is officially 5 days from Race Start. In 5 short days, I'll be toeing the line at Panama City Beach, Florida hoping to cross the finish line at my first ever full Ironman event!!! 140.6 long and grueling miles which will top off over 4 months of training. Many, many laps swam, pedal revolutions turned over and miles trudged along.

I'm nervously excited. In my last post I summarized what I've done and accomplished on the road here. It's personally been a major highlight. Possibly one of the most productive and accomplished months of my life. In short, I feel ready. Either way, every opportunity to get werk done has officially passed by. Any additional laps, miles biked or miles ran would do no good. It's time to start getting calm, getting some rest and getting mentally ready.

My bags are also packed. All the gear is ready to go. The bike has long been put on the truck and shipped. Nutrition is in zip lock bags and bottles and extra nutrition is ready to go.

The schedule ahead looks as follows:

Monday - short run (maybe an hour) at Z1, work (and trying to focus there), sleep
Tuesday - work (and trying to focus), board the red eye
Wednesday - land in Texas and wait to get to Panama City Beach, check-in and sleep
Thursday - CTF brunch, athlete check-in, short run (maybe an hour in Z1), athlete banquet, sleep
Friday - CTF team swim, bike rack and prep, carbo load dinner, sleep
Saturday (RACE DAY!!!) - poop, eat, poop, get to transition, get psyched, toe the line, RACE
Sunday - RECOVER!!!

It should be fun! I really just can't wait!!!

Oh and this is soon to be my new FB profile picture :D

(Note: I def did not write and post this blog at 4am PST... I pre-wrote it and set it to publish at exactly Race Start today hehe)

7 Days Left!!! The Final Push!!!

Well, there's officially 1 week left until I'm toeing the line with thousands of other athletes, hoping that I can crush my first ever Ironman attempt!!! It's so unreal and I can't even begin to comprehend how I'm able to embark on this journey. It seems so long ago now that I struggled to finish my first Wildflower Long Course attempt this past May...

Since then I've been on such a strong streak of training and racing and building of my fitness level. On this road to Ironman Florida, I've accomplished:

-Raised over $3000 and awareness about Neurofibromatosis and the children and families it affects
-Completed 5 Sprint Triathlons (setting new PRs in all of them compared to previous years)
-Completed a Olympic Triathlon (setting a PR for this distance)
-Completed a Half Ironman (setting a PR for this distance)
-Completed a 2 mile Hermosa to Manhattan, Pier-to-Pier Swim (first ever, sans wetsuit)
-Completed a Century ride (first ever and not an easy one either, 5400ish ft of elevation)
-Completed a Full Marathon (first ever)
-Set PRs for my 5k, 10k and Half Marathon runs
-Set PRs for my 40k Bike
-Changed my diet and (for the most part) eliminated fast food
-Lost 6 lbs and about 10% body fat (which is about 11 lbs of fat)
-Practice discipline, fought through struggles, persevered through pain, blew past doubt
-And at least checked in with most of my social circles (for the most part)

And that's just the things that I can recall!!!

I also want to reiterate my thanks and admiration for the Children's Tumor Foundation and their Endurance NF program. Without them, I wouldn't even be able to do this race. But much more than that, I was paired with little Ava Lowell, her wonderful mother Dawn Lowell and the rest of their beautiful family. They've been a huge inspiration and have really helped to keep me mentally strong. To think that such a beautiful, wonderful and sweet little girl can persevere just helped me keep pushing forward! As the great Macca said in his book "I'm Here to Win," it really helps to understand one's motivation for racing and to really be great you need to find and race for something more than just yourself. So I thank CTF for giving me that!

So this journey has been great and the experience has got me thinking this won't be my last attempt. But for now, I'm very excited to countdown to Race Day and hopefully cross that finish line with a smile and a great time!

To close, I'll leave a snapshot of the course I hope to crush:

 

(Photo credit: www.ironman.com)