IRONbesties: Road to AC70.3

In my eyes, it's pretty freakin cool when you and one of your best friends get to tackle a HUGE milestone together, like a half Ironman. That best friend is Janice. I just recently asked Janice to be in my wedding this October and as part of our wedding website, I asked all my bridesmaids to write a little blurb about how they know me. Here is what Janice had to say:

I met Amanda in second grade at Gwynedd Square Elementary. It was always easy to be friends with
her. She is outgoing, kind and leaves a lasting impression. Our friendship is simple, we push each other to be our very best! It started spending endless years competing on the soccer fields as kids. Soccer was life. Fast forward, we now share a love/passion for Triathlons. She's the only friend crazy enough to sign up for a 70.3 Ironman this September with me! Amanda is the most fierce athlete I know. She never quits!! I am beyond honored to be her bridesmaid and share this journey with her!

I am beyond humbled to hear those words come out of Janice's mouth, however, I'm not too sure if she knows how much she means to me. She taught me at a very young age friendship loyalty. For instance, she grew up loving the Backstreet Boys....I was an N'Sync fan. Two rivals, however, we loved each other for being opposites and regardless of musical preference, we still had each other. We sang our hearts out to both bands and told all our secrets as we laid on her water bed. Her basement bedroom was the coolest bedroom any of my friends had. In my eyes she was SOOOO cool. I was the lucky one.

Her humor, outgoing personality, and adventurous lifestyle are only a few of the things I love about Janice. I can remember going to her house in second grade, eating spaghetti and meatballs, dancing, and making up live performances. Luckily for me during middle school, Janice moved THREE DOORS DOWN from me!!! For nearly 7 years she was the first person I got to see EVERY morning. We laughed, shared stories, sat next to each other on the bus. Her hair was always a different color and most days ended with "wanna hang out later?" She was the best morning caffeine I could have.




From little 7 year olds, to now grown women, her as a mom, me as a soon-to-be bride, SHE is the one that inspired me to get into the sport of triathlon. She bugged me for YEARS and I always pushed back because I was too busy being just a runner. I am so grateful that she finally got me to commit to the Sandy Hook Iron Girl race in 2015 because this sport has opened my eyes to new challenges I never thought possible.

You're a wonderful mother, a terrific wife, a cherished friend and the greatest female role model Brooklyn has ever seen. Thank you for opening my eyes to new adventures....thank you for always believing in me when I don't believe in myself....and more than anything - thank you for being YOU. This journey would be nothing without you and it is because of YOU I hit the 'register' button.

Stroke It, Ride It, Pound It. Me and you girl.

#DreamReallyFreakinBig

The Yoga Struggle is Real: Road to AC70.3

The gym is absolutely packed with new year's resolution go-getters (GET AFTER IT!!) However, it is REALLLLLY screwing up my workout flow.

Despite the hectic YMCA, sometimes you gotta deal with the cards dealt and do whatever necessary to get it done. So that's what I did. I squeezed in an almost quick mile and then headed to yoga class. Fashionably late because I went to the wrong classroom, into yoga I went.

Yoga is seriously my real life torture chamber. I have ZERO flexibility and I haven't had any my  entire life. I'm no where close to touching my toes and Taylor has no idea how I was a gymnastic growing up (lets just say my splits and handstands were never straight but I still won first place in the all-around competition.) Enough down memory lane, back to today. Right, right, yoga is torture. I find no calm or peacefulness in the practice ... I sweat like a pig, my body shakes.  I hurt, I'm sore.



BUT, let me throw this in, I'm really starting to enjoy the challenge and I really think it will help with my flexibility and my stretching. I'm in it to win it. Plus, the meditation at the end is always my favorite. (I started a new year's meditation challenge...Ill post about that another time.)

Run - Yoga - Run was Tuesday's workout and mission complete.

On to the next day.

#DreamReallyFreakinBig

It's Happening: Road to AC70.3

2017 is going to be a big year.... with a wedding in October, one who is sane would think, "hey, maybe you should evaluate your life and what you have in store the next 10 months." Well let's get real...I'M INSANE!

In 276 days I get to marry my best friend. But before I walk down the aisle, in 249 days I will be attempting my first half IRONMAN with my best friend, Janice.

GULP!

A half IRONMAN is 70.3 miles in total -- that means a 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run. I've ran half marathons and marathons, I've completed sprint and Olympic distance triathlons...and I can only do what is next on the bucket list...half ironman.

After several months of being UBER lazy after the Marine Corps Marathon, this past week I got back into the swing of training. Gosh does it hurt. Starting from step one is NEVER easy, but sometimes it has to be done - too frequently for me because after a major race I usually give myself a rest period. And to be quite honest, I didn't want to put my sneakers on. It was about the week of Christmas where I was REALLY craving to lace up and get back after it. So here I am.



I'm excited, scared and more than anything - thrilled to share this journey with all of you by vlogging (see video above). My "official" training plan starts January 29th -- I plan to use the IronGirl sprint triathlon training plan for 12 weeks (building my base endurance), followed by the Be Iron Fit Half Ironman training plan leading up to race day.

I've decided to REALLY focus on all aspects of my training this year -- swimming, biking, running, lifting and of course nutrition. Be Iron Fit uses zone heart rate for training so I'm excited to experience that. And in the end -- lets hope that I'm fit AF for the wedding in October (hoping I can spray tan the razor back tanlines off!!)

So here we go -- Road to AC70.3. Let's get it done!
#DreamReallyFreakinBig