Hard Work Trumps Talent

It's no secret that I was not born a gifted athlete. Heck, i would finish about dead last in the mile and was far from lean and mean. The point is, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. Without the drive or determination, even the best athlete can become STAGNANT. Someone with something to prove or nothing to lose should never be underestimated. We all love an underdog right?

Isn't that just the coolest little IRONMAN you've ever seen!? One of my better finds at a local antique shop. Anyways, even with some breezy conditions and a red light, I was able to crank out a 10K PR during my last IRONMAN VR race. Which means one thing, If I play my cards right and just run on the bike trail, a sub 40 minute 10K is just around the corner and that is flippin' exciting! Lets just hope my shoes stay tied. (On my last 3K VR segment, my shoe came untied less than a mile in...I was on a great pace so I kept running. Maybe I should get velcro shoes?)

When running all out, sometimes my brain forgets how to function. While on runs, long or short you reach that point, that moment when I can only assume a pile of chemicals are released and functions are either turned off or REVVED up. Friends who are much smarter than myself can go into details on that, what I know is that while some people call this the "hurt locker" I don't take any chances and write important stuff on my hand. By important I mean items like target pace and distance in both KM and miles. Hence this high tech patent pending virtual coach called a marker!

​While I'm new to this virtual racing, It sure keeps the competitive juices flowing and keeps me motivated. Brainerd, Fargo and Grandmas all cancelled. IRONMAN Wisconsin 70.3 moved to September...so at this point, these VR races are all we have. No time to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves or be angry. I mean, nobody asked for this COVID-19 crap so when given lemons, you make LEMONADE right? Whatever the new "normal" brings, I plan on being mentally and physically ready for IRONMAN number 3 in Madison. Will we get to climb Barlow?!

IRONMAN VR 4 was a 5150 race and I finished in 2:09:34 and was 1852 out of 14,553. Skipping to IRONMAN VR 6 which was also a 5150 I shaved off a few minutes and came in at 2:05:22. This was good enough for finishing 1213th out of 12,711 which it seems like a pile of people didn't start/complete the race as there were 21,250 people who signed up!

VR 5 was a 70.3 simulation. THis comes about a month before IRONMAN Wisconsin 70.3 would have taken place so obviously not anywhere near ready for 56 miles on the bike, especially on a resistance trainer. Why on a trainer? Well, great question...you see, Minnesota decided May 9th was a great day to SNOW so Stealth stayed on the trainer. A MONOTONOUS 56 mile bike ride on a "dumb" trainer and just music and a fan to distract myself with, that was a blast!  

That's all I got for now. Keep grinding peeps. Keep pushing on and someday, we might just get to pee in our WET SUITS together again. How's that for a closing thought!