I completed my first 70.3 Ironman race in Michigan last weekend. It was incredible. The swim was super cold (60 degrees F). My feet were completely numb but I knew I needed to keep swimming and get out of the water so I kept going. I realized later in the day I had chaffing on my neck from the wetsuit, don't make the same mistake I did. Speaking of mistakes, when I got to my bike I realized my bike gloves were inside out from my last ride. Oops! I had a great ride once I got going. I took my time figuring out my pace and HR. There were a few big hills and the biggest one was at mile 54 so I knew I needed some energy for that. I was so glad to be done with the bike. I took my time going through transition to get ready for the run. I started running or jogging very slow. My legs felt pretty good. My plan was to walk a minute every mile and walk 30 seconds every half mile. It worked perfectly! I felt good through the whole run. My goal for this race was to enjoy the experience and have a good time. That is exactly what I did!

Thank you thank you thank you! Your wonderful program got me strong through the Sydney marathon on a terribly hot day. I felt wonderful until the end, not that it wasn't hard, but there was not one second that I didn't want to run. And I got a 22 minute PB too!

Is it possible to calculate MHR using data from previous training and races? I want to run marathon in 3.45 what will be my training MHR? It seems to me, maybe because I don't understand, that MHR is relevent to the time you take the test and as you go through training plan it will change constantly. Is there a factor in the MHR calculation that allows for this?

Two years ago if you were to have asked me if I would ever run a marathon I would have told you that you were insane, I would NEVER do that because it seemed to overwhelming and the training daunting. I've now run two. If you were to have asked me a year ago if I ever would do an Ironman my answer would have been the same. I DON'T swim and I have never formally ridden a road bike, how can I do a full ironman? Here I am three weeks away from completing my first ironman and I can't thank Marlies and Baz enough. They have guided me, encouraged me, helped me to become a better runner, rider and athlete all around. They have helped with my form, my nutrition, stretching (something I never did until now), strength. I walk away from each meeting filled up by their guidance and support. Sometimes training stinks, sometimes I am tired, something I don't want to do this or don't think I can...but I remind myself that accomplishing great things takes time and effort and yes... suffering. But as the great David Goggins says.... on the other end of suffering is greatness. I am a better person than I was two years ago, I am a better version of myself and I am going to keep growing and findings new challenges and chances to push myself. I know a huge part of why I am successful is the support and guidance of the 9Mile program. I go into every race knowing I have the tools I need to be successful, the rest is just a game between the ears. Thank you both so much for your support, I couldn't do it without you both!

Here's an update on my progress. Lots of biking, eating anti-aging food, taking supplements, and punctuated running have gotten me to a point that I would have considered totally out of shape in my prime 🙂. But I believe all that was necessary to prepare me for the next steps. My legs are much stronger, my blood pressure is 121 over 70, and I'm taking more time out of my schedule for exercise. It's all from staying focused on my eventual goal of running a marathon, which comes from believing that your system will help me accomplish that.