Inspiration…..where do you find it?

I have been looking for inspiration for IMC and the training required.  Last time i trained for IMC inspiration came to me easily, I wanted it so badly that I obsessed about the event; I didn’t even have to think about why.  This time around I am not sure what is inspiring me for IMC 2012.  I do know that I like training, I like being more fit, I like the people I train with but what I don’t know is what my inspiration is.  Why do I really want to do this again?

I have been extremely tired and the suspect of this extreme fatigue is an allergy to eggs.   Since I discovered this allergy I went back to my mostly vegan diet.  I am hoping that once I get more energy I will find that inspiration again.  Until then I will not ask the question of where I find my inspiration, I will just train and take it one step at a time. 

Oh my, obstacles!

 

IMC, it is coming up FAST, only 69 days until I am at the start of the swim. My training is happening, not as well as I would like but as is typical I have had some challenges thrown my way. My plantar fasciitis is still bothering me, I am currently taking a 2 week break from running to see if that will help it calm down. Since I have not been able to train the run I will be training to walk run the marathon portion of the event and I am good with that, I just want to finish the event with a smile.

I have had another challenge too, I was feeling unusually tired so I went to my ND and had her check my blood work to make sure that I was not low on iron etc. All of my nutrition stuff came back really good; I just need to increase my vitamin D. The biggest surprise is that I have a high Eosomophils level which typically indicates that you have an allergy of some sort. We did a scratch test to see if I was allergic to something in the environment. I had no reactions to the test other than the one that checks to see if you were off all medications as prescribed before the test. I had 2 options to find out if the allergy was food related, a blood allergy test that is a large out of pocket expense or a food elimination diet. I opted for the blood test because a food elimination diet takes way too long to figure out what may be causing the allergic reaction. I should get the results this week, i hope. I am really get bored with feeling exhausted all the time.

I love training for these things, you learn to listen to your body and overcome obstacles. Last Ironman I had a stress fracture, bruised talus bone and reduced sensation from my knee down on my right leg. I made it to the start line and I finished with a HUGE smile. I will make to the start line and finish with a big smile again. I just need to keep my head down and train, even when my body is not cooperating with me.

Mom (Barbara Clark), Frank Clark, Molly (she passed away a few months ago) and Layla.

Sonja and Maddie at the end of our trail run.

Me and Maddie at the end of a trail run.