UPDATE: Did I ever complete an Ironman?

I recently received 2 emails asking for an update on my triathlon training status!  They caught me a little off guard because I hadn’t updated this blog since spring of 2011!  I couldn’t even remember what my password was!  But here I am, updating it…hope to do a little more of that over the coming months.

The biggest question I get is:  Did you ever complete an Ironman?

The answer is a little complicated.  The easy answer is yes…in November 2011, I finished all 140.6 miles of an Ironman Triathlon.  However, I injured my ankle coming out of the swim portion, and it slowed down the rest of my day.  I’m not sure how much you know about Ironman, but for it to count, and be official, it must be completed in less than 17 hours.  Unfortunately, it took me a little over 20 hours…making me an unofficial ironman finisher.

I am currently training to do the same race again this November.  Hopefully it will turn out a little better!  The good news is I don't turn 30 until May of 2014 so there is still time to make it official!

One thing I will say about training for triathlon and suffering from fibromyalgia is that I feel a million times better when I am training!  Training helps me to sleep better, which helps me to feel better!  Training also helps my joints and muscles to stay moving!  If I take more than a day or two off, my body starts to really lock up…and hurt a lot worse than it does when I train. 

I can honestly say from personal experience, I know how hard it is to make that first step and start training!  Your body hurts, and it tells you that lying in bed will feel better…but your body is playing tricks on your mind.  The opposite is true!  The less your body moves, the worse it will feel!  So as hard as it may be to get out of bed some mornings, make it happen!

I HIGHLY recommend triathlon training to anyone with fibromyalgia.  It is great because of all the cross-training.  I think with fibromyalgia, it is important that we mix things up.  Some days will naturally be better than others…by training for triathlon; you can substitute a swim day for a run day if you are in more pain than normal.  But again…get to the gym, and get your body moving!  Especially on the days you are hurting really bad!

I really hope to be better at updating this thing…and hope other people with fibromyalgia will stumble across this blog and be motivated to start moving…and maybe even motivated enough to pursue triathlon!