Words of an Ironman by Neal Ferguson

I was already doing triathalons and Becca had already done a marathon and was trying to get me to do a marathon. I told her I would only do a marathon if I did an Ironman. After Susan did her Ironman last year and my training partners all signing up, I felt a bit left out. I wanted to join the torture as well.

I spent roughly 7 months preparing for the race, but really started doing long trainings the last 2 1/2-3 months. These trainings consumed 5-8 hours each day on the weekends. For the most part, it was life as normal. I didn't really change any major eating habits, but I did stop consuming alcohol about 3 months out.

Race week started with a mandatory athlete registration on Thursday. Met up with some of my training partners to sign and also picked up my rented race wheels. Later that evening, I attended the open ceremonies and dinner banquet with my many of my training partners. The whole ceremony seemed to be very heavy on the "everyone" has a story and raising money for foundations. Which is true, we all have our own stories, but enough is enough. I was ready to get down to business and hear about the race. Race director finally came on and told us about a few changes to the course. Nothing major and actually a benefit to all the athletes. Then it was to the hotel. Got to the hotel to check in and what do you know, they didn't have any rooms available and they had overbooked my reservation. They were kind enough to transfer me to a sister property that was 10 minutes away from the house. So I politely told them to go screw themselves and cancelled my whole reservation. I was not paying to stay down the street from my house. So I drove home and called Patrick to help me find a hotel while I was driving home. Once I got home, I finally found a hotel in Conroe about 8-10 miles away from the course and booked it.

So Friday morning, I get up and have a good breakfast and then headed up to The Woodlands to turn in my bike and hang out at the expo. I parked and then got in line to turn my bike and transition bags. There was a line of about 125-150 athletes already in line but the line was moving fast. Once you get up to the entrance, the volunteers take photos of your bike for security purposes and then escort you to the rack where your bike will be stationed. It was very helpful. Once my bike was racked, I then went over to find the areas to drop off both my T1 and T2 transition bags. After those were dropped off, I ran into a couple of my teammates in line dropping off their equipment. Hung out with them and showed them where everything was and where to go. We walked through the entry and exits to get a better understanding of how race day would go. Starting to get a little anxious at this point. After hanging around transition for a while, we then went over to the expo. After checking out all the vendors and salesmen, I was finally convinced that I needed a pair of Rudy Project sunglasses. They are the Ferraris of sunglasses. Then it was time to get off of our feet and start resting our legs for the big race. We stopped at a restaurant around the corner to have an appetizer and some ice water. After hanging out and swapping stories, I needed to go check in to my hotel before it got too late since I was meeting my wonderful wife and her Nall for dinner. So got to the hotel in Conroe and like they always say, you get what you pay for. My $50 room was close and cold and a place to lay my head for the night. Got all my gear laid out in preparation for my morning. Once that was done, I started heading into town to meet Becca and her sister for dinner. We had a wonderful dinner. AFter dinner, I headed back to the hotel to get a good night's sleep. Watched some TV and was out by 9:00.

Got a good night's sleep and woke up before my alarm went off at 4:45. Grabbed all my gear to head down to transition and the start of the big day. Found a parking spot close to transition and made my way over. The wife and Nall were getting there about the same time. Got set up and checked around for any of my teammates. Saw Chris Vasquez and helped him get set up because he had trouble with his computer. Then walked through transition a few times pacing out and counting my bike rack for coming in after the swim. Then met up with the wife and the Nall and made our way to the swim start. Once at the start, dropped off my transition bags and ran into the rest of my teammates. Did our final prep and photos before it was time to get in the water. Made my way down to the swim start and got into the water. Instead of treading water for 5 minutes until the start, I made my way to the water's edge until the cannon went off. My plan was to start off at the far right side where I was sitting so it worked out great. Once the cannon went off, all hell broke loose. 2500 of my closest friends were all fighting for the same piece of real estate. I waited out and treaded lightly for the pack to thin out. I knew if I stayed to the right, I would be the safest from getting kicked from other competitors. This held true. The main issue I ran into on the swim was the sun. I was wearing clear goggles so as I breathed to the left, I couldn't see where I was at because of the sun. I had to judge everything from the right side. Once I made it to the turnaround, I looked at my watch and saw it was 30 minutes into the race and knew I had a great pace. I tried to keep that pace on the way back and hugged the shoreline to stay away from the other competitors. Just before we made the final turn into the canal, some of the wetsuit competitors were catching up and bumping into us. Once into the canal, I looked at my watch and saw I was an hour in and 2/3 of the way so I know I was holding my pace well. Felt really strong and only had a few 100 meters to go. Also in the canal, you could start hearing the crowd cheering you on which was really great to hear. Once out of the water, I saw the time was an hour and a half. I knew I had a great swim and felt confident I could finish the race as long as there weren't any medical issues. Made my way to transition, grabbed my gear, threw it on and was out on the bike course rather quickly. Once on the bike course, I picked up speed quickly. I had to continue to tell myself to conserve energy for the ride back as that would be a lot tougher. As the miles went by, the weather was great and the ride was smooth. Had the wind at my back, shade, and felt rather flat. As I was riding, I had to maintain my planned nutrition and hydration of taking in Clif bars and Gu every 30 minutes. Once to the halfway point, it was starting to heat up. The sun was getting overhead and you could definetely feel it. At that point, the aid stations that were set at about 10-12 miles apart seemed very long in between. Once I reached an aid station, the first thing I would do is take a water bottle and drench myself to cool off. The volunteers were absolutely amazing. Some aid stations even had themes like the one that stated there half naked cheerleaders ahead. I didn't know whether to speed up or turn around. Made it to the aid station and they turned out to be old women wearing the big t-shirts with the printed bikinis. When I got back into the Woodlands, it seemed like the neighborhoods would never end. I just wanted to get off that bike. Finally making it into transition and dropping my bike off with one of the volunteers, I saw my family waiting for me and cheering for me. This was great. I jogged over to grab my transition and made my way to transition. I took my time to visit with the family and pose for some pictures as I changed into my running gear, but I wasn't paying close attention to how I was getting ready as I proceed to put Ben-Gay in area that I shouldn't have. It started to burn immediately so I made my way into the Port-o-can to clean up the mess I had made. After that, gave the wife a kiss, and made my way out on the run. Immediately out on the run was a first aid station. I grabbed a cup of ice water and down the shirt it went. I figured one way to numb the burning balls was a cup of ice water. I started out pretty strong on the run, definetely too fast and once I made it to the 5K mark, I realized I needed to slow down. My goal was to maintain a heart rate of 120 and 160 and walking the aid stations. The key thing was to do what I could, take in the scenery, and really enjoy my surroundings. The first 6 miles of the 8 mile loop were scattered with spectators and volunteers with an aid station every mile. The volunteers really helped you out and cheered you on. The last 2 miles of the loop were through the canals where the majority of the spectators and finish line were so that really pumped you up. After my first loop coming in to that area, I saw the family sitting up on the hill cheering me on and pushed me to keep going. It really didn't seem like I had ran 8 miles. Lap 2 I definetely slowed it down and started seeing my teammates out on the course. Cheering me on as I cheered them on. Cheering on the other competitors as they helped me when I needed it. Once I made it back into the canals for the 2nd time, the family was gone but I ran a friend that said the wife's hunger overtook the spectatorship of cheering me on. I was pretty hungry too. I knew I only had 8 more miles to go. The last lap I knew I just needed to stay consistent and maintain what I had been doing because I was ahead of schedule by a good 30 minutes or more. I started hearing some of the stories of folks having issues and started helping them push through them. Once I made it to the final 2 miles, I knew was home free and just had to push it right through. As I started running through the canals, everybody started cheering and calling my name. Becca jumped out in front of me to get some photos and is hollering something but I couldn't make it out. I know the finish line is just around the corner. I get in a big pack and slow down so I can try to finish by myself. There it is. I can see the finish line. The crowd is screaming and everyone is giving me high fives. Then I hear those famous words. "Neal Ferguson, You are an Ironman!" Once I crossed the finish line, a volunteer called a catcher caught me, escorted me over for a finish line photo. He gave me my finisher's hat and shirt, made sure there weren't any medical issues and let me go on my way. Becca and family were there at the finish line to greet me. I got big hugs and kisses from them all but the next thing I needed was a recovery drink. A chocolate milk. I knew I needed to eat so I scarfed down a Freebird's. I checked the official times and realized I beat my goal time of 14 hours by 40 minutes, finishing in 13:20.

21 Weeks and My "Nevers"

Almost a week late, but here's the 21 week update. Baby Girl is the size of a pomegranete and is kicking up a storm. I've been feeling the taps and rolls for a couple of weeks, but she karate chopped my insides this week. Neal hasn't been able to catch her doing it yet, but I hope he can feel it soon.

Still feeling good. Still walking in the evenings and doing water aerobics some nights. Still no stretch marks. I'm pretty sure I experienced a few Braxton Hicks contractions this week. I haven't ever felt anything like that so I'm assuming that's what it was.

Baby Girl already has quite a wardrobe. Karen brought her some cute bows too. We bought a car seat and stroller this week. It was too bad trying to put it together. I'm ready to get that room painted so we can see what the furniture will look like in the room.

Today at my speech meeting, I learned that there will be 4 of us SLPs out on maternity leave in the fall. Be careful drinking the water around here. There's a baby boom going on!

So I've been reading a ton of books about how to get ready for a baby and things I want to do once Baby Girl gets here. I've also thought about my "nevers." Things I swear I will never do. Might be the famous last words of a fool, but here they go.
*I will never put a leash on my child.
*I will never have my baby out in public with a diaper showing.
*I will never put the stick figure family stickers on the back of my car.
*I will never eat dinner in front of the TV with my child.
Time will tell if I change my mind about these!

Mother's Day

I guess today is my first Mother's Day. I consider myself a mom already to our Baby Girl, but I didn't really need a fuss made over the day. It's been nice to get a few sweet cards in the mail and a few nice text messages. Neal made me this card. I'm a sucker for handmade things, so naturally I love it! It's really better than any card he could have bought in the store.

So the infamous energy that arrives in the 2nd trimester I've been reading about (hoping and dreaming about too)has taken up residency in the Ferguson house. I feel so good and hope this lasts a while. I walked Mack this morning in perfect weather. It's so nice out right now but I know that the 100plus degree weather is not far away. I also think I've officially entered the nesting mode. Yesterday, I put the glider and ottoman together. It was really easy as most of it came already assembled.

I even drug Neal to Hobby Lobby (his favorite place in the whole wide world) to pick out fabric for the crib bedding my Mom is making.

We're going for an aqua & pink room. I don't really care for themes so we're just picking a color palette and going from there. I painted a few wall color samples on the wall this afternoon.


P.S. I think we have a name. Originally, we were going to keep it hush-hush until Baby Girl arrives, but I think we actually might share it now that we're pretty sure it's the one. Wait and see!

Half Baked (AKA 20 Weeks)

Here we are. Baby girl is 20 weeks and officially half baked. She's the length of a banana and weighs about 12 ounces. This gets more real everyday and I'm in awe that we really have a baby girl on the way.

Everything has been going well this week. I'm feeling her move around in there all day long. Luckily, the little lady sleeps at night like a good girl which makes me sleep like a baby too. Hopefully soon, we'll be able to feel her movements from the outside so Neal can experience that.

This morning I took a Hydro-robic class at the gym. Basically water aerobics but this class incorporated a lot of strength moves too. I had so much fun with the 3 other older ladies that were in the class. I'm going to try to make it to the class a few times a week.

Random fun fact: My belly is growing a layer of hair. It's still pretty light but I can see it and it's a little weird. My belly button is also making its way out too.

I'm starting to get bit by the nesting bug. I think we've figured out the baby room colors and found the fabric for the crib skirt which is the inspiration for the room. As much as I love the primary colors of Eric Carle, I've decided to go girly. Who knows, this might be the only girl I get!

The Little Lady

It's a girl! We finally know who it is inside of there. Although I have had some days when I thought boy, I thought girl right when we found out we were pregnant. The little lady has her Daddy's dance moves and was doing somersaults on the screen. She started out laying on her back and then went to town. All with a foot over her lady parts. The tech was having a hard time getting a good shot of between the legs. She would measure an important part and then go back to try to get it. Nope, little lady wouldn't move that foot. Finally at the end, she had me roll over on my side and then Bam, she showed us the goods.

My OB office doesn't have the best ultrasound machine so the pictures aren't that great. She also gave us a DVD in which the body parts are clearer than on the stills. And you can see that little beating heart.

Her profile.


A foot. All toes accounted for.


The money shot. No outdoor plumbing there.


After I got home, I was talking to my mom (who I've only talked to about 500 times today) and she told me to go into the spare bedroom. When she was here last weekend, she played the sneaky card and hid a package for me to open today if it was a girl. I was surprised to find several of my baby dresses with little notes on them about who they were from.

From Maw-Maw Heiner


From Paw-Paw Russ & Saundra


From Aunt June


I didn't even really know that Mom had kept these but I guess why wouldn't she. They're in tip-top condition. Can't wait to put Baby Girl in the dresses that I wore when I was a baby.

Holy cow, we're having a Baby Girl!

Will It Be a He or a She?

OMG! I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve! Tomorrow is the Anatomy Scan and hopefully Baby shows us the goods. For my final guess, I'm going with Girl which means it's probably Boy. At the end of the day, I would be thrilled with either. A 4th grade boy at school today told me that he really hopes it's a boy because "girls are crazy!" As thankful as I am to have the summer off, I'm going to miss these little guys and their commentaries on the Baby. They're going to be shocked when I return in August with a huge belly. One little girl sees me every morning and says "Good Morning Mrs. Ferguson" and then rubs my belly and says "Good Morning Baby." Too cute!

Mango

We're at 19 weeks and Baby is the size of a Mango.



-This week is the big appointment where we can hopefully find out if it's a he or a she. I'm back to having girl hunches like I did from the beginning. We shall see on Thursday. Whoever it is, the little bit has already inherited Neal's dance moves. It's like little dance party going on in there. I love feeling the consistent movements. I can't feel anything from the outside yet, just the pokes from the inside.

Let's see. We ordered a dresser and a glider this week so I think we're good on the baby furniture. Now to decide what color to paint the room. I'm 99.9% sure it's going to be an ABC/reading room with the brightly colored Eric Carle pictures. Something that would be fine for a girl or a boy and could be used with Kid #2 if the sexes happen to be different. I also found a car seat base at Target for 50% off. The carseat we're getting comes with one base, but it will be nice to have an extra in Neal's truck.

I'm sleeping a lot better this week. Well, I haven't been in pain like before but the dreams are still there. Luckily, I'm finally having normal baby dreams and a few funny ones. Hopefully the scary ones are a thing of the past.

My feet are defintely swelling and I had to buy bigger bras this past weekend. I also bought a bathing suit to take on our trip this summer. I'm dying to buy baby clothes. Soon!

Mom brought Neal a bag full of presents, but who are we kidding? It's not about us anymore and the bag was actually for Lil Bit. Fun all the same!