Why the Sponges...?

Ok so, today I received my first ever request for a blog post and tho it was totally tongue in cheek and probably better suited for my Living Life on Octane blog that has yet to be created, I will honor the request and write it here.

So the request was, ' I want you to write a blog post on why you have sponges in your AO top!' ('LMAO!' Deleted) Ok so, if any of you have seen my Google+ picture, you will know what my reader is talking about. I will include it here for those of you that have not seen it.

This picture was taken at the top of Curry hill during Ironman Arizona 2012. For those of you that don't know what an Ironman is, it's a triathlon that covers 140.6 miles broken down into a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run. 

Ironman Arizona takes place in November every year here in Tempe. It's a glorious time of year and a beautiful course if you ask me. 

Anyways, back to the question.. Why do I have sponges in my AO top?.. Well some of you may be wondering, 'Why is he calling it an 'AO' top?Looks like she's wearing a sports top or bathing suit top if you ask me..'

Well, if that's what you are thinking you'd be right, it is a bathing suit top.. But the AO stands for Athlete Octane, and What is Athlete Octane?.. you might ask..  And I would say, Athlete Octane  is what got me through that 140.6 miles last year =] 

More specifically tho, Athlete Octane is a liquid endurance supplement that helps to reduce soreness, improve time to recovery and keep you going stronger, longer and harder than ever before. It's packed with antioxidants that help boost immunity and improve cellular functioning. I could go on and on about it but I won't. If you want to check it out for yourself visit the website at:

http://athleteoctane.com/

Or check out the Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/AthleteOctane

What I know about Athlete Octane personally is that it works.. It's just that simple. 

Now I still haven't gotten to the real question.. Why the sponges... Well, the simple answer for the sponges is that it's HOT in Arizona.. Even in November.. Yep.. Still hot and when the sponges are soaked in water they are cool.. And cool water is a soothing thing when you have just swam 2.4 miles and ridden your bike 112 and are now working on completing a marathon. 

But quite frankly, I have no idea why I left the sponges in my AO top that day... I kno I left them there on purpose.. I know I actually thought about taking them out.. To be totally honest tho, I don't really know what prompted me to leave them there.. A symbol of my sweat and tears? An added comfort to remind me of all my amazing friends that were out on the course to support me that day? A momento for all the miles that were finally behind me? I'm truly not sure..  it was probably more of a  superstitious  OCD tendency to not change what had already been established for fear of jinxing my race =]  Lame I kno.. But more than likely that was the case.

In any regard, with sponges in my top, and AO as my supplement.. I made it through another IRONMAN and am still around today to tell the tale. 

Thanks Athlete Octane for carrying me through and as for the sponges.. If you ever do an Ironman.. They are certainly the way to go.. Even if you don't know why you leave em attached to your top. =]

Thoughts and reflections on IMAZ2012

Another IM in the books! Wow what an experience. You know.. this year I set 99% of training myself, took care of most of my body strength and restoration needs with yoga and fueled exclusively with my nutrition (perform and clif shots mostly) and Athlete Octane. And today, after all is said and done, despite a little dehydration and some stiffness in my shoulder and feet I feel pretty damn good! M

uscles aren't really sore my body moves and as long as my feet are up to the challenge I will be out at the Turkey Day 5k =) You know, part of this training experience for me was about tackling the challenge of IM on my own. I feel that I did that in many ways but while I was out there yesterday I realized something truly priceless. Doing an IM alone is not only impossible it is a lonely journey. I did set my own training and go minimalistic on body care but that is about all I did on my own. While I was out there racing yesterday I realized how many people I know and how many friends I have in this community of ours. You will never know how much your friendship means to me. I didn't find my family despite a smile from my mom after the swim until the 3rd lap on the run. All the hugs from all of you on the run course kept me going even more so than my fuel yesterday. Each and every one of you... thank you for your time, friendship and commitment to the sport of triathlon. And even more, I have to give a great shout out to all those spectators and volunteers that I don't know. You are amazing. being out there all day in the same spot.. man.. they have endurance too =)