Training Week #2 Complete... First 'Oh Sh!t' Panic of Training... Complete!

Week #2 of training went as smooth as week number one... adaption phase is moving along lovely. My two swims actually felt great this week. This was a good thing since the previous couple of times in the water I felt 'yucky'. I am not sure if that is an official triathlon training term-yucky- but it definitely describes my time in the pool accurately! However, both 2300m swims this week left me feeling strong and sans the yucky feeling. Yippie! Runs have been longer than the plan currently calls for but that is in preparation of the 13.1miles waiting for me at Virginia Beach. I debated about taking the bike off the trainer for my 90minute ride today, but lazy won out on that decision. AND... what better to ride my bike to than the USA-Canada gold medal hockey game... grrrr! In addition to having a pretty good week of training, I can officially report having my first few moments of panic. It wasn't as horrible as it maybe sounds. While slowly drifting off to sleep last night I started to think about Beach to Battleship in 37 weeks (who's counting)... going through the swim, bike and run in my head. Thinking about possible times for each segment, calculating potential finishing times, imagining myself crossing the finish line, wondering how many days straight I will wear my finishers medal and debating where exactly to get my 140.6 tattoo... when WHAM... the reality of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 and running 26.2 hit me. I have a TON of work to do before now and race day (thank god for those 37 weeks!) I definitely believe that all of those random 'thoughts' are going to be necessary to get through the long training days ahead... but I am also guessing the WHAM of panic is equally necessary. Otherwise I may be tempted to get so caught up in my dream of completing an ironman... that turning dream into reality may not be possible.

One Down... 38 more to go!

My first 'official' week of training for my ironman is finished... yippie!! Slow and steady is what I like to think. I am actually excited to follow a plan-- something I haven't really done since Eagleman last year and even with that I was definitely 'creative' with some of my workouts. However (at least for now), I am following this plan to the letter of law. I have my Team Z meeting the first weekend in March... so maybe I will change plans or combine my plan with the team workouts. We shall see! The idea of having workout/training buddies would be lovely! Especially during some of my super crack-head long workouts-- I admit to sneaking a peak at some of my longer workouts that will be happening weeks from now. (insert yippie here!) =) I was excited to see that my planned races of Eagleman, Patriots and the Army Ten Miler fit perfectly in the training plan-- destiny! 7 more weeks in my adaption phase... I wonder if they mean I am adapting to the idea that clearly I must have done HEAVY drugs to jump on the ironman train... ALL ABOARD!!!

Something 'magical' about the outside.

Mother nature clearly has an awesome sense of humor. I'm thinking our weather since the first blizzard in December has been a subtle attempt at pushing the idea of an 'off-season'. And believe me... I would have loved it except for those 39.3 miles that waited for me in Orlando... and this whole 140.6 race in the fall.

While it wasn't my favorite, I can honestly say that having to do my longest Goofy training weekend (10miles on Saturday followed by 20miles on Sunday) all on a treadmill because of the 23+inches of snow that fell that weekend wasn't as miserable as I thought. Ideal no... but thanks to television-tolerable. However, the four recent storms (especially the two recent 'BIG' storms) have forced a return to the treadmill as triathlon training slowly gets underway and preparation for VA Beach Shamrock 13.1 continues... and it SUCKS! For some reason I have lost my ability to run. (MUCHO props to a certain J.O. who is also training for VA Beach... first 13.1... and has taken our forced treadmill running like a champ... ROCK OUT!) While I understand the 'differences' between running on a treadmill and outside... my new inability to run has nothing to do with these mechanics. My body is just on strike. If it can annoy, distract, bother, hurt, etc while I am running on the treadmill... it does! My newest annoyance... the treadmills at the gym in my apartment building. They seem like they are perfectly good treadmills... even have individual TVs attached... BUT THEY AREN'T! I spent four miles running on them yesterday 'convincing' myself that I need to join a 'real' gym because the treadmills would be better and I wouldn't feel so crappy. They may look the same, but the treadmills at Bally's across the street... better!

To make matters worse, it appears as though my bike trainer and the stationary bike in the gym downstairs also want to get in on the action. What could be better you say than jumping on your trainer for a great workout (thanks DC Tri Club for some good bike trainer workouts) while watching TV in your own living room? How about... just about anything!! =) Suddenly the bike seat which has been good for hours of previous biking... just doesn't feel comfortable enough. Getting down in aero position doesn't feel right (ok... to be honest, this is more mental than anything... still feel uncertain since the great crash of '09). I can't seem to adjust the resistance perfectly. TV volume is too high/low. Wait... can't reach my cell phone. And on and on and on... The stationary bike in the gym downstairs hasn't joined the revolt 100%. It still is comfy and I can watch quality TV such as Charmed and Ghost Whisperer (no comment!), but I kinda feel like I am cheating and that working out on it doesn't really count-even when I jack up the resistance and feel the burn! (haha)

The good news is that neither winter nor the icy, snow covering won't last forever. Trails and sidewalks will become clear for running again... salt and sand will be washed away to make way for biking. Clearly there is something magical about running and biking outside and my body wants that magic back. (Sadly the magic isn't powerful enough to make me faster at either biking or running, but I suppose that is asking too much!) But until that happens, the indoor training monsters must be dealt with... at least until their close relatives...the nasty, humid hot weather monsters of the summer take over. =)

That dirty four letter word...

What four letter word could possibly make this potty mouth shudder and cringe-- FEAR! It's been hanging around lately. Not necessarily the fear that horror movies or strange phobias generate... but the kind that comes from being pushed outside of where one is comfortable. Comfortable with all sorts of things and aspects of life. Ahhh... success!!! Who doesn't like to feel successful? Pushing yourself outside that comfort zone to the next level and beyond what you may possibly be able to do might mean (gasp!) failure! I hate failing. But do I hate it more than the status quo? It's amazing how much power such a tiny word holds. I really don't get it. I definitely don't remember the feeling of 'fear' hanging around when I was training for my first triathlon. Maybe ignorance really is bliss! Could not really having a clue as to what I was asking my body to do both during training and on race day prevent fear from gaining strength? I will cross the finish line at Beach2Battleship. I will be an ironman. I will reach my goals. But I don't think I want FEAR to vanish completely. It definitely helps keep me on my toes and makes me honest with my workouts and in life. (Hmmmm... now if I could only channel this into the other aspects of my life... dare to dream!)

It's Been a Minute...

So clearly I am still getting used to the idea of writing a blog... since I haven't posted in about a month. BUT... I have slowly begun gearing up for the next 37 weeks of Ironman training... which is slated to 'officially' begin on March 1st. Today was actually my first brick workout... a nice hour ride on the bike trainer followed by a 5K run. I am hoping that the rest of the these workouts feel as good. Training during ths stretch of 'winter' weather hasn't been easy either... I am starting to hate the treadmill. I blame all of my treadmill runs getting ready for Goofy. OWELL! Spring and nasty hot DC summer is just around the corner. And that means having to workout at the crack of dawn because once the sun comes it... it is too hot and nasty to do anything. =)

Basking in Race Bling and Swimming to the Beat of Many Drums

So a week after running Goofy's Race & Half Challenge... I am still not tired of looking at my race bling or race photos (FINALLY... some good pictures taken during the race!). Shin pain has also lessened and running during my indoor soccer game on Friday actually felt good. Hmmm... I wonder if this means I should actually lace up my running shoes during the week and jog. I have 9 weeks until the Shamrock Half-Marathon in VA Beach. Yippie! While my running shoes continued to collect dust, I did brush off my swim goggles and hit the pool twice this weekend. Considering I have not actually swam since B2B in November, I felt great this weekend. 2200m on Saturday and 1800m on Sunday... both were made easier by rockin' out to tunes using my Christmas present-h20 interval for my ipod shuffle. I know that swimming purests... like their allies in the running world...probably find swimming with an ipod just plain wrong... but it was sooo nice to muffle the sounds of fellow swimmers and the kiddie pool.

Here's hoping week2 post Goofy will go well... yoga, biking, swimming and dissertation work.

Hmmmm...

Not so sure about this blog thing... but it seems like something I should do this year... not only because all the cool kids are, but how else will I track the craziness of my Ironman training? I'm sure it will be great to look back and read how 'awesome' each workout went and how 'amazing' and 'prepared' I am going to feel. =) Since starting competing (or should I say completing) triathlons almost three years ago, I have always said that making a race or goal public helps me stay focused... I am thinking this is about as public as one gets. I am not sure what scares me more... training to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 and run 26.2 or actually 'writing' about it in a blog. I have NEVER been very good at keeping a journal... even as a kid. This should be interesting.