Back from Vacation

Had a great time on vacation and now it is back to reality. UGH!!! I did workout 6 out of the seven days while away. Made my way to the YMCA two of the days to do a long swim. It felt good. The pool was outdoors which was a tad bit weird but I had two good workouts and I am glad I did it.

The other 4 days I ran between 4-6 miles. I guess you can say I am dedicated. Even when on vacation I am stressing about work outs. hahaha!!!

So we got back friday night and I was stressed since I had not been on the bike in a week. I knew the first workout would be tough and I was hoping coach would be easy on me. No such luck which is fine my legs needed it. I had a crazy ride today. Legs were jello after. It was a 2 hour workout with 3 30 minute constant rides in a medium to high gear at about 85-90 rotations per minute with the pedals. Ya by the third 30 minutes I was ready to throw in the towel. But I was texting during the 5 minute breaks with a friend of mine who is doing an ironman in August for moral support. She got me through it.

I am really lucky. I have a great support system for encouragement. I know a lot of people have no clue why I do this or what is the point or just have no interest in knowing about it because its not their thing. Its okay! I get that and I don't expect people to want to know about my training. It is quiet boring if you're not into it.

I have surrounded myself with people who are also doing ironman distance this summer or who have done it in the past for support and it is pretty cool because we feed off one another. It is a good motivator. Especially one of my friends. We go back and forth daily and hopefully we will support each other on longer rides and runs this spring/summer. It is very helpful to have these people around. It makes it that much more manageable knowing that there are others close by going through the same grueling training. :)

I have something in the works. Something that I am very excited about. Not only will I do this race for myself but I will also be helping out a family member. More to come on how you can support this cause in the next week or so. Looking forward to sharing the story.

Vacation and training..

On vacation down in sunny Florida! Time for some rest and relaxation. I guess one of the things I worry about is losing momentum while down here. Took yesterday as a rest day even though I didn't want to. We for to the condo at 4 am Saturday morning due to flight delays.

This morning, Sunday I woke up and went out for 6 miles. Holy crap I walked out of the condo this am and it was so hot. My body is so not used to this temperature I was pouring sweat by mile 2. I ran my favorite route even though it is an out and back but it has beautiful views and most of the time you can see dolphins. One of my favorite mammals. I so love them. They apparently don't want to see me because I saw zero today. Ugh! But was still beautiful and I saw a shark I think either that or a flounder. Hahaha!

I manages to get my foot caught in fishing line and almost killed myself but managed to stay upright. Hahaha!

Going to the Y tomorrow. Can't wait!
Til then:)

Its been a while

Where is the time going? Its been a while since my last blog. My body is working through some kinks but getting stronger each week. I went to the podiatrist a few weeks back. I have had this planters wart on the ball of my right foot. I have had it for years probably 8 and it started hurting. So off to the dermatologist I go. He decides to do laser treatment. Holy crap it hurt, still hurts. And I have to have three more treatments. What??? But training must go on so I am working through the pain in hopes it will get better.

I also went to my favorite store this week and found the cutest shorts. Like I need more shorts but I am training for a iron distance and I am finding out the laundry NEVER ENDS!!! So why not have more shorts. So I go in and I have two sizes to try on. So I ask the girl who works there which size fits best. She says to me to go with the more roomy pair. So as I am closing the door she says, "can I make a comment." I am thinking oh god here we go.. what are you going to wear the shorts for. and I say running and then they always ask if I am training for a 5k. It happens all the time, hence the name of my blog. But she totally didn't ask me that. She said to me "your quads and legs are so strong looking. you are so lucky." I think I turned 12 shades of red. I am so self conscious of my legs and how big my calves and thighs are. Then I though.. oh snap she was checking me out. Ya I still got it. hahaha!!!! Will write more soon... :)

I still have six months to go!

I am sitting here at work exhausted thinking I have 6 more months of training and I am so tired. This is one of the most exhausting thing I have ever taken on. Really it is right up there with sleepless children. Hahaha!

The good news is, I am completely committed and want this. I can overcome tired for the end result. This week I have moved over a lane in master swim class, at the crack of dawn Monday mornings. I have become faster since I started so I guess you call it graduating. I now swim with two guys who are absolutely killing me. The two guys are a bit faster than me in the water, so they push me to exhaustion. We circle swim one behind another so you can feel someone right on your toes, which means…you need to move faster through the water! It is such a great workout. I really enjoy my new swim buddies but miss my girls in the other lane. They were fun and encouraging.

Double work out days have been the toughest. Yesterday I swam for about an hour (1.5 miles) and ran 41 minutes at a pretty good pace. I had a friend who is much faster than me pushing me. Boy did she! It felt good but exhausting. I have to get used to being tired and how to function especially with my child who needs my attention in the evening for school work and other things. But I signed up for it and I am so committed it is ridiculous. So I have to look at the bright side of things, in 6 months I could have an iron distance under my belt. Then what? hahaha

My friend Cheryl has been a huge help. Motivational and helping me work through the head things. She is great and looking forward to training with her this summer, if it ever gets here. I have a lot of people who have been so great. My massage therapist has been there with his frequent check ins, telling me to get my ass moving when I’ve needed it and helping me out with my sore limbs. He really is the best. So many great people in my life that want me to succeed. I will succeed! The tired sleepy eyes will not get the best of me. 

Mental Game

Wow! what a week. So it was a recovery week for me this week. My volume of workouts was way down. Funny... volume is way down but how hard it was to get motivated. Good lord! It was so hard. This is where friends come into play. I had to text a few of them this week and say "Can you give me a push I have this workout I need to get done and I am not feeling it." Thanks to those people who gave me the push I needed.

It is hard. Many of my workouts I do solo. And for me that is seriously a hard thing to do. Riding of course will be solo most of the time during the winter with trainer rides but running is killer. Running alone has been so hard to wrap your head around it mentally. When it should be the easiest thing for me to do since it is the discipline I have done the longest. But it is the hardest to do alone.

This week proved to be mentally challenging. I have been preparing to co-race direct a big race my running club is involved in so I had to allocate a lot of time to that. Also, work has ramped up and has been so busy since my boss has left. Plus, I had a sick kid. Which made things even harder. But I hit every workout. You know why, because people ask me how training is going an people are interested in my training and I don't want to disappoint myself or others. So thanks to those who have cared enough to ask and made me a really own my training. Also, my eye is so on the prize. I have never been so motivated for something. It is almost like if I miss a workout I am disappointed in myself. It is scary. So many people have contributed to my success thus far and not all of them are triathletes or even athletes. They just care and are interested in my goal and that means a lot! You know who you all are and thank you. Every day you keep my eye on the prize. :)

Until the next time.