Hell Month - Week 2

Well, week 2 of hell month went well considering we were busier than usual with school and non-training related activities.  I did have to make some adjustments, so training-wise it wasn't too hell-ish.

First of all, I just finished the RRCA Coaching Certification course in February and passed the exam last month.  Yay me! But, this also means that I had to hurry up and take CPR and First Aid by April 21or else I don't become officially certified.  Naturally, I decided to take on this task during the peak of Ironman Texas training (HELL MONTH)!  That's me...taking on too much at once.  It's a sickness. :-)  So, last week I had to attend CPR training in the evening...this is an evening that I typically swim.  With my work schedule, there was no other time I could swim which means that I (gulp) skipped the swim.

I became very friendly with one of these!

And....my Munchkin had his 1st grade choir program on Thursday night.  I did get in both of my workouts that day (bike/run), but I cut the run workout a little short because I got such a late evening start.

My cutie patootie getting ready for his choir performance!

And...Friday we had to head to Dallas for the Kiddo's state Destination Imagination competition.  We needed to be packed and on the road a little before 11 am, so no Friday swim. :-(  But, with the weekend full of activities in Dallas, I had to squeeze in some sort of long-ish bike ride on Friday morning.  So, I went to the spin room as soon as the gym opened and "biked" for 3 1/2 hours.  Luckily, there was a spin class in the middle of that 3 1/2 hours, so it made the time pass more quickly.  But, it was nowhere close to the 6 hours on the schedule. Sigh.  Considering we on the go until almost 10 pm that night, it was the best I could do.

I had the place to myself for most of my ride!

Dallas-bound!

We had no idea the DI "Social" on Friday night would be all about pin trading! So fun!

We had a great time at the competition, but it did consume all of Saturday.  The kids were on the bus at 6 am and didn't get back to the hotel until 10 pm. The Kiddo's team didn't place, so the won't be moving on to the Global competition in Knoxville in May (it's the week after IMTX, I checked when we made it to state!).  While they were all disappointed, they had a great weekend, learned a lot and made some fun memories.  I hope they continue to compete in the future, since it's a great experience.

The DI awards ceremony...it was pretty packed!  Crazy!

Sunday, I was on the hotel dreadmill by 5 am to run 2 1/2 hours before having to shower, eat breakfast and head back home.  Not the 3 hours on the schedule, but again, it's what I could fit in.  I could have waited to run on Sunday evening, but we had stuff at home to do and I wanted to go to the girls night out hosted by my tri club.  Priorities.

My view for my Sunday long run...fun times!
 

The reason I had to run in the morning...so I could try out the NormaTec boots at our Girls Night Out!

So, my this week of Hell Month wasn't quite as intense - I missed two swims and shortened my long bike and long run.  I hope that in the grand scheme of things, these revisions don't make a difference on race day.  If anything, I hope that this will make the coming week better because I am a little more rested.  This is the life of an age grouper...sometimes other things in life take priority over the training schedule.  The kids are only small once, and I will admit that I've missed other things - weekly swim lessons with the Munchkin, violin lessons and gymnastics practice with the kiddo.  But, some events are bigger and can't be missed - there was no way I'd miss that choir concert or DI competition!

Oh and to close out the week on a great note, I won the big door prize at the Girl's Night Out - an outfit from Athleta!