Exactly Where I'm Meant to Be

It’s funny.  I have a running/tri friend, who I have now known for over 7 years.  She cracks me up with her witty, sarcastic humor.  We are both training for this crazy 70.3 and one day our conversation turned to why we do triathlons.  I mean, WTH? Waking up at insane hours only to run or ride for hours on end? 

Why???

We joked, why couldn’t we be the women who play bunco?  Why not give up tri and join a book club?  You know, women sitting around someone’s living room or dining room?  Sipping wine and snacking on the new Tastefully Simple dip?  Gossiping and sharing stories about the kids?  Those types of activities seem far more sane than the early hours, the sore muscles, the sweat, the tears, the gels, the muscle cramps, GI issues.

But wait! I realized something...

I realized I’d miss out on riding 40 hilly miles with an awesome group of athletes, then commiserating afterwards about how slow we went up that final, shitty hill.  I’d miss the feel of speeding downhill at 30 mph with the wind in my face and the feeling of freedom that comes along with it.  I’d miss cracking up laughing as my friends and I step into a freaking cold lake, squealing like a bunch of school girls.  Or, cracking up laughing as we hit a nasty patch of Hydrilla in the lake and freak out mid-stroke.  I’d miss out on the gory details of someone’s GI issue during a 22-mile run…because trust me,  when you run with a group of women for 5 months, you cover pretty much every topic during those hours and miles.  I’d miss the sense of satisfaction that comes along with accomplishing a new goal – that longest run, the most miles ever on a bike, the calm open water swim.  I’d miss the confidence and the feeling of “Hey! If I can do that, I can do pretty much anything!” after running a marathon (I can only imagine how much more amazing it would feel after an Ironman or Ultra). I’d miss out on the nutrition discussions - what is better pre-race, a bagel and almond butter, steel cut oats or Pop-Tarts?   And I’d miss out on the fashion discussions centering around the best compression socks, instead of Jimmy-Choos.

And sure, I’d miss out on the lack of sleep, the sore muscles, the nagging aches, the Gu-induced tummy issues.

I’d miss out on feeling tough. Strong.

I don’t mean to be critical of women who are in book clubs or have bunco groups, I’ve actually wanted to attend the ones in my neighborhood.  I love any kind of girl time!  (Of course, a workout of some kind always gets in the way.)  But then I realized something else - I am exactly where I want to be. 

Challenging myself to be a little faster, to go a little farther, to be a little stronger. 

I love it.

Weekend Re-Cap

Saturday, July 30 – Open Water Swim
The hubby and I went to the triathlon clinic held by Onurmark on Saturday. The clinic would not only give us an opportunity to get some good tips about each aspect of the sport, but it would also give us an opportunity to swim the actual race course for the upcoming Bridgeland Triathlon.

The clinic was awesome. I think it gave the Hubby some great first-timer information and it was a good for me to hear all the things I’d heard before, but may have forgotten. Once we signed in, we headed over to the swim start and got some great open water swim tips from local swim guru, TJ Fry. The crowd was mostly first-timers and TJ did a great job of getting a laugh here and there during the clinic, which I think helped get some of the nervousness out. Finally, it was time to swim.

This is where we swam and will swim again at our tri on Sat. Doesn't look too bad, does it?

The the race coordinators asked people to line up and start in waves, which was excellent practice for the real deal. I could tell the hubby was nervous, but after watching the 1st few waves go, he lined up and made his way into the water. I definitely know how he was feeling…even now I get the OWS jitters. But this time I was actually feeling really calm about everything. I was just ready to swim. And for once, I had one of my best open water swims ever!

FINALLY!

I forgot to start my watch, so I have no idea of my time…it wasn’t really about that. In fact, my swim felt pretty slow. What was awesome is that I didn’t have any of my typical “freakout”. AT ALL. NONE! I just swam and kept going. And it was almost all freestyle! I did revert back to my side-stroke when I was trying to sight, but it was one stroke and then right back to freestyle. I did get kicked and bumped. A lot. But, I only worried about what I was doing, blocked out everyone else and just kept swimming! For those of you who remember this post, you know that this is a HUGE milestone for me.

While I don’t want to get too happy about this until I’ve done the same thing at a race, I actually feel like I’ve finally gotten over the hump. I can finally swim (not gasp and panic) in open water!
I wish I could say the same thing for the Hubby. What he experienced was a typical newbie thing. He struggled a bit – it sounds like he had a tough time with the breathing (which has always been my problem). Again, I know exactly how he was feeling, because until this swim I was always getting that ows “freakout” – you know, where you just can’t seem to catch your breath and everything you practice in the pool goes completely out the window! But he finished! I was so proud when I saw him coming to shore…he did it!

I was hoping to get in one more swim on the course, but I think the clinic started a little late and by the time we walked around to the start again, the course was closed. Bummer. The woman coordinating the swim did let a couple of us swim out to the 1st buoy and back, which was nice.

Next we headed over to the transition part of the clinic. Again, great information and great tips from On Your Mark. The hubby and I decided that the clinic as definitely worth the $20 we paid and the drive across town! I think we’re pretty much ready for next weekend’s race…well, as ready as we’re gonna be!

Sunday, July 31 – Long run, 11 miles
I actually considered running my long run on Saturday evening, just to get it over with. But, it was dang hot at 7:30 pm and I knew it would be at least 10 degrees cooler in the morning.

Yummy goodness in every box!

For the 1st time, I ate a Pop Tart before my run. Any excuse to eat a sugary sweet Pop Tart is fine with me - I love me some Pop Tarts, but don't eat them because, let's face it, they're crap. And maybe that Pop Tart helped, because I felt fantastic for a majority of my run. My original plan was to head back to “base” (i.e. my house) every 4 - 5 miles where I could re-fill my hand held bottle, grab a Gu or Endurolytes, etc. But, I had some Bee Stinger Chews with me and by mile 5, I still had some Gatorade left in my bottle so I kept going. I didn’t make it back to “base” until mile 7.5, which is when I re-filled, Gu-ed and took 2 more Endurolytes. At that time, my pace was an unimpressive 11:35. But, I swore I would just run what felt comfortable and not stress about those 11’s. At this point, I still felt great and even comptenplated running 12 instead of 11.

I headed back out for my final few miles. The run still felt great, but around mile 10, I just wanted to be done. (Did I really consider doing 12 earlier?) I made it back to my house and looked at my watch...I still had another .20 to do! Ugh, I hate it when that happens...I just wanted to go inside my house and shower! But, I kept going and finally my watch beeped - 11 miles done @ 11:27 pace. Whoot, I'm back in the double digits! And, I was right - the temps were cooler. Only 75 degrees, versus the normal 82.

After showering and having breakfast with the family (thanks to my sweet Hubby), the kiddos and I hung out while the Hubby went out for his 2 1/2 hour bike ride. What do you do when it's going to "feel like" 102 degrees and your kids are bored silly? You build and indoor tent, of course!

I have a feeling we well be getting out our old sheets again this summer. As much as I love to be outdoors and take the kids to the playground, it's just too fricking hot to be out there.

Do you use pop tarts before your long runs or something else? What do you do to beat the heat on your runs? With your kiddos?

Snoozing, Cows and Waffles

No, not snoozing cows eating waffles....I'll explain...

First off, I swam last night after work. Here's the deal - with all our activities, my schedule only allows me to swim on Tuesday and Thursday nights. But, the gym I belong to (it's the cheapest and closest) has "Aquafit" from 6 - 7 pm, which means that I can't swim until 7 pm. If I start swimming at 7 pm, I don't get home in time to hang out with the kiddos before bedtime. If I wait until after bedtime, I will be at the gym until almost 10 pm. Sucks either way, right? Last night, I worked a little late, which meant that by the time I could get to the gym it was 7 pm...I went and I swam. 2,350 to be exact. My longest swim to date (*I think*). And it felt good. But, it was BORING! Even with drills, it was just boring.

What does this have to do with snoozing? Well, swimming makes me tired. And, when my alarm clock went off at 4 am, I pushed the snooze button 3 times. 3 TIMES PEOPLE!!! That meant that my scheduled 5-miler had to become a 3.5-miler. Bummer.

But, it was a pretty good 3.5-miler. Why? Because I got to see the infamous neighborhood cows! They are known for leaving their care packages on the sidewalks, on the street and sometimes on your driveway. I have seen them once, but it was on a foggy morning and I almost thought it was some strange mirage or just my imagination. A neighbor who was also jogging that particular morning even mentioned them as our paths crossed, so I knew I had really seen them. But still.

But today, there was no fog and I was pretty darn close...three of them crossed the street in front of me. A car went by right after they passed and then two more crossed the street. They were huge. And cute. I don't know why I get so excited about these cows, but I do. :-)

And finally - the waffles. I know I said I had made the decision to do the HIM in April, but I am seriously waffling. Is that a word? Anyway, I want to do it. It is my all-time triathlon goal (because I have no desire whatsoever to do a full IM)....but then the reality hits:

1) It is expensive...I have already purchased bike shoes and a wetsuit, but there's still the new bike seat, aerobars, aerobottle, bike-fitting, hotel costs, yada yada, etc. We're planning to surprise the kids with a trip to Disney in April (and hopefully catch the shuttle launch). Disney is not cheap, especially when we want to do it right for the kid's 1st time. Then there's the Munchkin's birthday in May - parties are not cheap either. Then there's this trip to NYC in November for some little race ;-). The Hubby and I haven't had a trip together in awhile, so we're making that into a a mini-vacay. NYC is not cheap. Especially on a huge race weekend.

2) It is time-consuming...we're in our busier season at work, but that's about to end. Regardless, I feel as though I only have an hour to 1 1/2 hours with the kids in the evening as it is. Weekends is when we have our quality time. Sunday I was gone 1/2 the day riding my bike...and it only gets worse from here. On the other hand, it's less than two months before the race...after that, it's back to sprints. Sprints = less time training + more time with the family.

3) Training...I have been riding my bike since last tri season, but never more than about 25 miles. The 40-miler was rough, but I survived. And, I definitely have the run nailed down - I did the Houston 1/2 less than three weeks ago and I'm running the Austin 1/2 this weekend. Which is also a bad thing - you should have an easier workout week the week before each race and will probably need a bit of recovery time after...that cuts into critical training time. Also, I have neglected the swim and just started back on a regular basis last week. And - this is the big one - I have 7 weeks left to train.....AND I DON'T EVEN HAVE A TRAINING SCHEDULE YET. I just printed the one from beginnertriathlete.com....yesterday. If I am going to do this, I feel that I need to do it right. I need dedication to a schedule, I need a swim coach, I need UNLIMITED FUNDS. :-) Or maybe that's just my type A coming out.

So here I am. On the fence. Waffling. Debating. Pondering. Contemplating. Deciding.

Decisions, decisions...maybe I'll find an Oly to do instead. But then, the swim in the Oly is only 400m less than the swim in the HIM. Might as well do the HIM, right. See? This is what is going through my head non-stop.

Okay, now I want to eat waffles!

It's a Love/Hate thing...

with spin that is!

Last year during tri season, I didn't go to any spin classes at all. My bike times didn't improve, but fortunately, they didn't get any slower. This year I've decided that I need to add spin back into my training schedule, along with some time on the trainer. Lucky for me, my company has a gym on-site that is totally and completely free! Not only that, they offer all kinds of classes - Zumba, Karate, Pilates (mat), Body Sculpt and some others. Oh, and they offer SPIN! Not just that, they offer it 4x per week. The classes are usually pretty early, but today the class was a 12:15 pm - perfect to fit in between meetings!

I completely forgot how hard spin class could be. Going back for the 1st time in a year was tough. I miss going to my old classes at the Y, mainly because the instructor was so much fun and had music that rocked. The instructor today was good - she definitely made it challenging. When I spend an hour in a spin class, I want it to be a good workout. No, I want it to be a tough workout (i.e. hand me my ass on a platter, please). This class did the trick! The music was just okay - well, except for that Muse song. :-) I think I might try a couple of the other instructors too, just to see which ones I like best.

I also completely forgot how much I HATE spin class. But I love it too. I hate that I sweat like a pig. I hate that my legs feel like jello. But I love that I feel like I had a great workout. I love burning 400+ calories on my lunch break. Like I said, it's a love/hate thing.

Waiting to Exhale

I finally got brave enough to join the "Y" yesterday and use their indoor pool. Thankfully, fellow Trigirls Katie and Kelly met me there, so I wouldn't feel all weird and awkward my first time - yeah, I've never shared a lane with someone before, so that alone seemed strange to me. (Thanks gals!) I was excited all day about getting back in the pool, especially since I haven't been in the water since June. But on the drive to the Y, I was wondering what the hell I was thinking - me do a tri? A non-swimmer???

Fortunately, once I saw Kelly and hopped into the pool, I was feeling better. And thanks to Kelly's tips, I actually improved in the 45 minutes I was there!

Last summer, I realized that my whole problem stems from putting my face in the water and remembering to breathe. It's not that I'm afraid of putting my face in the water...I just forget to exhale! The whole experience is horrible:

I forget to breathe out, so when I try to take a breath I try to exhale and inhale in the split second that I "roll" for a breathe (which is not really rolling, but me putting my head up to gasp for air). This usually results in me getting air, but getting even more water. And that results in my stopping mid-lap to sputter, gasp, cough and generally look stupid next to the lane with the 6 year olds swimming effortlessly back and forth. Yep, I can get my 6-8 glasses of water a day during my swim...does chlorinated count?

So yesterday, I didn't worry about form or stroke or anything else....I just worried about exhaling. And you know what? By the end of my time in the pool, I was actually making it from one end of the pool to the other without stopping! And, I wasn't gasping for breath when I made it to the wall! Okay, so I was a little winded, but nothing like before. I actually feel like I may be able to do this tri-thing with some consistent practice and a few lessons, of course. For someone who can swim well, making it from one end of the pool to another seems like nothing...for me it's huge! :-) Now, if I can just make it back to the other side without having to rest for a minute, lol!

Workout Stats

Thursday, 1/22 - Swim, ~40 minutes

Wednesday, 1/21 - Bike, trainer, 30 minutes