the little diesel who could

I post these b/c they MUST be posted. This is some of the dialog that goes on 'behind the scenes', for those of you following along. These are emails shared today after learning more details about the 112 mile cycling course in Madison. After reading this you will see why I HAD to train for this race with these women. They are amazing. Enjoy!

This Morning: approximately 8:29 a.m.
Hey Tri Women!
I just swam the distance again and I feel great....the time was 1:41...certainly not as fast as you water cheetahs but well w/in the cut off time. Then I got home to read the power point Meg sent....SO GREAT! That was very useful. Useful in the sense that now I am scared out of my granny panties. Jesus mother. How is an amateur cyclist like myself going to get through things as challenging as what is described?? What have I gotten myself into. To date this is the most fear I have felt about this race. OMG. Gulp.

Advice welcome!
hugs all around!
JJ

Response: This afternoon 1:46 p.m.

Dear Scaredy Granny Pants-

Once upon a time there was a girl we shall call.....Jackie. Jackie was a couch potato with visions of not just sugar plum dancing in her head but also an athletic, finely tuned body that had long since gone the way of too many cookies. Anyway, Jackie said to herself...."self, I think I shall do this ride they call RAGBRAI (in lay terms the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa)." Now, many a rider had taken on this feat....usually with some training. Jackie said, "nyah training is too hard, too sweaty. I shall be able to do this ride because I love Iowa and pork chops." So, Jackie and her two friends the Bad Idea Bears.....went off to Iowa....where they met with a week of heat, humidity, and hills (H3). Sometimes they had to ride up to 80 miles a day....and contrary to popular belief....Iowa ain't flat!

Well, many might have thought Jackie would perish under the stress of the H3's....but no, she just rode steadily and each day she finished, just to drink beer and wake up and do another ride. She got to dip her tire in the Great Mississippi River and call herself a RAGBRAI finisher (two times even).

The moral of this story is: You can fucking do this. You have done the training. You conquered the clay in our yard to create pathways. You are teacher of the year. You are a woman who left her husband, came out, lost her friends, seduced the hottie Trina, and started a new life. You are fucking Wonder Woman. You do not have to be a "professional" cyclist to do this ride. It is fine.....some rollers, some hills...it will be hard, but you can and will do this. We know this because Jackie did RAGBRAI (twice) and if she can do RAGBRAI twice.....Wonder Woman can do Madison once.

1:40 is a great time! Nice job.

love you much. i really am not minizing your concerns.....because I myself have felt scared this week.....but, Meg and I have done enough riding to know that what matters is the continuation of forward motion. You can do this....continue moving forward.

And, when in doubt remember our good friend Jackie....the couch potato who could.

See....they're amazing. And now I'm not scared. CURED! BRING ON THE IRONMAN! WHOOO HOOO. I am the little diesel who could....or I am the wonder woman who could...that's even better. Double WHOOOO HOOOOO.

Fears, Sags, & Getting Back in the Game

PART I: In Which Fear is Discussed Nearly to Death

So, I received a mile by mile description of bike course & sent it to the madtrigirls aka Team McBrelfson. You can see it here: http://www.brittracing.com/ironmanbike.htm. I think it has us all a bit nervous. Jen sent us a great motivational story in an email to the tune of the 'little engine that could.' So, here is my 2 cents.

Fear is good! You are supposed to be afraid right now. Terrified even. Poor Jen had to "talk me down" so many times during this phase last time....my fear of not being able to do it, my fear of being slow, my fear of missing a cut off time, of getting a flat, of looking fat in my race clothes, of being in horrible pain & uncomfortable, of letting other people down....my fear about my fears, thus learning about meta-fear. Goodie!

This time around I guess, I don't feel too scared. More numb. More like, jeezus....I don't feel like riding hills all day. I wanna nap. But, that lack of true fear is only because I've passed through it before and saw it from the other side. And see that getting through the fear is just one of the biggest parts of the training. Alas, as with most icky things, the part no one talks about, how down to your core terrifying it is.

We can all do this. It might not feel good. In fact many parts of it won't. Parts of it will make us want to throw away our bikes (with the heartfelt sentiment & foot stomp of "I'll just get another one if I ever do want to ride again!") and lay down in a ditch and cry. Well, hide and cry. Other parts will make us elated to be DOING IT...out there, in our fabulous strong bodies. Doing things very few people dream of doing and even fewer attempt. Think about it! To do this is a gift. To see yourself going through the process and being committed, determined, fit, strong, sassy, sweaty, afraid, organized.... well, we stretch and grow. Well, I don't actually stretch. I am opposed to it for some reason & only do it after spinning when the instructor is watching. And while I am not shrinking in size, I can only hope I am not actually growing. But I digress...we are stretching and growing and filling out more of who we are every day.

Fear of the Ironman is like a fear of bears.....good to have a good healthy respect and fear of the race. Then, show up and move through it. I think it has been somewhat scientifically shown that you will most likely encounter the fear approximately 140.6 times that day. And each time you will rise above it. You might even laugh at it!

Race day is all about a commitment to stay inside your self, inside your body, and keep it moving forward. Moving forward is always progress. It may feel slow & painful, but it is all part of getting it done. And Team McBrelfson knows a thing of two about getting it done!

PART II: The Multiplicity of Sags

Sags. I'm training and training. And I haven't really lost weight. People, how the eff is this possible?!? My Lucy enhanced sags are going no where. I say 'enhanced' as I know full well they were there before. Now they are even more Dr Seuss like than before. Sags suck.

Sagging. We signed up for the Seattle Century that took place last sunday. In hindsight, this was not such a great plan as we got back in town late the night before after being gone for 10 days. And then had to get up crazy early and go ride. 100 miles. Once there however, even the pie wasn't enough to keep me in the game. First, I was told it was flat. And it was not. Argh. And the map they gave us of course elevation further indicating flatness was completely wrong. And for a girl that didn't feel like riding at all and really wanted to be back home...that was all it took. We hopped in the sag wagon and went home after 50 miles. Mind you, it was a good 50 miles. We climbed about 2,000ft and our ride time was 3 hr 20 minutes. Say what you will, but there is a time and a place for sagging. And I'm getting good at picking them out!

PART III: Where Meggie Trains Again

I've been a slackin'. Or life has been too crazy. Or both are true. Training has been rough the past few weeks. First off, we chose to do the STP. So naturally this caused some reorganization of our training schedule to allow for some pre/post recovery and therefore missed workouts. In the week leading up to and the week after, our babylady starting pushing her teeth through and was not sleeping. Which means MamaMeg was not sleeping. Beyond Tired MamaMeg doesn't do well training. Because at that point, I just don't care. Next, we were packing and prepping to go to N.Carolina for jen's family reunion. Um, it is effing hot in N.Carolina. And humid. While we were there we did do a 7 mile run and an 18 mile run. Both made us feel like we were going to literally melt, vomit, kill someone, pass out...but given it was about 96 degrees and humid I'm giving us a pass on that and a big fat bravo for even attempting it. Besides, despite how we felt, we did fairly well. We had planned to swim laps...in a pool that we later found out had no lap swim time. And, much like my healthy fear of bears (and ironman races, see above), I also have a healthy fear of sharks that doesn't allow me to actually swim in the ocean. We did bike. Biked ala Pee Wee Herman. On our beach cruisers. But hey, 20 miles on a beach cruiser isn't exactly a cake walk.



So, we are back. And I feel like I am back in the game again!!! Woohooo! I swam 1.5 hours yesterday and realized I had forgotten how to swim. I no longer knew how to rotate, hold my head in position, breathe or kick. Luckily, I didn't drown with all that forgetting and I know that this happens after swim breaks and didn't mind too much and was able to come back today to rock a 45 min swim. I did exactly 1.5 miles (48 laps) in 45 minutes. This is because I remembered to do the other thing I always forget about...pull. One generally swims faster if they remember to actually pull in the water!

I'm feeling good--I'm back to spinning. I missed my run because of the babylady, but will make it up tomorrow. I've listened to my body and for that I am proud. Sometimes you need a break. Sometimes you just gotta let it go if life gets in the way. And sometimes you need to give yourself a stern lecture to get back off your butt and back in the game.

So, lecture to self done and I'm back! Fiercer and more bad ass than before!

42 days and counting...oh dear lord

I have earned myself a new name. I am the diesel. I am not fast. I am not slick. I am not competitive or even athletic. I am, however, determined, steadfast and diligent. When the going gets tough and the tough get goin'...I put my head down and push through, slowly, and without reservation. I am the diesel.

Today we rode our longest ride yet,80 miles and it was terrific. We rode the country roads nearly to Corvallis, Oregon (my second home, sigh), and they were FLAT. This was the first flat long ride we have taken in our training so far and it was fabulous. It was good to ride hard and long with my head in the game. I learned how to be steady psychologically (b/c as many of you know I am often unsteady psychologically) and resist the effects of monotony. It was great.

I am keenly aware that this training process is simultaneously reaching the apex and the end. The race is in 42 days and I can acutely remember the sting of starting this journey and counting the months left of training. I am excited and I am nervous. I am joyous and I am scared. I relish the thoughts of accomplishing this goal. I revel in the fantasy of staying up late and sleeping past 6 a.m. But I have also become so accustomed to regularity and dependability of this pace. My love for predictability and routine has been so thoroughly rienforced by this process....I can hardly remember what it was like before training. Did I have friends? Did I eat out? Did I see movies? I feel like Jennifer-Who...a femmy queer girl who has lost all memory of her life prior to Ironman (a syndrome commonly known as Iron-mysia). I will have to meet and learn to know myself all over again.

Thankfully I have 42 days. 42 days of training, scheduled and focused eating, planned sleeping, hydration, discussion, event planning, travel planning, bike planning....I have 42 days of planning ahead. And thank god....b/c apparently I am just not ready to let go. Who knew, at the start of all of this, that I would come to be thankful for the workouts, the sweat, the many, many showers a day (I'm a femme and it takes showers and product to make me me) and the routine of 20 hours of weekly training. I can't wait until tomorrow....thank god, it's a rest day.

For those of you following these posts (god bless you...especially after my last post), thank you for your support. Without you I would be a lonely blogger. Without you I would have no one to whine to...no one to celebrate with. You have all inspired me in some way or another and in long rides and runs like those I've had this weekend, I think of you. I think of the funny things you have said, the not so funny things I have said, the crazy things we have done (Jen....the night of G and T's and YouTubing inappropriate stuff) and the strength that each of you have shared with me. I look forward to sharing more (hopefully not nearly as much as I did in my post last week....I think I was dehydrated and lost all sense of SOCIAL GRACE!) and learning more from you all. THANK YOU. I promise to swim, ride and run in your honor (it's easier this way....you don't have to train...unless your name is Jen, Meg or Trina...in which case what are you doing still reading?? Shouldn't you be running or riding or swimming or eating or showering????).

Big Hugs!
PS: All this training makes me so 'i love you man'.
PPS: ONLY 42 DAYS!!! DID YOU READ THAT???OMG, I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

The best laid plans and good intentions

One of the most profound lessons that I am learning in the training process is to trust. Trust my intuition. Trust the training. Trust my gut. When something seems off (off like the smell of bad milk)....it probably is. When something feels wrong deep in my soul (wrong like showing up to ironman without having trained) ...it probably is. And yet, despite my gut, despite the intuition that we were NOT to venture deep into our training over the weekend, we persisted and ended up once in a taxi and once deeply indebted to a friend with a truck. Thank the gods that we have a friend with a truck (three cheers for Lois!). But let me begin at the beginning....where all long rides and runs in the dog days of summer start....the wee hours of the morning.

Saturday morning I woke with a deep sense of dread for our (seemingly short) 70 mile ride. We dressed, ate, and then I climbed back into bed whining in my best 4-year old voice all the reasons I couldn't ride. Alas, we mounted Pepper and Tula (sounds like 'toola') for our ride. A mere five miles in Trina realized that her brakes were wonky (for your non-cyclists this is the very technical term for f-ed up). So we called our 'experts' (Jen and Meg!!!) who suggested that we have the mechanic look it over before trecking out onto a long hilly ride. As the cool morning hours were ticking away we realized that we needed to kick it into high gear (another very specialized cycling term) if we were going to get a long workout in. We decided that our bad luck with cycling should not be pushed any further and we took off on an 18 mile run.

Fluids, gu, and iPod in hand we laced up and took off. My deep sense of dread began again and I started looking for signs....signs that I could go home and crawl back into bed. Looking back I realize that there were signs...like a good friend of ours with a blown out tire on the road as we ran by, and the nauseating cramping deep in my abdomen, but apparently such signs are wasted on me, b/c we kept running...I looking for the sign.

About 7 miles in my belly began to rumble. For those non runners out there this is NOT a good sign for me. Usually this sort of tummy rumble leads to serious (and humiliating) tummy trouble. And so it began...the regular (every 2 mile) emergency bathroom stop at any public restroom available. My ass was like a faucet....enough said. Then, as if this collection of signs weren't enough (sorry men reading this) we both began to cramp and well, menstruate (I thought by using the clinical term it might come off less personal, instead now I just feel like a demonstration in middle school health class). By 10 miles we were a mess. I think this was the sign, but we persevered. At mile 11 we stopped for water and food (anything to please stop the faucet!!!!). By 11.75 we were desperate. At 12 miles we found an ATM (thank you Trina for always being a good boy scout and having ID and debit cards handy!!!). Trina got cash and proclaimed (really she did) that we would be taking a cab home. I laughed and in my very sassy-snarkish way said, 'baby this is not the city, where are we going to find a cab'. She was quiet for about 2 seconds and then said 'right there', and pointed to the cab sitting in the parking lot 10 feet from my sprawling body. That sort of thing is the story of my life...smartass comments and then very practical obvious truths. It really steals the punchline.

And so, we took our cab home. Best $12 ever spent.

Sunday, we woke with a steadfast commitment to our 70 mile ride. It was the kind of commitment one might have to say enjoying a buffet in Las Vegas, or to happy hour on Fridays (this is serious commitment people). Just like deja vu we mounted Pepper and Tula at 10 a.m. fully stocked with fluids, gu and all other kinds of 'fake' foods. 10 miles later Trina got a flat. All smiles and jokes we laughed it off, spent 30 minutes changing her tire (it was our first!) and returned to the rode. Two miles and one porta potty later (I stop every time I see one....you never know when the chance to go will present itself!), Trina's tire blew, AGAIN. Out of tubes and patience we phoned a friend (we attempted to poll the audience but those cows are so darn tight lipped!) Thank god for Lois, our fabulous friend with the truck. While Trina suggested that we try getting the tube replaced, the shops around town were closed and frankly, I was out of 'commitment' to the weekend of long workouts. And so we ate. And we laughed and we ate. Sometimes we just can't do what the schedule tells us to. Sometimes we have to follow the signs. :)

While our training partners bust through miles and miles of training (we love them!), we are renewing our commitment to the process. This week is a new week. This week we will SUCCESSFULLY achieve all of our goals and miles. This week we will be ironwomen! Oh, and by the way, don't tell anyone about that 'ass was a faucet' thing....it's so embarrassing.

6.5 weeks to Madison. Oh dear god.

Heat, humidity, and making it happen

Howdy from the hot, hot, hot humid beach in North Carolina! Did I say HOT? UGH!! We got to Raleigh and ran 7 miles. We sweltered. On saturday we headed to Ocean Isle Beach where Jen's family holds an annual family reunion. In the midst of hotter than usual temps, we ran our 18 mile run. Our longest run to date. The night before we made our route...not too hard since there are essentially 2 parallel streets and that is it. It ended up being a 9 mile loop which was perfect for our need to do 18 miles. We were able to stop at the cottage for water/gatorade refills and along the way cooled off with hoses at others cottages along the way.
It was miserable, but done. What we realized on the way was that we are truly in "Maintenence Zone".....We have swum the distance, we have biked well over the distance....and have 2 more long runs (19 &20) left in training. Yahoo!!! Just maintain where we are essentially. That feels like a relief as I am really tired of training.

Today Jen and I rode our beach cruiser bikes. This is the first year I have been able to do that. Give me my road bike and I'll ride 200 miles in a day, but give me a beach cruiser and I'm suddenly 4 and need training wheels. I am freaked out about the pedal brakes. I can't ride upright and I look like Pee Wee Herman. I get panicky. It is all ridiculous really. Not to mention embarassing. I mean come on, who can't ride a beach cruiser!??! But this year, I managed! We rode for an hour and then went and played in the waves to cool off.

I super hate to work out when I am not in my normal environment so I am very happy to be 'making it happen' on the road!

Seattle to Portland...merely a training ride: In three parts

Part I: The Ride


Meg and I rode (with our friend Meghan...see side bar) the STP in a day. This is a ride from Seattle to Portland and folks can do it in one day or two. We opted for the one-day version, a total of 205 miles...twice as long as my furthest ride and quite possibly my longest workout ever...perhaps with the exception of ultimate frisbee tournaments. But frisbee tournaments are always punctuated with short breaks, slamming oranges and bagels, and smoking pot, so the two really don't compare unless you count the pot part. I'm kidding...I never ate the bagels.

Anyway, there was no pot...we were definitely feeling the pain, after mile 150 anyway. Up till then, Meg, Meghan, and I were just zipping along (avg. 17.0 mph for the entire 205). We felt good, we took turns leading our pace line of 3 and joining on to others. It was really fun and great to be riding with two women who are competitive with themselves but are not about beating others. Just great! Meghan is a hell of a climber...kicking our asses up every hill. Meg is rock steady and is truly the energizer bunny....in fact I think she is still riding between the two cities. I'm not clear why...but I felt like a mother hen protectively watching over my chicks...sometimes riding in the back of the pace line to make sure all was well...that and that I got the best drafts of the day.

I joke, but I really did want to make sure my besties were not being hit by all the riders (sorry fellas...but mostly you guys) who would pass within inches without so much as a chortle. ON YOUR LEFT....say it with me boys...three little words that could mean the difference between a great day riding and a traumatic head injury. I see you all Lance-Armstrong-wanna-live-strong-and-be-like-mike-boys trying to win a ride that a) is not a race; and b) did I mention it wasn't a race? But really to what end are you passing so closely and saying so little?


We rode strong and finished strong...if a bit snarky and a tad nauseated. But, 205 miles in one day....that my friends is 93 more miles than race day. I feel a distinct psychological advantage!



Part 2: Lessons from the Road


1. We learned something about our need for better hydration...but we aren't sure what we learned

2. Chamois butter (aka butt balm) is an ointment of the gods

3. Training for the event is better than not training for the event

4. 4 hours of sleep for 4 nights in succession may have a biblical ring, but it makes for a long ass bike ride

5. Chip seal sucks

6. Real food is better than fake food

7. 205 miles is 130 miles further than anyone really needs to ride in a given period of time

8. We are rockstars

9. The STP really only needs to be done once ever

10. We googled it (not from the road....but we thought about it there)....people actually compete in things called Enduroman competitions....these are Ironman x 2 or 3!! Seriously...look it up.

Part 3: Jen gets on her social justice soap box...again

Enough of the complaints....at least about the riders. I'm unclear as to why...but there is an ongoing conflict...war is too strong...perhaps an ongoing "police action" between cyclists and motorists....as if the two are mutually exclusive. I don't know about you, but I also use a car as do the majority of cyclists. There are some folks who do not...and bravo to you I say! Anyway, most of us cross-over and can really relate to the frustrations of sharing the road from both points of view. When I'm driving...I sometimes don't see the cyclists at night...or if they run a stop sign or if they are just doing everything right and are in the bike lane. Then...when I don't see them and I nearly hit them I feel scared and want to lash out...at them...as if it is their fault that I nearly killed them. When really, I didn't see them and am blaming them for my mis-step. Bad form, Jen.

When I'm a cyclist...I couldn't be more irritated with the honking, the yelling, the gestures, the fake "loss-of-control-and-now-i'm-in-your-path," the speeding, the opening of car doors to scare you, the not seeing you and then blaming you for not seeing you. These things bother me. So you see...I understand the tensions...but really, is there a need for a battle of the roads? Can't we share? With the price of gasoline bicycles will soon be all any of us can afford anyway.

To add insult to injury...some (a small minority) of young white men seem to think it is their right, ethical duty, job even, to yell obscenities and threats at women cyclists. These are the same characters who likely feel that women's bodies are theirs for consumption. And, sometimes they combine the two beliefs and yell things like, "I can see why you are riding a bike fat ass" (white male yahoo as conveyed to me on STP, 2009).

Now as my partner said...this is a bit like going to the Ironman and yelling at the women competitors..."You should be swimming, biking, and running you fat ass." Doesn't make much sense now does it? Let's see....I'm swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112, then running a marathon and you are doing?? Oh that's right...NOTHING.

But, it doesn't stop the sting to have critical consciousness and an ability to outhink the yahoos, and some seriously snarky comments, does it? No...the sting of that sexism and the women-body-hating misogyny is no less...because the targets of forms of oppression end up doing some of the oppressor's heavy-lifting...by internalizing the narratives. I've written on this before....and you know that I am the owner of 38 years of anti-women's bodies narratives....all of which I resist and attempt to overthrow....and then a yahoo yells at me, and I am a pudgy 12 year-old believing that her very physical existence is an assault on what women "should be." And, I even hate that pudgy 12 year old, and then I feel guilty for hating her, and then I hate myself for hating myself, and then I hate myself for hating myself for hating myself...and the spiral continues until my head explodes.

When this kind of stuff goes down it makes me want to hole up in the house with my girls and listen to Free to Be You and Me until...you guessed it...my head explodes. That the yahoos of the world can still reduce me to a pudgy 12 year old who didn't deserve the shit she got in the first place...first pisses me off, then just saddens me. She was a cool kid...a smart kid...a great athlete who struck out all of those boys who called her names and had a hanging jump shot by the time she was 14. My body has worked for me...and it did again on Saturday and it will again on September 7th.

To all the yahoos: My body is not yours to consume for so many reasons...but mostly because you can't f*cking catch me!

Apparently on a Break

In slumptown here. I haven't worked out since our ride last friday. Though, it is really hard when I am working (& this was my long stretch) to get the workouts in with the babylady logistics. And factoring in sleep.
Things are tricky because I could workout a lot the next 2 days---yet I shouldn't do too much because the STP is this weekend so I should rest some. Then I am working the days after we get back until we leave to go to the beach. There we will be gone for 10 days (including travel days)---where it is hot/humid and we will be away from where we can workout like we normally do.
But I'll do what I can. I'll swim and run tomorrow and swim on thursday.

OMG, now I heart biking!

Jen and I did our 70 mile ride today. It was great! I think we both were a little unsure of where we were in terms of training on the bike since we have done the bulk of our riding at spin class & not actually on our bikes. However, we realized that we are actually right on track in terms of mileage--and much faster than we were when I trained 2 years ago!

Our loop today is the one we pretty much always do starting on the Green River Trail and down to Auburn, then over to Black Diamond with it's crazy-amazing bakery (mmm...pink donuts! mmmm....frosted cookies! mmmm....nainamo bars!). From there we go down thru the Green River Gorge, which is awesome and unexpected (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/286519_gorge28.html). Then we climb up out of the gorge, only to descend back down to the Green River Valley. Then it is through farmlands, back to Auburn, hop on the trail and head home.

It was 70 miles even and we did it in 4hrs & 23 minutes. The elevation gain was not a lot--- just around 1400-1500ft-- a few rollers and a few steep (13%)short climbs and a lot of flat and some fun downhills (38mph! Weeeeee!).

We tried to eat more like we would on race day and that seemed to work well. Training for Ironman '06 on this ride I have had a little dumb problem of forgetting to eat breakfast and dragging myself to the bakery 1/2 way in to ride and not understanding why I felt terrible. Then fueled the rest of ride by cinnamon rolls. :) While tasty, not super effective! This time we both used Nuun in our water in our camelbacks. I tried Clif Blocks- margarita w/ salt flavor which I really liked and cut up pieces of landjager sausage and a cherry pomegrante flavored Clif Nectar bar. The combo seemed to work and just eating bites every 15 min. or so. I also had hardboiled egg for breakfast and a PB&J post ride. All in all I felt better about my nutrition than I normally do so that is great. I never felt hungry or lacking energy and I was peeing so think I was drinking enough.

Top it all off-- I got to spend most of the morning and early afternoon all alone with Jen! It is so fun to do this with her. The activities are things we love to do anyway, love to do together and have been a great way to spend time together that has nothing to do with a new baby. Some say it is crazy timing to try and do an Ironman now. And, it is. But in many ways it is perfect timing. Perfect because it forces us to make time for each other and plan time away from baby stuff to play/train. Perfect because it is doing things that feel like they are about us, where we are in our bodies being strong, and make us feel like our usual selves.

Anyhow, now I am exhausted and glad for a day off tomorrow and a short practice open water swim on sunday!

I Heart Swimming!

Or the day I returned to rockin' the workouts!

Epic freakin' swim today! I was to swim 75 minutes and was hopeful to swim the race distance (2.4 miles) in that time. I felt great! Long, smooth, TI'ing it out,(Total Immersion swimming for you non-triathletes), clean, strong swimming. I did the race distance in just under 1 hour 13 minutes. And, it felt amazing! I felt good the whole time, kept the pace consistant from beginning to end.

Another fabulous thing about the water.... i don't feel fat in the pool. Getting in my suit and walking to the pool, yes. Getting out of pool, showered and changed, yes. But while swimming....I'm as thin as can be. Kinda makes ya' never stop :)

I was also supposed to run 5 miles, which I didn't have time for....I only had 20 minutes. But, made the most of it and had a super speedy 20 minute run in which i ran 2.5 miles. So, shorter than it should have been but awesome speed. 8 min/mile pace.

So, yippee! I'm a happy triathlete-lady!

Apathy and Milk Woes

I don't feel like working out this week. It is feeling too consuming. Physically, I feel well....stronger than last time (how, i'll never know!). But I'm sleepy. And I'm mentally tired of the logistics it takes to train for an Ironman with a partner who is also training for an Ironman.....and a 6 month old baby....and both of us with jobs....and Jen trying to get dissertation ready....and all the other 'life' stuff. Coordinating workouts is daunting at this point. So, instead, I want to hang out, nap, and mostly I want to be completely irresponsible for a few days. I want to be lazy!!!! I want to stay up late drinking beers and eating chips! I want to sleep in and then go to a coffee shop and sit around drinking coffee and eating cookies! I want to putz around in the garden all day!! I just don't feel like exercising.

That being said....I know this is just where I am right now. It is where I was last time. So, I just will keep plugging away at it.

I can't believe we are 9 weeks from race time. Training has been a blur and that scares me. It is a bit nerve wracking to be getting close to something this huge that I scarcely remember training for!!! Yet, logically, I know I have done the workouts just as I did last time. And that, while I spent more time on my actual bike last time rather than in spinning that my bike strength is somehow better. Wierd.
The test will be STP...we are doing it in 1 day. That is 204 miles. I did it in 2001. But I'm old now. Oh yeah, and we have only been on our bikes outside 4 times....the longest of which was 72 miles. It ought to be interesting. :) However, my big worry of that day is of a more "delicate" nature....how shall I say this? Too much information coming...... A breastfeeding mama shouldn't go 15+ hours or so without some "relief"!! On Tour de Blast after just about 6 or 7 hours I was bent over the toilet 'hand expressing' that precious liquid gold away.... impressive amounts I did know possible. Thank goodness for real bathrooms!! Except, umm, on STP there are porta-potties. Going to have to get creative.

Not much else to say except that despite apathy setting in, I did manage to get up this morning at 5am and hit the gym and did my swim for the day before work. Tomorrow is a 75 min swim (should be about race distance-2.4miles)and a 5 mile run.