Lifetime Indoor Tri

This year I decided to focus on things that challenge me...maybe even things that scare me. And so here we are. One of my running buddies is a triathlete. During a run this summer, a few of us talked about giving swimming a try for cross training. then a member of our running group posted that she had registered for the Lifetime Indoor Tri. So after a little review of the event site, I was in! It was a great plan as I needed a training focus after the Richmond half in Nov and before Harper's Ferry half training began in January. As a previous post indicated, that training did NOT go according to plan. I did get in some swim and bike time but I was clearly under-trained going into today.

I am so so thankful for my wonderful fierce friend, Caroline. We were assigned the same wave and knowing that she would be there meant a 100% chance that I wouldn't chicken out. :) So I enjoyed a quiet morning at home (BOTH boys slept in) before nervously heading to the club. Lifetime did a great job with organizing, executing, and communicating the event. I knew to arrive early to check in and have time to set up the bike before heading to swim. Every single event staff member I encountered was awesome. The check-in staff made sure I knew where and when to be. And the staff at each phase note only were extra friendly but so so helpful. I would never have gotten that spin bike set up correctly without the awesome staff! They made sure we knew how to work the equipment, how to start and stop, and when to do so! The swim lap counters doubled as cheerleaders and the cycle lead not only DJed but was coaching and encouraging. I pushed harder because he made me dig deep!!

SWIM
I am not a swimmer. Though the cycle coach told me that I had just swam, so in fact, I am a swimmer. :) So I guess the better description is that I am not a strong swimmer. I have no idea what I am doing where technique is concerned. And I was worn out 5 minutes in to the 10 minutes swim period! But I kept at it. Mentally it was challenging to struggle while swimming next to a guy who did a ferocious Michael Phelps impression. We heard after the swim that he may have set the record for swim laps at this location!! So my laps were slow...or at least felt slow compared to the people around me...but I didn't give up.

BIKE

After a 10 minute transition, where we got to change our clothes and get to the cycle studio, it was time for phase 2. My, oh, my do I hate spin bikes. Even though I got it all set to my height, it just doesn't feel like these bikes were made for petite ladies. Or maybe its my sheer lack of experience with them. I did get in several bike workouts but sadly didn't have access to a spin bike, so this was my first experience. I can say that it is one that I do not want to repeat anytime soon. Boy did I struggle. The cycle coach kept trying to get us to increase our effort as the time went on. And as much as I wanted to, my legs felt like they were giving up on me. But I just kept pushing, and maybe pushed harder when he was walking by then I did when he wasn't. ;) I played the mental game for the entire 30 minutes where I broke it into chunks and just tried to survive til the end of the chunk. Finally it was over! I pushed and made it to nearly 9 miles in 30 minutes and was super proud of that!

RUN
Finally it was time to complete the part of the race that I am comfortable with! But my legs felt like jello. As we walked from the cycle studio to the reserved treadmills during our 5 min transition, I was starting to freak out. I had done brick workouts where I went form bike to treadmill but my legs had never felt this fatigued. So mental Olympics started happening again as I told myself it was just for 20 minutes. And I ran a half marathon after enduring the Hanson's training method so I could certainly run for 20 min on a treadmill! It didn't take long at all from the time we cranked up the treadmills for my legs and my brain to figure out what we were doing. And within the first two minutes I knew that all those miles this summer and fall were paying off again. I knew how to run on tired legs. So I made a quick deal with myself: just get in 2 miles. Then I could trade the run I was supposed to do today (4 miles) with Tuesday's upcoming run (2 miles) and not cheat on my current training. So happily I trotted along for 20 minutes; no music, not really close enough to a tv to take in any show, just me, the treadmill, and my love of the run! And low and behold...I hit 2 miles before the time was up. And as I stepped off the treadmill, I got to declare...I am an indoor triathlete!

CONCLUSION
I have already mentioned that I think the organization, execution, and communication for this race were great. But the bottom line for me with any race, regardless of my own personal performance, is: would I do it again? Was the experience worth it enough to make me pull out my credit card and fork over money to make it a repeat? The answer in this case was an overwhelming yes! I may have already plugged into my calendar to look for the registration next fall so I can have a chance to try and beat myself. And I really hope to get to talk Caroline into it too ;) It was awesome to share the experience with her!!!

Never NOT exciting??

While this week is the first week of my training cycle, the Hanson's beginner half program doesn't schedule the first run until Thursday. I skipped my planned treadmill run at 5:30 AM in hopes that the weather might be nice enough after work to get in some outdoor miles. I have spent WAY too much time on the treadmill lately. After some careful review of the hourly forecast, I posted in my running group to see if I could get some running buddies since the thought of running in the dark solo still freaks me out (even though I have done it on a number of occasions). As luck would have it, I was able to get two buddies to meet me at one of our regular locations. It was going to be a bit of a rushed evening since I had to pick up both of my kids from different locations, get home to change, and then go back out to meet the ladies to run. And it went pretty well. I was only running a few minutes behind due to the traffic (which I forgot is super different in the evening than early in the AM). And then...it happened. While sitting at a red light, just two lights away from my destination, a young woman in a mini van rear ended me!!!! Thankfully it was just a tap, though it didn't feel that way at first. We pulled over and inspected for damage. Again, it was just a tap so there was none. I called my running partners to tell them I would be late. They were waiting so patiently for me when I arrived and immediately declared that we didn't have to run. But I insisted. We were GOING to run because I needed to find a way to get this fresh flowing adrenaline under control. I needed to get my brain a dopamine bath so it would forget the play by play of the accident from 19 months ago that it was trying so hard to vividly loop in my consciousness. So they accommodated me and off we went. For a wonderful training run. It was faster than I was supposed to run per my training plan. But it felt easy and happy and calmed my nerves. Now...can the rest of the training cycle not be exciting?

Update Note: I am completely okay. My lower back felt a little tight later in the evening but I spent a little time with a heating pad and the next morning all was fine!

Here we go again...

This week marks the beginning of another Hanson's training cycle. I continue to be proud and amazed at the training and race execution from the last time I completed this plan. My only regret of the last cycle is that I did not document it in blog form (though I did start to). It was SUCH an incredible journey and I wish I had a record of the thoughts and emotions of it all. So I am trying to do so this time! I am not known to be a completionist. That is to say, I may have grand plans that are often carefully scripted but never see the execution they deserve. The second half of 2017, well June to Oct, was a different story. I found a fire in my soul that needed to burn bright. I completed not only the 18 week Hanson's beginner half program but a 12 week weight training body transformation program too! That one I was actually about halfway through when Hanson's kicked in. It is the strongest and most healthy/lean I have felt in YEARS! But after the race, the recovery week was followed by the holidays, and my fire nearly got extinguished. I have tried to rekindle it but feel like I have fallen back into old habits. I h ave started and restarted the weight training program again and again. I had hoped the promise the new year would spark my passions and it did...for almost two weeks. I also started a 30 day yoga journey and made it a solid week before things fell apart. Like many new year resolutioners, I am struggling with maintaining consistency. I am distracted by house projects as we prepare for a spring move. And the really large factor is the cold. I HATE to be cold! And just the thought of putting on workout clothes and being cold sends shivers through me. And instinctively I wrap up in warm clothes and snugly blankets. I know once Hanson's begins I will keep that schedule because I loved the results and am very motivated to see all the green Xs on my training page. But I also want to get back into weight training. The question is...how do I keep going when its cold and dark outside. I love the results but how do I get them to outweigh the excuses? This is an exercise in forgiving myself and asking...what motivates me to stick to the plan even when I really don't want to? And how do I tap into my lil spitfire again? Where did she go? And how do I get her to return???