Suburb Scenery
Swimming
I had a major breakthrough with swimming and you won't believe what it was. Instead of counting my laps, I move my water bottle along the tiles at the side of the pool. I usually have no idea how many laps I have left and I found it makes the time go by so much faster. Before I was counting every lap in my head, then thinking about it as a percent (yup, I'm a nerd), thinking about how much time was left, thinking how much I hate swimming, "wait was that 14 or 15 laps?". Now I just try and have fun with it and not look at how many tiles are left to cover up. I actually started trying to learn flip turns last time I was swimming and had a blast (I CANNOT do flip turns haha). And then after, I spend 15 minutes sitting in the hot tub. All in all I am trying to find ways to make swimming more fun.
Insert Pool Picture Here
(it always feels weird bringing a camera to the pool)
Biking
With the weather turning, I am forced to do almost all my training rides inside. There is some definite ups and downs to this. The upsides: it is really easy to get food and drink, I train in my apartment so it is 72 degrees which is close to expected race temperature, the trainer forces you to pedal constantly and really focus on strength, and I can jsut get on and go - no need to look up the forecast, plan for gear, anticipate a flat, etc. The downsides: it. is. boring. Riding outside is so much more fun with the sites and people watching, I ride a lot slower inside (probably a setting on the trainer), I will be racing outside and not on the trainer. But something I picked up from one of the many triathlon podcasts I listen to is I tell myself "I get to ride today" and try to never think "I have to ride today". Just a simple change in the wording makes it more enjoyable.Running
I go back and forth on whether I prefer to run outside or on the treadmill. On the treadmill I can monitor my pace obsessively and try to measure my improvement. If I run outside, the time goes by a lot quicker. I did my long run outside this past weekend and it went by wayy faster than some of my short runs done on a treadmill. But there is always the weather consideration. So I bought some more cold weather gear and will play it by ear each time I go. I will say this last long run outside was full of excitement. I got out there pretty early since it was Thanksgiving and I had to help with some of the meal prep. I got there so early... the sun wasn't up yet. If you have ever run through a forest preserve an hour before sunrise without a sun lamp, you'll know what I am talking about. A squirrel came out of nowhere about a mile into my run and I was sure I was about to be murdered. Then, right after the sun came up I rounded a corner and almost ran into a HUGE deer. And then around halfway through I ran out of water. Of course all of these things made the run way more fun so I imagine my next long run will be outside but now that I am back in the city, I can't imagine seeing many more deer.
See that deer?!
Other
Some things in the back of my mind - the only triathlon I can do in open water before the ironman is about 8 weeks out in Houston. Should I pull the trigger and sign up? It wold mean booking a hotel, paying for the race, taking the time off, buying a flight, and renting a bike. It would also be some of my only open water training before the big day. I probably have to do it but I am a bit nervous. - Update: I signed up! Haha in the day since I wrote this and hadn't posted it, I signed up.
Travel for the real race - I haven't given this any thought yet. EEK!
The last big thing at the front of my mind is what to do about the Holidays coming up? I have a ski trip and then of course Christmas and New Years. How is all of that going to affect my ability to stay on my training plan? Would it be smarter to take a break during ski trip and just enjoy the skiing?
