So for this blog post I am going to do something totally different... sort of like Monty Python. But, you know, less funny. I just had a friend ask me "how are you feeling? Are you in amazing shape?" And my answer depends on when you ask me. So I'll give you my answer depending on what part of the week we are in.
Monday Tuesday (IE when I first started to write this post)
Physically I don't feel great. Of course it is because the training is so intense I never really have time to recover so my legs always feel a little shaky. I woke up Thursday at 7 am to go to class, and ended up falling back asleep and now waking up until 1130. Eleven and a half hours of week!! Aside from the physical exhaustion, there is a lot of mental exhaustion too. The obvious mental strain comes from the scheduling meetings for school or trying to find time for a social life or even walking up to the stationary bike knowing there are 6 hours until I can get off it. The other part is all the uncertainty surrounding this. Some nights I toss and turn and think - am I trained enough? Am I over training? Did I just invite my friends to come watch me fail spectacularly??
Fast forward to the weekend
The bulk of my training occurs during the week, so when the weekend rolls around I feel ready to unwind (read have a few beers at the bar with some friends) and I can finally catch up on recovery. Saturday it was 65 degrees here in Chicago! I did a short bike ride followed by a long run OUTSIDE! IN SHORTS! I just took off and somehow pulled off my best 10K ever (51 minutes!) Might not be a blistering pace but it was a huge PR for me. I'd guess my previous best was 55 minutes. Seeing a lot of other people on the path and taking in sunlight (instead of spacing out on the treadmill) was incredible. Warning: cheese alert! I actually thought "this is life affirming" at one point during my run. (I rolled my eyes at myself but I still thought it)
I finished my run at five guys. That's nutrition right?
The highs and lows of training are incredible, but at the end of this I know it will be worth it.
There have also been some other major changes that all took place on Friday. First, I signed up for an Olympic triathlon March 5 to shake off some rust and get the hang of being in a race again. Just over 2 weeks away from the race I got this email:
That's right they moved the race to October. And didn't even have the decency to get my name right! So I convinced 2 friends and the gf to come with me, rented an Airbnb with a 50% refund only, and booked a delta flight with the gf that offers exactly 0% on a cancellation. All in all, out $650 ish for the weekend along with my 3 friends right? Thankfully wrong! I called delta and explained the situation, and after asking very nicely to a few supervisors, I got 100% back for me and the gf! I emailed Airbnb and got 90% back (they won't give back the service fee but the host gave me back everything - shout out to Dale from Kemah!)
As for the uncertainty point - I have tuned in to a few webinars with some coaches and the IMTX race director. Those probably created more anxiety than they relieved, but I know more now than I did when I started. I also have a friend who is a beast Triathlete (Emma Briggs) who helped me a lot in preparing for my half Ironman in 2015. I reached out to her recently and she has started her own business doing race logistics for Ironmans and coaching on the side. So of course I signed up! She took a look at my plan and did the following:
- Shortened some of my runs. Her thinking - most people don't run the whole marathon anyways. You also have a greater risk of being injured running than the other disciplines. Cut from 30 miles per week to 20-25 and that will be plenty
- Shortened some of the bikes in my recovery weeks - I put in a 5-10% step back and she made it more like 20-25%. I am not going to fight that one bit nope nope!
- Added a third swim every week and gave them structure versus just swimming x,xxx meters without stopping. Well I HATE swimming but based on my structured workout this morning, she already seems right. Guess I'll have to go along with it.
When I look back to how far I have come, so far I have swam more than 32 miles, biked more than 1700 miles, and ran more than 300 miles for a total of 180 hours of training in 15 weeks. I have to keep reminding myself I signed up because this is hard. I set out to prove something to myself and I have to remember that every week I am doing that. I don't know what race day will hold, but I can't wait to know what it feels like to cross that finish line. If all goes GREAT, it will be after a 12-13 hour day. If it all goes horrible, they'll have to pull me off the course at 17 hours. It has been a hell of a journey - and the hardest 3 weeks begin next Monday. After that - some intervals with a little shorter distance, taper, and then the race!
60 days left!!!
I also snagged a few photos after my run of the scenery along my run/bike route:
Keep in mind - its February!
In Chicago!
And 65 degrees!
Yes that is a unicycle he is holding...
