Week 3

Week 3-done.  There isn't anything too exciting to report this week.  The only thing that comes to mind are my thoughts during my ride today.  They were all over the place.  Although, two things dawned on me today.  1.  I still hate the Texas wind.  2.  Texas trucks are bigger than my bike, so get the heck out of the way.  Rednecks are clueless.  Forget the idea of sharing the road.  Not going to happen.

I was deep in thought throughout my ride and really just enjoying myself.  I've noticed over the years that my thoughts go from one thing to the next and for no rhyme or reason.  It reminds me of the movie,  Up, the dog in the movie always hollers "Squirrel" and gets side tracked.  Yup, that's me.  At one point I noticed all of the trash along the road.  Even thought about organizing the community to pick up trash one day.  Great idea.  Unrealistic.  Why in the world am I thinking about that?!!!  So, as I'm riding along, I'm wondering...do all athletes think like this when they are in the moment?  I was speaking to a friend yesterday and she told me that some of her best ideas come to her while she is out there.  I can honestly say that I feel the same way.  Great ideas, but who carries a sheet of paper to write it down, or stops their workout to log it?  It's like something happens chemically in the brain when we are out there.  But, once the workout is finished, the ideas are lost.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrAIGLkSMls

Week 2

Yesterday wrapped up my second week of training. The overall feeling this week was, well, overwhelming. I keep thinking about how much equipment it takes to do all of this. Granted, I have a fabulous bike, shoes, helmet, etc. but then my brain goes to the rest of the stuff. I need a bike computer to measure cadence and my heart rate, a wetsuit, new running shoes after mine get burned out, tubes, registration fees for Galveston, flights, hotel, travel expenses. Did i also mention that we have two kids at home as well? We all know the cost in that! Ha! All of this on top of training. Training. Thank goodness that I have such a supportive husband. He's constantly telling me, don't worry about it, we got this. Stop worrying! Now that's something that I'm great at!

I'm literally sitting in the waiting room while Kylie is having a neuropsychology exam. All day. Once again, something she has to do because of NF. Oncologist on Friday. Neuropsychologist on Monday. How fun is that for a six year old? Earlier in the morning, they asked me how long Kylie will be on Gleevac. I couldn't give them a honest answer. I don't know.  How sad is that? I don't know how long my daughter will have to take pills that is doing, Lord knows what, to the inside on her body.  I wonder if most people who take any type of chemo know how long it will last. Does it help if they can say "5 down and 10 to go"? It makes me put all of this Ironman business into perspective and the hard truth reminds me why I'm doing what I'm doing. Why I will be sacrificing so much over the next several months.

On the bright side, we are so blessed. Above all, love... 1 Peter 4:8. We definitely have a remarkable support system and can honestly say that we are loved. We feel it everyday. From each other, family, and friends.

So back to training. This past week was another success. I managed to stick to my program and even got two days off! I was able to rest up before my 15k race on Saturday and I felt like I pushed myself the whole way. Reflecting on the race, I must've done pretty well with pacing because, even with some intense hills, I had a couple negative splits at the end. Honestly, I'd rather not run too many races over the next several months and focus more on the mileage than trying to beat myself. It's the silent competitor in me. I race against myself all of the time. Even though I'm not incredibly fast, I still want to PR.

After I found my hubby after the race, I asked him, jokingly "did I look fast"? Ha! Like a gazelle! Actually, I pictured one of those pictures that have circulated on the Internet...

2/4/13

Well, it's been a week since I officially started training.  It went by without a hitch.  After my quick run today, it will be day eight without any time off.  I really can't believe that I've done eight workouts in seven days.  I think what makes it pretty easy is alternating activities.  The other thing is actually knowing that I have eyes on me (my coach) and I know that I have to complete the workout.  As time goes on, the workouts will continue to get much more intense, but for now, it's working.  There was one evening that my crazy life didn't allow me to start pedaling until 7:45 at night, but I did it and I was glad I did.  I thought I would be sore from working out so much, but I'm not at all.  Wednesday is my first day off and I will be looking forward to it!  I have noticed that I'm more energized and I wake up much earlier.  (I'm wondering if I have my mom and dad's insomnia genes.)

When I was actually outside riding my bike I noticed that I kept worrying about falling and hurting myself.  I'm hoping it's a typical worry.  The last thing I want is to be knocked out of the game due to an injury.  I've decided that I'm going to listen to my body.  I've done that for years and it's always paid off in the end.

Gary and I decided that we are going to go to Galveston in April so I can do another 70.3 for training.  Now this scares me.  Ocean swim.  Sharks, sting rays, sea creatures.  UGH!  Gary insists that I will be ok and that nothing is going to happen.  Last summer, when I was in Florida, I looked and looked at that ocean and thought about doing a swim, but I couldn't do it.  I'll have to face my fears eventually on this one.

 "I can't believe I'm going to do an Ironman."