Friday, August 3, 2012

Daydreamin'

My race is THIS month! 22 days to be exact. Time sure flies when you’re training. I have to constantly remind myself of how far I’ve come physically and mentally since I started. Conversely, I have to remind myself to not get so discouraged with body that it can’t do everything I want it to… yet.

In the broad scheme of things I am still very “green” with the training, racing, logistics, etc. compared to a lot of people I train with who’ve been at it for years. It has been extremely beneficial (and humbling!) to train with and to be surrounded by seasoned racers. I’m truly grateful to the moon and back for all of the patience, support and training tips I’ve received in the past few months. THANK YOU GUYS!!!!! You know who you are. I’ll also have you know that it’s really frustrating for me to constantly try and be on your level. Almost makes me want to sign up for an IronMan one day (baaaaaahahahahahahahaha)…

Almost.

Running update: Not much to say here except more often than not I’m getting the relaxed “euphoric” feeling (without music, even) versus the “ohmygawd…kill me now” feeling. Oh – and I’m most definitely getting faster! Thank you track workouts.

Swimming: I’m staying under 30min now for the Nite Moves swim! A horrific time for you, but always a PR for me. I feel like I actually have swimming lungs now and am pretty comfortable swimming about a mile & a half during my swim practices. Still in the geriatric lane (lane 1) but I can honestly say that I really enjoy swimming. Not only does it make my muscles feel great, it also allows me time for a lot (a LOT) of daydreaming.  Practice (& races) really fly by and are a lot more pleasant when I imagine myself winning gold medals and accepting Ryan Lochte’s marriage proposal rather than counting my strokes every 100 meters. My imagination has no bounds and ZERO shame.

Biking: ohhh biking. I would love nothing more than to chuck my bike off a cliff after lighting it on fire and doing a ceremonial dance. I’m able to go the distance and can tackle the hills pretty well, but I’m still bitter about my wipeout and can’t seem to get over my fear of going downhill. I know… it’s supposed to be the fun part. The RELIEF. For me I’d prefer to race uphill because I can actually full out race and not grab my brakes the whole way. My bike & I have been spending a lot of quality time together & have gone through what I consider the “scary” parts of course over and over and over, but I can’t seem to get past my residual fear of eating shit… err… asphalt again.  

General: I have to say that overall, mentally and physically, training for the race has been SO great. I think this applies at all levels. Whether it’s “couch to 5k”, a Tri, IM, marathon, etc. it’s such a great feeling to know that you’re improving yourself and can get to the realization of  “wow I can actually DO this!”. I’m finally at the point where I’m very much looking forward to this race. I know I’m not the fastest but I know that I’m capable. Although I still have 3 whole weeks…

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