Monday, December 2, 2013

IM Journal: Log #5

It’s December?? I had no idea December came right after August this year. Where did all the time go??

Yesterday was one of those days where I was thankful during my workout. Sometimes I’m thinking about other things, hating it or viewing a workout as more of a social hour… but other times I can be present, focused and thankful (possible mantra?  :)  ).

I’m only on my bike once a week at this point, & yesterday was the first morning I had a longer & more difficult route. I’ve been doing a pretty easy 20 mile workout the past few months but Coach is starting to increase the load a bit & I’m more than ok with that!

Famous last words.

I was back on the SB tri course hills (Gob, Toro) and covered a little over 37 miles on this beautiful December morning. East coasters are battling snow & freezing temperatures while I’m worried about getting a tan line from my bike jersey! I prefer to do my rides with other people, but if I have headphones (one ear only. Safety first.) I can have a pretty enjoyable time out there on my own if the mileage is under 50. Maybe it was the caffeine, but my ride felt great and, like I do during most workouts, I imagined myself to be in the Ironman race.

I don’t think all emotions/reasoning of signing up for the race have quite reached my Cerebrum because I still think of Ironman as some far off fantasy. It is neither. It’s 348 days away but I know that is going to fly by SO fast and soon enough my 80+ mile bike days will remind me the whole dang time that this is now my reality. It’s starting to become a little real to me with having 12-13 mile runs every week & seeing “lake loop” on my schedule. (SB people… you know what that means.)

I’ve had a lot of different reactions from everyone since signing up, top reactions include: blank stare/zero level of interest, “WHY”, “I’m impressed!”, and “I’m never going to see you”.  All reactions are followed up with the same question: “when does your training start?”. Um… it started 2 years ago? I’m not really sure how to answer that question because there’s not a specific date/time when workouts get crazy. I’m currently “maintaining” then will slowly ramp up for a half Ironman in May (Wildflower) & continue piling it on after that until November.

It’s going to be a long, worthwhile (most of the time) road to race in Arizona… and I know that. It will also require a lot more mental prep, strength training & higher food bills than I’ve ever had to deal with in the past, but I’m looking forward to seeing my own mental/emotional/physical growth and continuing to prove all the “doubters” wrong.  :)

I think another goal of mine should be to revisit the bigger picture of what I’m doing at/around the first of every month. After this entry I’ll only have to do this 11 more times anyway! Yikes. I’ve made a few (fitness) goals for December alone… we’ll see if they last and if I choose to make them rollover goals. I would like to really concentrate on strength & foundation training, going to yoga at least once a week, and staying committed to not eating meat (except maybe some fish). The reason being is that my body feels better without it, just not sure how that will factor in with my training!


We’re still a GO on Christmas cookies though...

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