Where has the time gone? Less than 300 days to go (293 days
& 13 hours to be exact) & Ironman feels less real to me than ever. The excitement of signing up has worn
off, & I’m stuck in this weird middle area where I’m training a lot but don’t
have any end goals on my radar. Training hard six days a week prompts a lot of
people to ask what I’m training for or when my next race is, and I feel discomfited
saying “well, I have a race 11 months from now…”.
Training seems like a light switch: I’m either super
motivated & pushing myself all week, or I’m going through a whole week grumbling
& barely accomplishing what’s on my schedule. Both swimming and running have
felt a lot easier and I am noticeably getting better at both. Not great, but better. The longer distances
& intensity levels feel motivating now instead of exhausting. I really hope
that trend continues throughout the year!
I’m only riding once a week (around 40 miles) and it feels
ROUGH. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not on my bike enough, or if I’m riding
the day after a long ride, or… something else? All of the above? When I’m on
the bike all I can think about is how I’m going to race (not just survive) for
112 miles?? I guess my one saving grace is that I do have a good amount of time
before race day to train & play around with nutrition options.
Another great thing is that I finally bit the bullet &
bought a new super fancy watch (Garmin 910xt)! I haven’t
worn it in the water yet, but now that I have a heart rate strap and can upload
all data into Strava, I've reached a whole
new level! I love having so much data to look at & analyze, not to mention
the watch keeps me honest since anyone is able to see my workout detail J.
At this point I’m feeling pretty challenged & am
appreciative of any days off as well as eating the right food(s). I’m still
meat free and feel like my body is handling it ok… will see how I fare when my
training doubles! Also hoping I can stay motivated more often than not! I'm happy I had a great and FULL weekend of training so I can fully enjoying lounging on the couch watching the Grammy's. And maybe eating some Thai food..
