Wow! It feels like forever since I was last on my blog! How I have missed it! How I have missed people, the other people whose blog I read. People who I have never met, seen in real life, and people I would fail to pick out in a photo. They, however, are the same people who share the same passions as I do. In triathlon, this passion is synonymous with blood because triathlon is a family; a brother/sisterhood. It feels good to be back home!
I have been out of my training slump and have been actively following my plan. I don’t think of it as a slump anymore. It was an extended recovery week ha! I was recovering from surgery for about two weeks. Even after the doctor gave me the go ahead to run it was still extremely painful to run. I never did more than a 5k. My cycling and swimming picked up to compensate.
This past week I was doing some of my baseline test (a lot of time trials) to see where I am and give my coach a chance to see how to proceed. I can tell you, the athlete I am today is a far cry from the athlete I was when I first started this training. My swim speed is 16 seconds faster per 100 yards! My 3 mile time trial a few months ago was a PR for a 3 mile run. Well, this time I PR’ed my PR by a minute! I took a minute off my fastest 5k run! I couldn’t believe it! After it was over, I felt my legs cramping. I tried to slow down to cool down but the minute I did I could feel my muscles seizing. So I just stopped and sat for a while. Tonight I do a cycling time trial (if it doesn’t rain!).
Well, I have consistently been doing the P90x Ab Ripper and finally have all the pieces to actually “officially” start P90x. I feel so much stronger. I feel like the time I spent recovering from surgery was the best thing I could have done. I probably spent a month away from training but was doing maintenance the best I could per my plan. That is the best part about having a LIVE coach. He customized the plan during my recover (I could swim and bike but not really run) so I wouldn’t loose the endurance I had achieved. And look, I was a minute faster on my 3 mile run. Thanks Coach Lance!
It feels so good to be back! I’m feeling so strong in the training.
Now the flip side, I am not feeling excited about my next triathlon. Well, the swim at least. It is the Tri Latta Sprint in Charlotte, NC. It is one of the most popular triathlons in the area. It will be the first time I swim open water without my floaties (wetsuit). I get so nervous about it and then I laugh at myself! I swam a half ironman! I do 750 meters for fun (in the pool). It’s not my first rodeo. Although, sometimes when I think about it feels like my heart is going to explode! I get super anxious when I envision myself taking the first few strokes. I seriously get an adrenaline dump!
The best part about it is…it is a training day! Not an A race or a B race…but a C race. One of those races you do for fun. So, that is what my goal is...to have fun while knocking out my first non-wetsuit open water swim. KP asked me what am I freaking out about. I swim without a wetsuit all the time! (don’t we swim without wetsuit in the pool) She’s right! I can’t wait until this Saturday. To get that rollercoaster feeling I get going up on rollercoaster and toeing the starting line of an endurance event (the oh my….what have I gotten myself into feeling).
It feels great to be blogging again.
Thanks for the post. Good to hear from you. Good luck on Saturday.
ReplyDeleteYou'll rock it out in that swim, no worries. I had (and still have) the ole open water sans Batman suit jitters. In fact I recently joined the local open water swimming club so I can have an audience when I chuck myself in the ocean and freak out hahaha. Once you're in there, it's all good, it's just the initial few 100 meters or so that suck. Get in a good warmup swim and it won't be so bad.
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