Triathlon #3 Reviewed to Prep for #4

Last year I completed the Wunder Woman Triathlon in less than two hours. There were pictures taken, but, unfortunately, with my Love managing all three of our fellas on his own the camera got left on the shuttle bus. So we never saw them.

I will settle for this picture though:



Yes, that is not me, but that is how I felt last year when I finished my third triathlon!
The time could have been better, but I felt so great on the bike that I powered out of gas there and forgot to save some for the run.

This year, I will get in the water, knowing exactly what to expect - the chill of the water taking my breath away, the need to get in and get adjusted so it doesn't ruin my ability to make the best swim time possible. It's only 400m. It may seem long to many but since I regularly train swimming 1000m it is pretty fast in and out... fast being relative since I swim the distance in just under 12 min when many swim it in less than 7.

I don't bother with comparisons. I am me, after all, mother of three young sons and many other older ones (who graciously let me adopt them) and I live happily (mostly ;)) with the Love of my life and being an athlete is only part of who I am. There will be seasons in my life when I can train harder and be faster, but for now, I am good with finishing 400m around 12 minutes.

Now the transition from the water to the bike is a little tricky. Gotta get the sand out of the toes and thankfully there is a good amount of grass to do that on, but still drying feet and getting shoes and socks on is tricky when your adrenalin is pumping at 1000 miles and hour (If only my legs could go that fast!). I have often tried to just take it easy, get my heart rate settled down and get on  my bike. Mostly that works.

Getting on the bike and pedaling out for the ride has been hard for me but this time I expect it to be fun! I am better trained than ever before to do this bike ride. It will feel great. God bless my spin teacher, my Love, and Iron Tony that remind me how much power I've developed over these past few years. YAY!

Last year I finished the 10.2 mi bike ride in 45:12:647. This year I hope to finish in less than 40 minutes. I can't wait to see what happens!

And now for the run... I told you already that I powered through the bike so fast that I used up all my energy before the run. This year, due to my achillies tendonitis history, if I have any pain, I am committed to WALK. This will be a STRETCH for me... I wrote about this in a BLOG earlier today.

I huffed and puffed through the first mile last year and had people stopping to see if I was okay. Yeah, that was embarassing. But I told them I was and kept going. Once I found my groove at mile 2 I was okay but really tired.

This year, I will keep moving at whatever pace I can. Last year's run was 43:22:911. I have NO IDEA what this year's run will look like since I haven't run a single step for months! I'll let you know!

There ya have it! I know this time is going to be great! I will stay far enough away from the people on the hills so that a repeat of last year's near wipeout doesn't occur again - a woman JUMPED off her bike in front of me when she decided she couldn't pedal up the hill again. I almost squished her and mangled myself! - I am stronger and more confident in my swimming, on my bike and well, the run, it will happen, one way or another.

Thanks for reading. I hope there will be pictures to post this year. :) But I will be happy to finish, have my Love and my fellas squeeze me at the finish line and know I worked hard and gave it my all!

Killing It!

Okay, so after MONTHS of being benched because of achillies tendonitis, which I am happy to say God healed, I have moved carefully back into training for another Sprint triathlon.

I almost didn't do it this year because I knew that my finish times wouldn't be as good as last year. I trained all summer long in 2011. This time I will have had maybe four weeks to train and I am not running at all until race day (I may walk, depending on my achillies, while much better than it was, gets a little achy after I workout really hard) but pushing hard for my best swim and bike times.

Cycling in Colorado with the fam this summer. I rode around with them for a while, but eventually, I needed to ride out on my own, push the pedals hard and WORK!

This was a year ago. I am smaller this year, but see the smile, it's for real. I don't believe in leaving any gas left in my tank at the end of a race or a workout smiling all the way to the finish line!

There is the brief overview... now for the point -

Killing It!

What does that mean anyway? Go Hard or Go Home!

If I make it all the way to a class, on time, without forgetting anything or anyone having a meltdown (including me - hee hee!) then I have to not just pedal away as if I have all day to do my workout. I need to BRING IT!!!

Killing it is - All I've got, full speed, pushing my body to work as hard as possible, burn the most calories and SMILING the whole time! - Yes, it's true. I do it! Just ask my spin instructor. I even whoop it up too! However, I don't smile when I swim, too much water gets in my mouth! I really smile when I'm done with my 1000m minimum!

I believe the point of exercise is not just to check a box to say I did my time, but to put all my effort into getting optimal performance from my body in the pursuit of the healthiest, fittest, and strongest me possible. Otherwise it isn't worth the time, effort or money for membership.

If you are struggling with getting a workout in, find your excuses (99% of the time that is what they are) and shut them off by DOING IT! I am a recovering thinker, a rationalizer and a procrastinator (when it comes to getting stuff done). I can always come up with a reason not to do just about anything. So I get it. I really do.

But, here's the thing...

IF YOU DON'T DO IT - WHAT CHANGES?               NOTHING!

IF YOU DO IT - WHAT CHANGES?                            YOU DO!!! :)

Working out hard  or "Killing It" pushes you beyond grunting through a class or finishing x miles on the treadmill or an afternoon bike ride.

"Killing it" requires you to work past the point where your brain thinks you can go. Not your body - sharp pain = bad. Be careful here. I pray about it and ask God to let me know how hard I need to push my body past my brain screaming, "Knock it off - this is too hard!" I didn't listen to Him last week when I knew I should back off a bit and ended up having to skip some workouts while my achillies settled down again.

Today, I saw a friend's post about killing it in his workout. I had almost rationalized not going to class today, but just those two words reminded me of the whole point of why I am stretching into the athlete God has called me to be. So I went to spin class today and "killed it". I felt like Jello when I was done and smiled all the way home. I am so glad I did it. I never regret a good hard workout. Ever.
Now, I have to go... boys, dishes and other housework requires my attention and I can easily rationalize typing some more!