Last week was a very rough week. The past month has been insane in terms of work, and juggling that with Ironman training has led to very little "fun time," regular sleep deprivation, and an overall feeling of heightened stress. It came to a head this week when I found myself in a constant fight with service providers, utilities companies, and insurance companies over things that they either: (a) should have done but didn't because they dropped the ball, or (b) common sense crap that led to me telling them how to do their jobs.
(As an aside, when did it become the case that good customer service consisted of people actually doing what they say they will do by the deadline they give you the first time? Our expectations as consumers are so low right now that we give people 5 star ratings when they actually do their jobs correctly and no more than that. Ugh.)
Despite all the warnings from those around me, I had a major blowout this week, basically shut down physically, and spent most of my spare time hiding under the covers of my bed. I was tired and unmotivated, unable to push myself into a workout.
So I accepted that I needed a rest and took it. Sure, I felt guilty about it, but it needed to be done. I cleared off my weekend schedule and spent it eating what I wanted and playing video games. However, I only allowed myself to do this under the condition that, on Monday, everything is back on track.
And it is! I enter my training again this week feeling refreshed and fully rested. I am ready to get back into the crazy Ironman lifestyle. Granted, I'm sure things will get crazy again soon, but now I have learned my lesson. Rather than crashing and burning again, I will be more mindful of the craziness and try to pull back before it gets this bad again.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Monday, April 13, 2015
First Outdoor Ride
Spring is FINALLY here and I was able to get outside for my first official bike ride of the season. I went easy and picked a short course to start with. It was so refreshing to be outdoors and not stuck on the indoor spinner, pedaling to nowhere.
Granted, it did remind me of how many morons are allowed to have driver's licenses. Seriously, if there is no oncoming traffic, you can't move over a little and give me some space? The shoulder is still full of sand and has wonderful winter-induced potholes. If you're in your car, please keep this in mind when you see a cyclist.
Besides that, which almost makes bike riding a human version of Frogger, it was a great ride. Everything felt good, no knee problems, and I even finished it off with a 1-mile brick run.
I can definitely tell that I'm going to need to focus on my hill fitness. I felt like the hills were very hard, and I didn't encounter "hard" ones on my route. I don't care how well you train indoors over the winter, you just can't simulate hills effectively. So that will definitely be a goal for my training, especially since the race is in Lake Placid!
Granted, it did remind me of how many morons are allowed to have driver's licenses. Seriously, if there is no oncoming traffic, you can't move over a little and give me some space? The shoulder is still full of sand and has wonderful winter-induced potholes. If you're in your car, please keep this in mind when you see a cyclist.
Besides that, which almost makes bike riding a human version of Frogger, it was a great ride. Everything felt good, no knee problems, and I even finished it off with a 1-mile brick run.
I can definitely tell that I'm going to need to focus on my hill fitness. I felt like the hills were very hard, and I didn't encounter "hard" ones on my route. I don't care how well you train indoors over the winter, you just can't simulate hills effectively. So that will definitely be a goal for my training, especially since the race is in Lake Placid!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
So Maybe I Don't Hate Swimming
Maybe hate is a strong word to use. I guess I don't really HATE swimming; I just dislike doing any kind of pool workout that lasts longer than 10 minutes. Here's an example of my thought process during a lap swim:
"I can't believe I have to do 25 more laps. Okay, think of something else to take your mind off of this. Use it as an opportunity to plan your day. Flip turn. Okay, what was I going to do to stop thinking about this? Ugh, 24 more laps. Don't think about how much you want to be done. Don't think about how much you want to be done. Fun, here comes a beach ball from the open swim area. Flip turn. What is that guy doing? Why is he standing at the side of the pool? Does he want in this lane or not? Well if he comes over to the shallow end, I'll stop and check. If not, he's on his own. Flip turn. OH MY GOD, 23 more laps. Really???"
Repeat these thoughts for about an hour and there you have my swim training experiences. It's a misconception that people who do triathlon love all aspects of triathlon. I think it's more accurate that triathletes PUT UP WITH the elements of triathlon they don't like in order to participate in the experience as a whole. That's pretty much my relationship with swimming. I don't hate it, but if I could do triathlon without any pool training, I'd be much happier.
Despite my dislike of pool training, I had a really awesome workout today. I have no idea why, either. In fact, I didn't get enough sleep last night, am still dealing with stress caused by a recent work incident, and am sore from yesterday's workout. In spite of all this, I felt like I had fins on in the water today. My strokes felt very easy and fluid. The workout was still a mental struggle to get through, but how good I felt physically made it a much better experience.
I am hoping that I am starting to break out of the winter training malaise and that these are the first signs of my Ironman fitness kicking in. At least if I can't be mentally happy in the pool, I can take pride in knowing that my physical water fitness is improving.
"I can't believe I have to do 25 more laps. Okay, think of something else to take your mind off of this. Use it as an opportunity to plan your day. Flip turn. Okay, what was I going to do to stop thinking about this? Ugh, 24 more laps. Don't think about how much you want to be done. Don't think about how much you want to be done. Fun, here comes a beach ball from the open swim area. Flip turn. What is that guy doing? Why is he standing at the side of the pool? Does he want in this lane or not? Well if he comes over to the shallow end, I'll stop and check. If not, he's on his own. Flip turn. OH MY GOD, 23 more laps. Really???"
Repeat these thoughts for about an hour and there you have my swim training experiences. It's a misconception that people who do triathlon love all aspects of triathlon. I think it's more accurate that triathletes PUT UP WITH the elements of triathlon they don't like in order to participate in the experience as a whole. That's pretty much my relationship with swimming. I don't hate it, but if I could do triathlon without any pool training, I'd be much happier.
Despite my dislike of pool training, I had a really awesome workout today. I have no idea why, either. In fact, I didn't get enough sleep last night, am still dealing with stress caused by a recent work incident, and am sore from yesterday's workout. In spite of all this, I felt like I had fins on in the water today. My strokes felt very easy and fluid. The workout was still a mental struggle to get through, but how good I felt physically made it a much better experience.
I am hoping that I am starting to break out of the winter training malaise and that these are the first signs of my Ironman fitness kicking in. At least if I can't be mentally happy in the pool, I can take pride in knowing that my physical water fitness is improving.
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