Biting off more than I can chew....perhaps.

Yep, feeling a little nervous.  OK, I'll admit it- downright anxious
and scared.  You know, that lump-in-the-throat,
what-did-I-get-myself-into feeling.

Although most of my focus has been on my first race in July, I'm also
planning on doing an Xterra triathlon race three weeks after that on
August 7th.  So I spent a little time on the website last night.  Not
sure that was a good idea.

First of all, the distances are a bit longer than what I realized.
Maybe I should have looked a little more closely.  Hmmmm- small
detail.

Secondly, the most I've been on my mountain bike in the past 7 years
is on the bike trainer in my parents' basement this past month.  To
say my mountain biking skills are rusty is a gross understatement.
And even my mountain bike- it's the most basic, heavy model with no
suspension.  Not exactly light and easy to handle.

To add to it, my sister-in-law will be competing in the same race.
Now, I'm not worried about competing with her because she is soooo out
of my league that it's actually funny to me that we'll be in the same
race.  This is the girl that will be competing in the World's
Championship Xterra race in Maui this fall.  Yeah, all I'll see of her
is her body diving into the water when the race starts.

To put it frankly, I have no idea what I'm doing entering an
Xterra race.  Except my brother, Brett, told me I could do it.  Ha-
we'll see.  But since it's his training plan that I'm following, he
better know what he's talking about.  (No pressure, Brett.)  
Because right now, my mountain bike is still sitting in the basement.

Something better than ice cream?

5/21/11


Training's going pretty well.  I'm actually putting in a little more
time than what my weekly plan is, which I'm very pleased about.

Here are a couple things I've already learned through this process:

1.  Training for an event is completely different than exercising in
order to lose or manage my weight.  It's still exercise.  But the
motivation and intention is completely different.  It's actually very
refreshing to not have the burden of a workout looming over me just to
avoid more of a muffin top.  There's always the motivation of losing
weight, but you know what?  I did that.  Two years ago I was down at a
weight that I didn't even realize I could get to.  It was fantastic
for that summer- and then it came back on.  Like it often does.  But
training for a race, I'm less concerned about my weight.  The
intention for my workouts is bigger and so much better than
dissatisfaction with my body.  And believe me, it's far more
enjoyable.

2.  There are things better than ice cream.  As spring is sloooowly
moving into summer, my two kids are on constant lookout for the OPEN
sign at our local ice cream stand.  And even though I'm happy to treat
them, I've actually been happy to not have ice cream myself.  Because
being fast in a race is actually more attractive to me than a twist
with sprinkles.  Can you believe it?  I think I'm starting to.

Goals and reality

5/18/11


OK, so I'd set a goal of finishing in 1:20, with the intention of
placing in my age group, at the triathlon that's only 7 short weeks
away.  I had a conversation with Brett and he asked me some pretty
simple questions- What was my time when I did the same race in 2003?
Looking at last year's results, how many people were in my age group?
How experienced are the racers that placed last year?

Pretty basic questions- none of which I had an answer to.  Duh.

So as a physical therapist, I'm trained to make goals for my patients
that are realistic and based on definite measurements.  Hmmmm.... you
would think I could apply that same process for myself.

So I did a little research.  Turns out my husband, who is a researcher
and adores collecting data, still had our results from our races back
in 2003.  I completed the same race in 1:30.

I still don't know about the other racers.  But if I'm aiming to take
10 minutes off my previous time and I'm training smarter now, then
maybe it is a reasonable goal.  Honestly?  Maybe it's not.  But I've
still got my 1:20 sign posted over my desk at work to keep me going.
Because if a goal doesn't make us work a little harder and reach a
little farther, then what's the point?

Step it up

So when I first started this training program with Donelson Training, my eyes were set on my first race on July 18th- a sprint distance triathlon.  My goal was to do as much of Brett's training program as I could and do the best I could in the race.  No big deal- I can do that.  Just doing some of the training was stepping out of my comfort zone enough.

Now that I see how doable Brett's plan is and the progress I'm making, I've changed my tune a bit.

I've generally seen myself as a mediocre athlete for most of my life.  I mean, I spent my childhood and teenage years in the ballet studio.  And while I loved every minute of my years in ballet, I didn't spend much time participating in competitive sports.  The competitive, high-level athletes were always those "other girls".  Those other girls were lean, fast, and simply not me.  Beliefs we take on as we grow up can stay with us for a long time.  But the belief that I am not one of those fast girls is done.  I'm ending it now.

So instead of my goal of finishing the race, I am going to place in my age group.  Looking at last year's results, that means I need to finish in about 1:20.  I don't know how difficult that will be, but I'm going to do whatever I can to get there.  I'm not settling for just finishing the race now- I can do that.

It's time to step it up.

Back pain.....what a pain in the neck.

If I had one concern about training for a triathlon, it was the bike.  Although I don't like to admit it, I've had recurring back pain over the past few years.  I'm able to manage it well on my own and I know what will bring it on and what I can do to get rid of it.  The one thing that will bring on back pain for me is too much bending forward or sitting.

Bending forward and sitting....yep, the bike is definitely a concern.  And just as I knew would happen, I've had some trouble with my back as I've added biking to my workout routine.  Nothing major at first, but then I did have a few days that I needed to hold off on training altogether.  Just four days- but it was killing me to not be able to train.  This week, I've been able to get back on track with workouts and my back pain has gone from a roar to a quiet whisper.

So I'm staying optimistic.  Originally, my training plan was to bike 3x/week but I knew that was more than I could do.  So Brett's adjusted my program to biking 2x/week instead and I'm comfortable with that.  I can keep my back under control (I hope), and still get enough training in to be ready for my first race in July.

Three months and counting.....