Training Update One

This entire blog is about many things but mostly about how realistic it is to train for an Ironman and still maintain relationships, keep up with my jobs, and stay spiritually connected with God. I haven't updated you yet on how I am keeping up with a "normal" life while training. Here is an overview of the situation:

  The spiritual aspect has been tough but in some ways I feel I am doing better. I don't always have my worships in the morning, instead they are in the middle of the day or in the evening. I find when I have my worship in the morning I often feel rushed thinking about everything I have to do. When I have my worships in the middle of the day or in the evening I don't feel so rushed; I usually feel somewhat accomplished and able to relax. Also I have been alot more vocal about who I am and what I believe. The Lord has provided me with many occasions to share with other's that I am a Christian.  I have much to improve on but all-in-all my training is not leaving my spiritual life behind. 

 

 My relationship with my husband is wonderful. God is so great!!! I don't deserve Jamie but God gave him to me so I am keeping him!!! :-) Jamie and I have been learning to give and take. We are both supporting each other's goals. For the most part my training takes away from getting up together in the morning and that's about it. Soon it will take away from some occasional breakfasts together. We try to have  date nights and catch up via cell phones several times a day. We usually always do stuff together on the weekends with and without Tucker. Jamie is even running with me on Friday's. We are helping him train for a 5k. Jamie is very open and honest with me and let's me know if my training is affecting us. He won't let that happen and I don't want it to either. 

 Tucker doesn't even have a clue that Mama is off training early in the morning because he is fast asleep. Often I will get home and Tuck is still asleep. Sometimes I get a little tired in the afternoon and feel like my energy level is low but then I work through it. Other than that my training hasn't negatively affected Tuck and if it does something will have to change. 

 

  Work is starting to pick up and is posing a threat to my training. I am currently teaching part-time at USM and at Atlantic Union College. In two weeks I will be teaching the evening triathlon class at the local YMCA and I am also triathlon coaching through CoachMe Tri. As work picks up life gets hectic. It's getting harder to keep up with everything. But I'm determined.

 

  Family and friends would probably say that my communication skills haven't changed and that's because I am horrible at communicating as it is. Part of the problem is my stupid cell phone (which isn't working) but I am also a big part of the problem. I have been trying to do better at communicating with everyone but I have lots to improve on. I swear I have cell phone-ophobia. I do not like talking on the phone. I love emailing, texting, writing and talking face-to-face, just not on the phone. No offense to anyone it's just a weird quirk of mine.

 Sleep and recovery are probably being affected a bit but I try to protect my sleep as much as possible. I need  about 8 hours a night. In the last year I have been going to bed around 8 or 9, getting 4 hours of sleep before midnight and 4 hours of sleep after midnight, waking up at 4ish. I usually feel well rested and I think it's mostly due to the 4 hours of sleep before midnight. Several years earlier I use to get about 8 hours of sleep but only 2 of those hours were before midnight and I never felt rested. So I am a firm believer in getting as many hours of sleep before midnight as possible.

 

My training has helped me improve on several things which I am super excited about. First of all, those of you who know me are aware that I have a wicked bad sweet tooth. Eating a dessert most every day was not unheard of for me and in fact that's pretty much how I use to roll. Now I eat dessert only on the week-end. I feel noticeably better. My water consumption has improved but still has room for more improvement. I am more focused and organized during the day. If I'm not organized and on top of things then everything falls apart. I don't watch much television due to no time. It's more important for me to spend time with Jamie and use every minute of my day in a productive way. If I'm not productive then I don't have as much time to train. Ironman is my goal not television. I have no clue what the latest, greatest shows are on t.v., I have no clue who the contestants are on American Idol, and so on. Some may say I am sheltered and others may say I'm better off without the television...so far I have only seen positive results. Every minute of the day counts. Technically I guess you could say that ironman training has affected the "down time" in my life. More on that later.

 

So that's a quick update. My training is about to pick up this coming week and I have a feeling that it won't be as smooth sailing. I will keep you updated. Stay tuned... 

The Beginning

 College years proved to be the beginning of many new things for me. I met so many wonderful people, did a lot of camping, and hiking, learned how to white water kayak, drove many, many miles back and forth from Tennessee to Maine, met the man of my life, and so much more. BUT, there was one thing I was determined not to do: the Cohutta Springs Triathlon. My Aunt Donna was one of the race organizers; she greatly encouraged me to do the triathlon. I refused my freshman year but then gave in my sophomore year.  I most certainly didn’t do the triathlon because I wanted too; I did it because I felt like I had too. After signing up for the race I was instructed to start “training”. What in the world did “training” mean? Did it mean swimming? I didn’t have a clue how to do the crawl; I didn’t own goggles or a swim cap. Did training mean biking? I didn’t own a road bike and didn’t have the money to buy a bike. Did training mean running? Well, that was the only thing I could do but only about 2 or 3 miles.

   In my younger years my family and I were always active, I knew how to swim (not laps), I knew how to bike up and down the road, and I knew how to run away from my brother but I never contemplated combing all three events. Who in their right mind would want to even do such a thing? It didn’t interest me in the least!!!

   The Cohutta Springs Triathlon was/is .5 mile swim, 18 mile bike and a 4 mile run. After signing up for the race I spent many sleepless/restless nights thinking about how I was going to make a complete idiot of myself on race day. I couldn’t even swim across the pool!!! I was sick over it.

  I will never forget the first time I went to the pool to swim. The pool looked so big and intimidating. Everyone was swimming like a pro and had on goggles, cool swimsuits and caps. I, on the other hand, had no goggles, no cap and was wearing a very stretched out, transparent swimsuit. My beach towel remained tight around my body until I was at the very edge of the pool. I quickly dropped the towel and jumped in the pool. Thank goodness my cousin (who had been a competitive swimmer for years) was there to give me a jump start. She showed me how to do the crawl and she encouraged me a lot. That first pass across the pool will forever stay engraved in my brain. Let’s just say I didn’t look like all the other swimmers. I didn’t blend in at all. In fact I stuck out like a sore thumb. I couldn’t even do the crawl for more than ½ a length.

 My aunt let me borrow one of her road bikes which was fantastic. It was an older bike with the shifters on the frame. My first several rides out were spent simply trying to figure out how to shift the thing. I bonded with that bike in a very short amount of time. Most of my rides were solo and went smoothly. I wasn’t very fast and had so much to learn but I really enjoyed biking.

  Running was the only thing I had been doing for awhile but I hadn’t run any more than 2 or 3 miles. I wasn’t a strong runner and it’s still a survival thing for me but it makes me feel super when I’m finished.

  The day of the triathlon came and my nerves where out of this world. I felt like I was in a dream…just wasn’t sure yet whether it was a good dream or a bad dream. I will never forget sitting in the water getting ready to swim out to the first buoy. I was shaking with fear and anticipation. The gun went off and I was stuck in a pack of flying hands and smacking feet. I survived the swim mostly doing crawl. Several minutes into the swim I finally calmed down and just started to soak in the experience.  The bike was slow but smooth and the run was pretty good. Every mile I went the more I started to realize that this triathlon stuff is actually fun. When I crossed the finish line I was addicted.  But there was yet another experience that really made me determined to continue in the sport and see how well I could improve.

  The experience happened several days after the triathlon. I was in the guy’s dorm at Southern and met up with some friends. One of them asked me how the tri went. They then asked if I placed and I had in fact placed first in my age category (surprisingly). They then went on to remark that I placed probably ONLY because I was the only one in my age category. They went on to imply that I wasn’t capable of doing well and there must have been a catch. This bothered me so much especially since this individual and their siblings had consistently put me down for years. Honestly I started to believe their comments. I decided that I had to do the Cohutta Springs triathlon again and was able to finish first in my age category and third overall female. The race has gotten a lot more competitive since I did it way back when, so my times aren’t very impressive but it is a confidence booster when you place. After my second year of doing the triathlon I started to fall in love with the sport and wasn’t driven to do it to prove anything to anyone. Now triathlon is actually part of my lifestyle. Being involved with the sport motivates me each morning to exercise. Triathlons give my training direction and meaning. I am not a pro and never will be; I’m not fast and never will be but I love the sport and enjoy the whole experience.

  As for my friend and I…I cannot lie, I still have hurt feelings not just from the triathlon comment but others too. That’s what life is about though. We all go through tough experiences. What matters is whether or not you come out of the experience a stronger, better person. If it wasn’t for my Aunt’s persistent encouragement (she is the best, I love you Aunt Donna) and for my friends sneering remark I might not have ever discovered my love for the triathlon sport. I would have missed out on something amazing.

I will forever thank my Aunt Donna for encouraging me to try the Cohutta Springs Triathlon. She knew I would enjoy it. The Cohutta Springs Triathlon is a great triathlon. It is well run, well marked and full of helpful volunteers. I highly recommend it.

Race website: http://www.southerntriathlon.com/event.htm

Smiles