Time for a training update. Things are going okay but the monotony of training is hitting me as well as sleep deprivation. It's time to shake it up and get more sleep.
Family: Jamie is a real trooper. My training definitely affects the morning routine. Jamie makes our oatmeal every morning, feeds Tuck and takes care of Tuck's morning needs. When I come home I make Jamie's lunch and take over Tuck and the house duties. In the evening I make dinner, take care of Tuck and send Jamie on his way to mountain bike. So, Jamie has morning duty and I have evening duty. Seems to be working really well. As of right now, during the week, Tuck doesn't see Mama for only the first hour of each morning. The weekends are a little different and are getting worse. Saturday I do not train but Sunday I don't get home until 8am or much later.
Spiritual: I just finished this excellent little book called "Inside Out" about raising your kids to love and share Jesus. The book was wonderful and encouraging. I am now looking for the next book, etc to boost my spiritual life and give me a great lift at the beginning of each day. I find myself praying and talking to God while training. I thank Him over and over for the ability to move much less train. I was doing a great study of Philippians and feel the need to start that back up. I put it on hold when I started reading "Inside Out". The Philippines study included much reading out of the Bible which I loved and need to start up again. I think it is so important to read from the Word daily but I honestly haven't been reading out of it daily. Game Plan: read from the Bible every day and apply lessons learned to daily living.
Rest: Are you ready to hear what time I am suppose to go to bed? This is slightly embarrassing. 8pm!!! That's right I need to go to bed by 8pm every night to feel my best. When I go to bed after 8pm I am always exhausted and not able to function at my best the following day. I was doing really well at going to bed at 8pm until about a month ago. It has slipped to about 9 or later. I need to be getting up around 4ish in the morning but am really struggling with it lately. I find myself getting up around 4:40ish instead. My body needs at least 8 hours of sleep a night. When I don't get 8 hours I pay for it. Right now sleep/rest/recovery is my biggest problem. I feel overly exhausted. Game Plan: go to bed at 8pm most every night.
Food: Jamie and I eat a pretty healthy diet. We love our veggies, salads, whole grains, complex carbs, fruits, proteins, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, etc. We are vegetarian and close to vegan. My little ice cream cravings steel the vegan title away from me though. LOL!!! Although our diet can improve I am feeling pretty good about our food sources except for one minor detail...desserts. Yikes!!! Desserts are going to be the death of me, I swear!!! Do any of you have any ideas of a healthy "dessert" I could eat after dinner that is sweet, healthy and not a whole fruit? Game Plan: Start to really watch my dessert intake, try to only eat desserts on the week-end. As of February 1, 2012 no more desserts for me until after the Ironman. Might as well start cutting back now though!!!
Swimming: Frustrated!!! That says it all. Haha!!! Swimming is my weakest link in a tri. I had a sharp learning curve awhile back with Russ but now I just feel stuck. Currently Sponge is having me work on flip turns which adds a whole new element to breathing. I feel like I am having to start all over again on my distance swims since I get out of breath sooner with the flip turns. Soon my tri buddies will be doing open water swims, which I look forward to. I am getting really tired of looking at the Y's pool floor. Game Plan: get out of my funk, stay focused, stick to my swim routines. I must go into the Y with a plan and leave feeling successful.
Biking: Happy, go lucky!! Currently I am having alot of fun biking but I have got to get serious about it again. I went from hard focused training routines to fun, unfocused routines. Time to snap too. I have got to get a couple long bike rides in ASAP. I need to do some 4-7 hour rides. Question is when? Game Plan: stay focused on the bike, remind myself what I am training for, set up several long rides with Jamie so he knows how to plan, and start my long rides early in the morning.
Running: Blahhh!! Haha!! This past Monday I had to make myself do the distance run. I actually had to trick myself into doing it. I went out for a "walk" that ended up as a 2 hour hill run. My distant runs are going pretty good, but my shorter mid-week runs are being somewhat neglected. I believe the lack of sleep is the biggest reason I am struggling with my runs. Game Plan: Get sleep. Get those mid-week runs in, work on hills, speed, and distance. Keep up my transition runs.
