Friday, July 26, 2013

It’s Changing My Life

I don’t mean to be overly dramatic, but Ironman Florida training has quickly changed my life for 8 reasons. Well, there are more but I can’t think of them right now.

1. I catch cat naps whenever possible (this was in the car waiting at Target for my family, not while I was driving, but that might happen too. Don’t read this, mom). You can call me chicken neck if you want. I won’t be offended (if you do it behind my back and I don’t know):

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2. I have a car that at any given time is littered with banana peels, apple cores, empty Ziploc bags, 45 water bottles, empty Starbucks cups and half-sucked on Altoids (I like an Altoid,  but the taste can get to be too much, so I spit them out and clean them up at the end of the week. Weird habit that my family finds disgusting).

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3. On average, I am 10-15 minutes late wherever I go.

4. I smell like chlorine ALL day no matter how much I shower. Come to think of it, my car smells like chlorine too.

5. I also have raccoon/goggle eyes all day and look 10 years older than I really am.

6. I eat all day, everyday

7. I have become the queen of organization – all of my stuff for the next day’s workout is laid out  by 7pm, so I can go sit down with a glass of wine and popcorn and not think about it anymore (I’ve started training with Powerbar Perform because it is the drink they will have at Ironman Florida. I really like the light taste ((lemon lime)). It has 70 calories a scoop, so if I put a few scoops into my water bottle, that is about an hour of calories on the bike – I got this huge tub from Amazon for about $15). 

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8. The biggest, most significant change, however, is attitude. I’ve decided it’s much more productive to be positive than pissy. So, even when I wake up feeling pissy about an upcoming workout, I don’t feed the pissiness. I just do it. Also, every difficult training session (and they are all difficult) I view as a chance to become stronger and better. So..

  • If it is windy – I think “GREAT, prefect training for that head wind I’ll have in Florida!”
  • If it’s a 5 hour bike ride and I’m alone and annoyed and tired I think “GREAT! This is the perfect training for being alone and tired when I’m out there for 12+ hours at IMFL
  • If it’s hot, I know it’s nothing compared to the heat and humidity of Florida. I tell myself “GREAT – you need to get acclimated to the heat.”
  • If I’m climbing a mountain on my bike and my legs are toast and ready to fall off, I think “GREAT – these hills are priming you to kick ass on that flat Florida course.”

Okay, I’m lying. I don’t say GREAT with a big smile. I say GREAT gritting my teeth and cussing, but my point is – when you reframe the negative into a thought that might benefit you, your attitude kind of turns around. Every training challenge is an opportunity to become that much stronger mentally and physically.

So, I’ve put in 8 hours of training so far this week, and it’s been do-able. The true test comes this weekend.

Tomorrow morning I will ride for 3 hours followed by an hour run. I have to be done by 9:00 a.m. due to a prior commitment, so I don’t really want to think about how early I need to get going. I think that’s a 4:30 a.m. wake up call. Better have my wine now.

Sunday is a 5 hour ride.

If I complete all of this in one piece I will be able to say I had a 17 hour training week – my first ever. 

Wish me luck.

SUAR

43 comments:

  1. BEST OF LUCK. I want to hear about all of it...I'm 2 months away from mine!! Goooooo, girl!

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  2. I wake up at 3 a.m. tomorrow to go place the snacks for our running group to go 13 miles at 5 a.m.

    Marathon training is as stupid as I ever want my training to get.

    You are going to do awesomely!

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  3. You've got this! A 17-hour training week will be such a milestone.

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  4. I thought you said "Sunday is a 5 horror ride" let us know how it goes, hopefully not a horror ride!

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  5. I'm tired just thinking about your weekend! Good luck! You will rock this weekends training!

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  6. Wow- You are a beast! I feel bad about whining about my 15 mile run this evening :)

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  7. Gonna be easy, don't push too hard on the bike and you're gonna rock it !

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  8. Go! My runs are so short compared to what you are doing, but the strong mental attitude is everything.

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  9. You are awesome! You will have no problem getting er' done! I love reading your training towards the Ironman.

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  10. You've got the mental training well in hand. The tougher the training days, providing they don't actually break you, the easier the race is. Does your coach have you doing any core stuff? A strong core will make all the rest of it easier.

    Sleep is good. Get all you can. Food is good too. It's hard to eat too many calories till the race, but go for the most nutrient dense foods you can find. If you aren't taking a vitamin supplament, you might want to consider that. Your body needs a complex mix of the trace element to fully unlock all the nutrition and take advantage of it.

    The pool smell and goggle eyes are hawt. Be proud and show it off.

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  11. I'm just getting back to running after having my babies ( ok so they are in school now) and there are days I find it hard so I'm sooooo glad to hear that someone as fit as you are does too (and believe me, I am in no way comparing our training programs). By the way, are you still using a heart rate monitor?

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  12. I am so proud of you! xoxo

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  13. welcome to the IM life- it's been mine since the 80s.
    embrace the changes
    and get speedo vanquishers. no goggle eyes anymore.

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  14. Good luck! Try to enjoy! I try to think of training as part of the race experience, otherwise it's just one day instead of a months-long adventure! (Although in the spirit of true honesty, I've only done a half marathon...)

    Question: How do you stay motivated to run when you aren't training for something specific? Or are you always training for something? I'm struggling with this right now...

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  15. Naps rule! I often take a nap before my evening workout. after working all day it helps a lot. Good luck out there and just don't try to nap on he bike!

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  16. How do you walk when you get off the bike after three hours? I can't even imagine. Or are you used to it? My bajingo felt like post-childbirth after a 14 mile bike ride, so 5 hours would break me.

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  17. I am taking your training and blogging and giving it meaning to my life in a totally different way than a race. Have a chance to get back to New England for a couple years ( We live in Longmont- retired) and can't decide if my husband and I should leap at the adventure of it. Kids are here with no grand kids yet. It's like training for me.... deciding that is. All you are doing preparing - and the mental game. It's a struggle as is the choice I need to make soon. It's not going to be easy for you and for me either, but it's the whole experience. You inspire me every day. And make me laugh.

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  18. Good luck - but you don't need luck. You've got grit! ;-)

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  19. Good luck with your training! I'm heading out for a 5 mile run, the longest I've run in forevah, you are an inspiration!

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  20. I finally learned the skill of power napping while training for 2011 IMFL, only took me 42 years to figure it out.

    Doing it again this year so can totally empathize.

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  21. Good Luck Rock Star. Thanks for the reminder of the importance of a positive attitude as well. Needed it.

    You're going to kill it.

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  22. so smart to start drinking the drink they'll have there! small but significant detail! good luck, i love following along, you ROCK!

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  23. Wow.. that's a lot of biking.. Makes me feel like a slug since I only have biked 7 miles this week.. Thanks for your positive outlook! I keep thinking your doing it.. I can to!

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  24. You're truly amazing, holy crap!

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  25. Good luck this weekend with your training. I had a 3 hour run this morning and a 5 hour ride planned for Sunday and I'm not even training for an Ironman! I have a marathon in 7 weeks and am doing the MS150 bike ride in 4 weeks. Maybe I'm getting a taste of what IM training is like for the future when I hope to do one! I'll be thinking of you out on your ride tomorrow while I am too.

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  26. Best motivational saying ever: Don't Feed the Pissiness

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  27. Good luck! Thanks for the inspiration! Off to run a few miles and hopefully take a dip in the pool :)

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  28. Those are some serious hours lady! I love following your training and seeing how much ass you are kicking. Keep it up!

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  29. Exhausted just thinking about it - hope your weekend went well!

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  30. You are the best. My favorite cheerleader. You are making this happen for me!

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  31. Way to stick it out while remaining positive! Very inspiring. Hope you had a great day.

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  32. so inspiring..... love reading your progress.... keep on rockin!

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  33. I'm training for a tri.. How much swimming do you do every week? Do you just go by time in the pool or do so many laps?

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    Replies
    1. My swimming is now ramping up. I swim about 3x per week, at least 3,000 yards each time. My coach gives me workouts to do with drills, etc. I go by time in the pool - it is usually about an hour.

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  34. I'm reading this on Monday. I hope you had a great training weekend. Thanks for all the info, especially about turning negatives into positives. I've been lacking that attitude lately. Here's to another great training week!

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  35. Attagirl Beth!! Attitude is everything. Great things await!

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