On Pivoting

I don't know if I've mentioned it here before, but I have finally decided that I'm going to run my first marathon in 2024. And yes, I'm going to add the caveat of first standalone marathon, as I have technically schmecnically run four marathons at the end of all my Ironmans.

Years ago, I said the only marathon I really wanted to run was Boston. While I still would love and adore Boston, I realistically know that the odds of qualifying - for me - are ... not good. And yeah, I could try for a charity slot, but I loathe asking people for money, so there's also that.

But obviously, things change. Last year, while virtually cheering on friends and family at the NYC Marathon ... I decided that you know what? Maybe it's time. I haven't had a big, scary goal - one that truly does scare me - in a while and a standalone marathon does scare me.

I crowd-sourced some and got a lot of different responses, but the one that came up a bit more than others and did make the most sense - particularly given the family that runs it (or tries to run it) every year - was the Chicago Marathon.

So, as soon as the lottery opened up this year, I entered it. And yesterday was the day we would find out if our applications were successful.

I ... was not.

I knew this was a possibility. I could in theory take this as a sign that, well, running a marathon isn't for me. However, I also decided on two backup options: the St. George Marathon and the Tucson Marathon.

St. George takes place in early October - usually the week of or before Chicago (week before in 2024) and Tucson in early December (it's actually this weekend).

Both have their perks.

St. George: driving distance, smaller, has won many awards for being well-organized, downhill but not crazily so, can easily sneak down to Vegas after as a reward.

Tucson: technically driving distance, obviously it's in cactusville and we all know how much I love Tucson, also downhill (a little more ridiculous though), I know some people locally.

In looking over what I'm hoping to do for the rest of next year, though, I think ultimately, St. George makes the most sense. So, when registration opens up in April, I'll be on my computer ready to sign up.

(And if I somehow miss out on that? Well, Tucson was still open as of yesterday, so I've got that as a backup to the backup plan.

November Round Up

November, you were also crap. But this is also my life.

Swimming: 1000m (.62 mi)
Cycling: 11.74 mi
Running: 17.37 mi
Lifting: eight sessions (2:26)
Other: two sessions hockey (2:14), 10 walks (3:45), one session yoga (:22)

I did hit my main goal for November, which was to survive, because clearly I'm here typing out this recap. 

And I don't know whether it's the time change, or the weather, or just the overwhelming malaise that is life for ever so many of us, but yeah. Shit's tough.

I also fucked up my little toe a bit a few days ago, so that's made things interesting. Do I lose toenails to running? No. I lose them to grocery carts and doors. At least I fucked up the left little toe for a change; I think the next time I do the right, it's giving up and not growing back.

We all know December is about doing the best you can and surviving and that's even more the case this year.

October Round Up

Oh October. You were crap.

Swimming: 1000m (.62 mi)
Cycling: 5.7 mi
Running: 20.97 mi
Lifting: five sessions (1:23)
Other: one session elliptical (:10), two hikes (3:52), one session hockey (1:06), 12 walks (8:33), two sessions yoga (:51)

Life is a fucking struggle right now. I'll just flat out say it. It has been for a while and is continuing to be that way and I just don't know why.

I swam once.

I rode once.

I skipped runs again (and yet, somehow pulled a halfway decent 5K out of my ass).

Lifting was a joke.

Hiking was good - once here and though I logged it as one, it was really two in Acadia National Park. And we got back on the ice which was also good, and is looking to potentially be a regular thing.

I was hoping for yoga to happen at least twice a month in October - clearly that didn't happen at all.

Honestly, the only thing that saved my (literal) ass this month was joining B in his work's Walktober challenge. I had my highest ever step month, logging over 390,000 steps. I had more walks than I even officially logged.

(me not really eating much the last half of the month probably also helped, tbh).

I need to figure out my shit for November, but I have no idea how to do that yet. Survive? That's the main goal. Anything else is just gravy at this point.

Race #3 of the Season: Haunted 5K

... maybe the Haunted Half 5K? I don't know.

I've done Runtastic races before - ye olde Dino Half back in the day - and got back on their email list now that I've moved to Utah. I knew I might not be around for the Provo race (... which, turns out, I would have been, as it was this morning), but I definitely knew I would be for the SLC race, so I signed up for that one.

(Had I known about the closer Halloween race in Farmington that same morning, I may have done that instead, given that it was like 25 minutes closer, but alas.)

I drove down to Sugar House Park perhaps a bit too early, but eh. Triathlete - it's what we do. Later than the buses went off to deliver the half-marathoners to their start, but definitely well before the 5K.

 
Sunrise.

I waited in the car for a bit, then wandered off to make sure I was parked in an okay spot (fairly close to the start/finish - more the finish and then the start line was up the hill from the finish). I wandered some, warmed up a little, and took a few photos.

Part of the finisher's chute. We finished under that pumpkin arch which is pretty cool tbh.

Soon enough though, time to start.

I had absolutely zero expectations for this race because my training hasn't really been training and except for walking, my movement has been basically poop for the past month or so (spoiler for the monthly recap).

That being said, I seeded myself a bit back from the front but not horribly far, knowing how the first mile or so of 5Ks always goes with people starting out way too fast and the like.

I started off pretty steady, doing well to keep running but also not push myself too hard. It took a good chunk of time before my first walk break and the first mile (according to my Garmin) was a fairly standard for me these days 10:44.

The race, however, had the mile 1 marker at like 1.2 according to my watch.

Things went downhill (literally) soon after through the neighborhoods so I was able to take advantage of gravity some and wind my way through Sugar House, not walking too terribly much. I was getting passed a little, but not much. I also think I was making up some ground, as well. Mile two was a very happy neg split ... and happened a bit before the mile 2 banner - 9:44.

Most of the last mile and change was back in Sugar House Park so I got to internally wave hi to my car. There was also a race photographer on the curve just past where I parked.

Couldn't find my ref jersey and decided to not attempt running in the inflatable dino ... but I can always manage some sort of '80s something.

As you can kind of tell, the photog was on a slight incline and there was a decent hill we were climbing after. I made it almost all the way up, but had to walk a bit. I was kind of dying this final stretch, but I was fighting as much as I could ... meaning I also somehow completely neg split this race - 9:39 for mile 3.

I walked for the last time a bit before the world's longest finish chute ... which not only included the pumpkin arch, but a giant long black inflatable tunnel to run through. 

(I watched quite a few people run around it after I finished, but I didn't even consider that possibility at the time).

My Garmin had things a bit short (3.07), but I finished. And kinda died.

Final Stats:
Time: 30:38.84
10/50 AG (F40-44)
76/436 gender
198/704 overall

... I don't know if all the fast people here do the half-marathons when there are these combined races, but dang. I was just outside the top-10 AG at April's 5K and 10th in this one? Obviously no awards for it, but I'll take it.

I will also take, somewhat reluctantly, the scariest race medal known to man. Thanks, Runtastic Events.

Random finishing tunnel behind said creepy-ass medal.

September Round Up

So September was weird. We had the tri, and then I have no idea where the rest of the month went. Except for nothing good.

Swimming: 2259.32m (1.4 mi)
Cycling: 32.14 mi
Running: 33.64 mi
Lifting: seven sessions (1:40)
Other: two hikes (1:50), one session hockey (1:10), nine walks (6:17)

Swimming fell off and fell off hard. Part of it was travel and part of it was my shoulder, but mostly it was just because getting to the damn gym to swim is hard. It's the process.

Same with the bike. That fell off too. But I have fewer excuses there.

Running ... is actually maybe coming around a bit. Potentially.

Strength needs to get a lot more consistent (... I am a broken record here).

Walking was actually more than I have here - that's just when I logged it when I had nothing else (or it was long enough/part of a coffee run/walk back situation). Hiking needs to become more because I love it and it's a good hiking time. Hockey ... well, we're actually trying to get back into that. Because why not.

Race #2 of the Season: Brineman Sprint Triathlon

While I've mostly been dealing with a break from racing due to various reasons, we both decided to race a local sprint triathlon that literally took place a half mile from our house - TriUtah's Brineman.

Brineman has a kids' splash 'n' dash race, a sprint, an Olympic, and a half-distance race. When I was first tossing around the idea, obviously I was thinking the half, sort of mulled over the Oly (even though I'm not the biggest fan of the distance), but ultimately we both settled on the sprint.

We drove down Wednesday night for packet pickup instead of dealing with it race morning as why would we want to go about a mile to packet pickup and then that mile to the race venue and then back to our house (and back again) when we could just avoid going to the stupid nature center until we finished there with the race later that day?

Because the fun, weird thing about this race, is that it takes place on a Friday morning. 

Transition/bike drop off opened up earlier than I thought I had read, so we literally just rolled out of bed and went to drop our bikes and gear off before doing anything (except maybe brushing my teeth). Bikes got dropped and we walked home to make breakfast and do all the things (happily poop in our own toilet, get changed into our tri kits, sunscreen (and bug spray) up ...). With about an hour to go before the start of the sprint, we headed back over to transition.

Been a while since I've set up a transition zone like this ...

Chilling out.

Around about the time the Olympic race went off, we got into our wetsuits and went for a quick little practice dip into the lakes. Oh yeah, the swim takes place in one of the two private waterski lakes that are in our neighborhood. Probably the only time (unless I race again) that I'll be allowed in these lakes. Even though I want to make friends with the kid who was skating on them when they froze over last winter ...

The Swim:

The swim course of the lake was either a half loop (if you were doing the sprint), a full loop (the Olympic), or one of each (the half). We lined up due to estimated 100yd swim pace (I went in around the 2:00-2:20 group iirc? maybe the 1:50-2:00?) ... B actually decided to line up with me. 

The timing mat was a few feet from the actual water so you crossed the mat, gingerly took a few steps on the boat dock, and then popped in the water. I took about two steps off the dock and said "fuck it" and started swimming, though many others around me waded in a bit more.

I think it happened at CdA, but pretty much ever since then (with a few notable exceptions), the swim leg of triathlon has been a non-issue for me. Like, it just is. I don't question my life on it - I just put my head down and swim.

I did, however, feel like I got beat up the most on this swim than ANY OTHER. Early on, I got smacked in the face and my goggles slid just enough to be annoying, but not annoying enough for me to want to stop to tread water to fix them. If it had been a longer swim, maybe, but this short? Eh. I got a forearm to the back, constant smacking of feet and legs and arms, another smack in the face ... it was brutal. I'd do my best to swim away from someone and through a hole and that person would just swim back into me. Like, really? Figure it out.

Other than the physical contact, an uneventful swim except for me almost swimming into a boat dock and having a bit of trouble sighting to the finish due to the sun.

Popped out, saw 15:something on my watch (decently happy with for 750m) ... and proceeded to still have to run a decent stretch back to transition to where the timing mat was. And I did flop off the path on the grass to take my wetsuit off as I knew space in transition was limited.

Time: 17:46

T1:

While I saw B's bike was gone (figures), there were a good chunk of us in our tiny little corner all at the same time. I do think I beat most of the other guys out, though. Did take a second to toss a bit of Aquaphor on my neck even though I didn't really feel like I chafed. It was also nice being on a fence as that's where I tossed up my wetsuit. It was nice and dry by the end of the day.

Time: 2:12

The Bike:

So. We had pre-rode the course (using the very terrible directions on the site) about a week prior. Figured out that the turns that gave us issues would be well-marked on race day and didn't worry about it from there.

The course started off normal - in fact, it started off on my usual ride from the house - but then a little bit after where I thought we should have turned ... we didn't. And kept riding off my usual path. And then we turned toward the Antelope Island causeway ... which I knew that the other two distances did, but not us. We rode over the bumpy dirt section (which, in the final pre-race e-mail, was mentioned as a concern for the half and Olympic distance racers, but not the for the sprint ...), went past the guard gate for a little bit and then flipped it.

So, what was in theory a 12.5ish mile bike turned into a 10.6ish mile bike. Which means the race results have me as a lot faster of a speed than I actually had.

That being said, I did ride it a lot faster than I usually do in training, so that's a plus. I was kind of going all out all day, and my Garmin definitely showed it.

Time: 35:49

T2:

Just as there were a few of us in T1, most of us also all rolled into T2 at the same time, too, including a guy that I had been going back and forth with a little. Which was hilarious.

Mostly uneventful again except trying to figure out where one of my socks went and choosing to not deal with BodyGliding my feet.

I should also say that I saw B very early on in the run as I rolled in, so I knew I wasn't far behind. I also wasn't sure if I could catch him (spoiler: I didn't).

Time: 2:26

The Run:

The elevated heart rate I had all day really came into play on the run as it was a little rough trying to run. I did try to run as much as I could and did my 20 breath walk breaks (as per usual). Mile one was sub-11, which I was very grateful for.

The run goes right behind our house at one point and we put the dinosaurs up in a window so we could see them which made me very happy. Our neighbors also put a sign up which made me crack up:

In-joke. Apparently one of their family members hates encouraging signs, so they do signs more like this when cheering for EVERYONE in the family now. I heard about this and thought it was hilarious and was totally fine with them doing it for us, too.

Mile two was in the 11s, but I was still actually passing some people. I had no idea where I was place-wise or anything, but I did know that I was doing more passing than being passed - even with my walk breaks.

The run was in theory a 5K ... but both B and I definitely had around 3.4 miles instead. While mile 3 was still in the 11s, it was actually faster than mile 2. Race results have me averaging a 12:08/mi, but the race also thinks that my time was for a 5K. Which it totally was NOT.

Perk to B finishing before me - finish shot! He put his phone in his jersey for the run for Peloton app tracking because he is a nerd.

Time: 38:01

Overall Stats:
Time: 1:36:13.78
3/11 division (F40-44)
32/82 gender
107/209 overall

Wait, what's that? Third in my AG? Yep.

Didn't wait for an official medal ceremony, but they accepted my print-out results for my award thingy and then we staged this photo.

Technically schmecnically I was fourth in my age group, but the overall women's winner was also in the 40-44 AG so she got pulled into the overall top three letting me sneak up onto the podium. My first official AG award in a triathlon - I've done it in a 5K and in a few duathlons, but this is a triathlon first for me. Woo!

B was official champion of the house, finishing just under four minutes ahead of me, but he didn't place in his age group, so we both kind of win.

Fun day, and it makes me excited to jump into the local tri scene more next year.

August Round Up

August was actually kind of ... good. Not anywhere close to perfect, but definitely decent.

Swimming: 10100m (6.28mi)
Cycling: 105.71 mi
Running: 44.16 mi
Lifting: six sessions (2:10)
Other: one hike (:45), five walks (3:46:04), one session yoga (:25)

I finally got over 10k in the pool again AND over 100 miles on the bike. Which means I basically did a third of my currently yearly totals in each sport in one month. Oops ...? One of the rides ended up being 25 miles (not planned), which was perhaps a tad ambitious given my lack of riding this year, but I managed it. 

Despite the slip up at the end of July, my running is back on track in terms of the every-other-day thing and I got up to 6 miles again, which is also nice. Maybe not specifically necessary for sprint tri training, but eh. Garmin badges can lure me in.

I did end up having two complete off days (oh 40, is this you?). Lifting ... was a disaster. I need to lift and lift a lot more. I legitimately feel the weakest I maybe have ever been. Or at least the weakest in over half my life. Which SUCKS. The other also needs to be more - walking is good - I actually walked a lot more than that - but the yoga, the mobility, the HIKING, playing with my inlines ... it all has to happen.

But first, a sprint tri.

July Round Up

Oh, July. You were terrible. I did end up signing up for the local sprint tri, but have I really started training for it? Not really.

Turned 40 at the beginning of the month and had a trip for that. Then the exhaustion of that week caught up with me the next and it was 50/50 good. Then we went to Slovenia for a little over a week (which was AWESOME). And then I got sick. Which leaves us to our fairly crap numbers ...

Swimming: 2200m (1.37 mi)
Cycling: 15.76 mi
Running: 32.19 mi
Lifting: nine sessions (2:57)
Other: four hikes (6:40), one session erg (rowing machine)(:10), one session stepmill (:05), five walks (3:20), one session yoga (:10)

Oh swimming. I don't even know there.

... I don't know what it is about the bike, but I need to re-fall in love with it. Badly.

Running appears to be the bright spot, but I actually lost my run "streak" in Slovenia (having kept up with running every other day since the end of March). I thankfully have restarted it, though.

Lifting was kind of unacceptable, as was the amount of yoga/stretching I did (not) do. Hiking was good - we did a lot of that in Slovenia and I have missed it.

I need to be on top of my shit in August if I want to be able to do the sprint at Brineman with any sort of respectability, and my almost eight-year-old Garmin crapping out on me at the end of July does not really help with that. I do have a new one on the way, though, and I'm managing with B's and my old-ass Timex in the meantime. 

June Round Up

Well, we had some improvements, but also some not. As usual.

Swimming: 6500m (4.04 mi)
Cycling: 47.94 mi
Running: 42 mi
Lifting: 18 sessions (8:07)
Other: one session plyometrics (:21), three walks (1:08), one session yoga (:10)

The swim was a great improvement ... even with me not really swimming the last two weeks of the month. Obviously if I work on getting in the water a little it happens well. But when it falls off ...

The bike ... I just don't know what's going on with that. The trainer sucks and I don't know what's with the bike anxiety I seem to have. Not fun. Something I really definitively need to figure out. Maybe I just need to find people to ride with, but I'm not all that good and I know like everyone always has specific training rides and metrics so it's awkward to try to think of even how to ask/approach it. So I don't.

Running has stayed consistent now for three months. Some runs still make me want to die (most), but there have also been a few glimpses of maybe. Mileage is starting to creep up, and now maybe I can try thinking about tossing in a bit of speed. Maybe.

Strength has been a nice surprise. I did a specific strong at home program for the last two weeks of the month that had me lifting heavier which was actually really nice. Definitely things I need to keep up with.

The other hasn't been a lot. The good news is I think I only logged a walk as the daily workout once; the other two were part of coffee runs/walks back home, so that's nice. Definitely need more yoga (as always) and why haven't I hiked yet this summer?

Still deciding on whether to race a tri in September. I need to just decide ...

May Round Up

... I really wish these monthly recaps didn't all feel like a broken record. But they do. Hopefully that's changing though ...

Swimming: 1700m (1.06 mi)
Cycling: 48.71 mi
Running: 31.78 mi
Lifting: eight sessions (3:15)
Other: one hike (1:00), one session plyos (:10), one session erg/rowing machine (:10:06), one session stationary bike (:10), three walks (1:20), four sessions yoga (1:00)

I got back in the pool a bit in the early part of the month, but haven't in a little while, unfortunately.

The bike is fine if I can get outside - the trainer is still an immense struggle. I do need to get a bit better on mileage, but I am starting to get out there.

Running - while not high mileage - has continued to be consistent. Another month where I did not skip a run, so I'm immensely grateful for that.

Not lifting as much as I'd like - or need - but I have officially lifted as many times as I hoped for the entire year (which means I set that goal too low, but hey - I'll take my wins where I can get them). 

Happy about a decent amount of other ... except the walks. I'm currently walking with B every day that he's home, but I only count the walks in my workout log if it's the only thing I manage to do that day. So having that be my only workout for three days? Not good for me.

I say this with eternal optimism every month, but here's hoping June is better - it should be.

April Round Up

... oh April. Full of ups and downs once again.

Swimming: 0m (0mi)
Cycling: 18.87 mi
Running: 27.57 mi
Lifting: nine sessions (3:30)
Other: one day skiing (1:30), one session stationary bike (:30), two walks (:50), twelve sessions yoga (5:45)

Swimming was a whole lot of nothing because, as I mentioned last month, my doctor didn't officially want me swimming with the thumb, so I didn't in order to let it properly heal. Which it is, so I'll accept that loss.

Cycling ... well, all those rides were outside on my gravel bike. The trainer sounds so horribly unappealing so I just haven't forced myself to get on it. The perk is that the weather is FINALLY getting better so hopefully a lot more outside rides can become a thing.

Running wasn't all that much, but I did not skip a single run day this month, so I'm really happy with that win. Along those lines, I actually didn't miss a single day in April, so another win there.

I did a mindfulness challenge in the MF app and while I technically completed it the first day of May due to schedule problems, I did complete it. It meant a lot of yoga, but I probably needed it.

I still don't have a lot of goals on the horizon - not doing that half in May I tossed around doing - glad I didn't sign up for it - but I did give myself a bit more structure in May. I've already gotten back in the pool once, so baby steps.

Race #1 of the Season: Salt Lake City 5K

... or maybe it's the Salt Lake City Marathon 5K. Not exactly sure. 

Regardless, I was supposed to run the half. Some Skirt sisters from out of town were coming in to run it and I thought it would be fun and a way to check out the local race scene ... and then I bruised my tailbone two weeks into training. And then messed up my thumb. And I didn't really run.

So, down to the 5K it was, and B decided to run it with me.

I found out the day before that Jessi and Kim also dropped down to the 10K from the half (and that they didn't realize I had actually signed up - oops), due to training fiascos of their own - I think time with Kim and an Achilles or calf flare with Jessi. In any case, we all decided we'd try to meet up beforehand for a photo (along with Anastasia, another Skirt sister who actually lives south of SLC).

Race morning comes and B and I drive down to the city. Since we were doing the 5K and not the half, we had a loop course as opposed to a point-to-point, so that made our lives easier. And we were thinking no gear check, but thankfully Anastasia cleared that up for us (which is good, because sweatshirts were very nice to put back on post-race).

We all figured out where we were and then met up for a photo.

From left: Kim, Jessi, me, Anastasia. Yes I'm tall.

After the photo, we split up since I needed to go to the bathroom and hit up gear check, but we got back in time for the start of the 10K (we went off 10 minutes later).

B and I decided we'd run together. He was maybe thinking sub-:10 per mile which I was realistically thinking was NOT going to happen (and it didn't). But still, we kept the walk breaks to a minimum and ran as best as we could.

A little over a mile in, we ran past Jessi and Kim who were walking the 10K (due to the aforementioned leg thing for Jessi) - I came up behind and hugged them and then ran off ... and Jessi got a picture in the process.

Oh B and his calves ...

A little after this point, the two race courses diverged and we did a little lollipop loop around a park before heading back from whence we came. We were getting passed by people who did the bike tour (cold morning for that), but it was going pretty well otherwise. I had to do one last walk break right before the finish, but I was also able to kick better than B at the end, beating him by a whole three seconds.

Final Stats:

Time: 32:28

11/40 AG (F35-39)

57/425 gender

202/749 overall

Not our best race, definitely not our worst ... and a fun way to spend the morning. 

Clearly after we got our sweats back.

March Round Up

... so I thought I was maybe starting to figure my shit out. HA.

Swimming: 600m (.37 mi)
Cycling: 43.36 mi
Running: 22.34 mi
Lifting: five sessions (1:20)
Other: two hikes (:55), three days skiing (8:00), three walks (1:23), two sessions yoga (:20)

The tailbone did derail me for a few weeks ... and is the reason why the half I signed up for is now going to be a 5K I'm going to run with B.

What I also did was hurt a thumb (thought a strain; doc thinks a partial ligament tear) while skiing. Oops. So I've been doing basically shit lately.

I did get to Tucson early in March to go look at the superbloom and I got a few good gravel rides as well as a few hikes. But otherwise ... 

I swam once. I'm also officially in theory not supposed to swim with the hand unless I wear a brace, but eh.

I'm trying to get on the bike, I really am. But ugh.

And running ... well ...

Let's just say I'm pretty sure I'm in the worst shape of my life. Which sucks. Hard. I am doing a mindfulness challenge in the MadFit app for April which will be nice, and I'm maybe hoping to shift to a mid-May half (Dino Half has an ankylosaurus medal - mace tail! my second favorite dinosaur!), so I'm trying to keep with the running. I was considering a late May tri, but the way things are going, I'm not signing up until a week before if I think I'm trained enough. We'll see.

February Round Up

So I've slowly (maybe?) started to figure shit out. Possibly. 

Onward!

Swimming: 5088.72m (3.16 mi)

Cycling: 45.17 mi

Running: 30.58 mi

Lifting: 17 sessions (6:49)

Other: two hikes (:53), one session hockey (stick/puck)(:50), one walk (:30), one session yoga (:10)

February started out okay with a trip to Tucson - I got in a gorgeous swim (yard pool, which is why the numbers are wacky), a couple hikes, a hilly run ... and then I got back and who knows what happened. Shitty weather and February happened. I don't even know.

I have been able to salvage some of the month (until I did something stupid but we'll get to that).

Swimming got somewhat consistent the last week or so. I'm aiming for twice a week. Nothing much, but enough to keep the memory.

Cycling ... has been interesting. I would love to get out on the gravel, but it really hasn't been warm (or dry) enough for that. And I've got a weird pesky flat on the rear so there's probably something in there. I don't know. And the trainer ... is hard. Especially when there's nothing concrete on the schedule. I may do a tri in June (and definitely planning on the local one in September), but I haven't registered yet.

Running ... well, I officially signed up for the Salt Lake City half in late April. I know some Skirt people coming out to run it, so I figured why not? From when I registered, it gave me 10 weeks for a plan, so I got that all sorted. And my long run last week was actually meditative, something that hasn't happened for me in a long while.

I did a sculpt challenge in my new MadFit app for two weeks - which meant I was doing some sort of strength every day - but you know what? It felt good and I think it was a great kickstart for me. Now that it's over I need to get more going.

The other was nice. Not enough stretching (for sure), but the hiking in the desert was glorious. Stick/puck was fun ... except I fell hard on my tailbone (going 1-on-1 with B and didn't notice some kid and tripped over them and yeah). 

The tailbone has made it hard to do much. My last few runs have not been pretty since the jarring brings discomfort and alters my stride. I'm still trying, but yeah.

March I'm hoping to get both my bikes in for some work. We've already skied once and are hoping to get a few more days in there as well. I'm hoping for the tailbone to heal so I can get back on track with running. I'm mostly hoping to just be able to put in the damn work.

January Round Up

I would love it if I could figure my shit out.

Swimming: 2600m (1.62 mi)
Cycling: 51.67 mi
Running: 21.17 mi
Lifting: 11 sessions (4:19)
Other: two sessions skiing (2:45), two walks (4:30), three sessions yoga (:32)

It took a few weeks in, but I finally started to loosely plan my shit. Swimming has been tough - especially since half the time I go I swear the pool is closed. I think it's a sign I need to start checking out the other VASA locations to see how their pools are so I can have a backup option. Or just call ahead.

Cycling is an interesting thing right now. I actually did a specific trainer workout (oh good ol' Coach Troy) and holy eff did it highlight why my cycling was so shit last year. That being said, I only did the one and the rest of my rides weren't nearly as intense. I did get out once on the gravel and if it breaches 40 degrees again (or higher, god forbid), I may try again.

Running ... is hit or miss. I'm hating winter and cold this year a lot and the snow can stop any time now. 

I finally started up with my new app in terms of strength workouts and while it's not heavy weights (something I know I'm going to have to get into sooner rather than later), it is kicking my butt some, so I think that's a good thing. We'll see. I may do one of the actual challenges a little later this month when I know I'm not traveling anywhere and I can actually keep up with it.

Skiing is starting to get marginally better around here - finally found a resort we like. The walks were around Belgium (oh yeah we went to Brussels/Bruges) and the stretching has been really nice - need to keep up with that and probably do it more.

Mostly ... I'm toeing lines of not liking the way I look, not being able to muster up energy for anything, and trying deeply not to stress about it all because I know it makes it worse. February is usually a rough month (for all of us), and I'm hoping a few days in the desert to start it off might help things out a little.

2023 Goals

Ha, 2023.

We're a week in and I'm still not working off of a plan.

I am not signed up yet for any races. I'm sure that I want to race the local triathlon that takes place down the street from my house, but I haven't registered yet since I have no idea what distance I want to do yet.

(Part of me still wonders if I even want to race this year, but I also know I need something on the schedule to work towards.)

I have a loose 2024 goal (finally do a standalone marathon) and I'll probably return to the 140.6 distance in 2025, but 2023? Who the hell knows?

I guess my main priority for this year is to get BACK in shape and really take hold of my health as I turn 40 this year. I'm not doing all that terribly, given the state of the average American, but I know I can do so much better.

So there. I guess my goal is that. Turn 40 and become a person that won't need to rely on the system in 5, 10, 20, 30 years.

December and 2022 Round Up

... as you can probably surmise, 2022 wasn't the easiest year for me. But first, December ...

Swimming: 3700m (2.3 mi)
Cycling: 37.47 mi
Running: 23.71 mi
Lifting: 11 sessions (3:46)
Other: three sessions ice skating (1:23), one session erg (rower) (15:01), three sessions skiing (5:10), two walks (3:45)

December started off really well, but as it usually goes, the holidays hit and I swear stress floats in whether you like it or not. As a result, the last two weeks ended up being straight survival mode.

One monthly highlight was probably finally checking out a few of the ski resorts here (not my Winter Park, but what is), and skiing in hella powder, realizing that skiing the pow is a skill, and not one that I have. The other was definitely getting back on skates again and realizing just how much I have missed that. Hockey is a thing that needs to come back into both our lives.

As for the year ... I did not hit either of my stated goals. While I successfully finished IMLP, I do not believe I successfully trained for IMLP (although, if I finished, does that automatically I did?). I also definitely did NOT hit my time goal of 15:15. Moving during an IM is not something I would ever suggest to someone unless they a.) are way more type-A than I; and b.) have way more base fitness than I.

The main goal - finish out the year healthy and happy while having fun - is also kind of a miss. I'm healthy in the sense that I'm not injured, but I'm not happy in my physical body. Also "fun" is a word that's been missing from the vocabulary for quite some time now.

Swimming was a down year (if I miss 100k, it's a down year). Cycling was meh, and running was average.

Really, this was just one of the hardest years I've had, personally, mentally, emotionally, and athletically, and I'm just happy to have survived it.