I really couldn't think of another title, because ...
That's right, I (well, both of us) are registered for Ironman Arizona next year. November 17, 2013, Brandon and I will be in Tempe becoming Ironmen.
My original goal for this was IM by 40 ... but it's ending up being IM by essentially 30 (that milestone comes next summer). I'm scared, but at the same time, SUPER excited.
Hopefully by this weekend I'll put up my volunteer recap post, but I will say this - walking around everything on Saturday, I felt like I was meant to do the race. I felt a sense of calm and yet it felt like my pulse was racing (even though it wasn't at all). I know I'm going to have to put in a ridiculous amount of work before I toe that starting line, but it's going to be completely worth it. I know that now.
Keep following along, because I need to be kept accountable for my training. Starting in December, we'll start simple base building (since we're totally in off-season fluff mode right now) and then in February, we'll ramp it up a bit more so we've got a solid base for actual IM training when it starts in late May.
Wish us luck, because, yep - you guessed it, we'll need it.
... and end of month recap.
Monday, October 29: 43:12 of cycling
10.76 miles; average cadence of 74, 14.94 mph average. 29.1 max speed. Cherry Creek State Park ride.
Tuesday, October 30: 28:49.43 of running
2.9 miles for a 9:56/mi. BRC-DTC Halloween run. Done in essentially my wedding dress (so loose corset. also gems near armpit that chafed). Slow for me on that loop, but fast for me right now.
Wednesday, October 31: 30 minutes of Sportoga
Stretching and strength work; one of the bonus sessions from MX12. Totally awesome. Love this workout.
You saw right here how my month went, but here are all the numbers tallied up.
Running: 8.68 mi
Swimming: 2400m (1.49 mi)
Cycling: 10.76 mi
Lifting: five sessions
Other: about a half hour of yoga, half hour of walking, the aforementioned Sportoga, 5:43 of Wii Fit
More Wii Fit than I would have liked, but it kept me moving. Running was pathetic, but coming back from an injury will do that to you. I basically kept my goal of moving though, and for that, I'm happy.
November? Hopefully a bit of building back my strength and cardiovascular endurance. Cycling is already better than it has been the past two months (but that's also partly because a friend of ours is out here and he likes to ride a lot).
I know I won't hit all of my distance goals that I had hoped to this year, but I will do my best to come as close as I can.
Last full week in October.
Monday, Oct. 22: 35 minutes of walking
Grocery store and back. Exhausted.
Tuesday, Oct. 23: 18:27.42 of swimming
800m for a 2:18/100m. 2x100m, 2x200m, 2x100m; break in the midde for some hot tub time and to calm down my stomach. This went horribly (note to self: Mr. Goodbars before swim time? bad idea), but I got it in. Swimming after spending a good amount of time in a hot tub also makes your muscles feel really weird.
Wednesday, Oct. 24: Off
Our accountability is awful. That, and if I really want to get into the day: took car into shop, got rental car, friend came over (and stayed longer than expected), it snowed. No real good excuse, in other words.
Thursday, Oct. 25: 15 minutes of lifting
Another room lift done late at night. Crunches, abdominal leg raises, side leg lifts, calf raises, side db raises, bicep curls, tricep extensions, squats.
Friday, Oct. 26: 31 minutes of Wii Fit Plus
Was up way too late the night previous and therefore woke up much too late to squeeze in much else before work.
Saturday, Oct. 27: 25:21.08 of running
2.39 miles for a 10:36/mi. This was slower than the last time I did this run this month, but it was also a hell of a lot colder. My lungs don't like cold.
Sunday, Oct. 28: 30 minutes of Wii Fit Plus
Just to get something in.
This week was a bit more of a disaster, including two off days. Both days, to me, were understandable, but still upsetting.
Monday, Oct. 15: Off
"emotionally exhausted. it wasn't happening. on the plus side, ART appt says I'm good."
A bad family visit that I don't want to get into on here killed me to the point that I had no physical, emotional or mental strength to do squat.
Tuesday, Oct. 16: 16 minutes of Wii Fit Plus
"hey it's something." Happened late at night.
Wednesday, Oct. 17: 15 minutes of Wii Fit Plus
"didn't want to skip this." Happened right before work.
Thursday, Oct. 18: 24:34.25 of running
2.39 miles; 10:16/mi. This was hell cardiovascularly ... unsurprisingly, but it also felt really good. Also the hell hill in the neighborhood? It never really gets easier, but hot damn, it can get harder.
Friday, Oct. 19: 35 minutes of Wii Fit Plus
Was too tired to do anything else, but it was a good session; lots of new high scores.
Saturday, Oct. 20: 15 minutes of Wii Fit Plus
"just quickly squashed this in." Done late at night post-work.
Sunday, Oct. 21: Off
Didn't feel like it was a good idea after the car accident; just in case.
So yeah, not a good week, but I understand it. I also accept and own up to my off days and, quite honestly, don't regret them. This week's going slightly better, so yay for that.
Yesterday, on our way to a bar to watch the Vikings game (sounds like a bad joke, right?) we got rear-ended at a red light.
T's car is pretty broken, but thankfully her and I are ok. A bit stiff but otherwise no neck injuries or anything like that.
For being hit at nearly 30 mph, walking away with no injuries is pretty significant. Furthermore, her Toyota Rav 4 suffered some damage but I think it's going to be okay. And thankfully, the other guy is okay too. Although he was really shaken up; literally, his hands were shaking to the point he dropped his paperwork. We assured him that things were going to be okay and that we were fine. No use yelling at the guy.
Bottom line is, this blog isn't just about our fitness. It's about life. Make sure to wear your seatbelts. Take care of yourself. And don't take things for granted.
Still managing to move. It hasn't been impressive by any means and I'm kind of embarrassed to be posting what I'm doing, but a big part of me believes I need this break, mostly mentally more than anything.
Monday, Oct. 8: 27 minutes of Wii Fit Plus
The original plan was to swim, but Brandon was too tired to do so.
Tuesday, Oct. 9: 30 minutes of Wii Fit Plus
I hate that I consider Wii Fit an actual workout. I only feel marginally better about it because it's an available sport on BeginnerTriathlete.
More importantly, I also had an ART appointment this day for my back in which I learned my hips are out of whack due to lack of stretching. This REALLY annoyed me because I wanted to be a lot better about stretching this year and I failed miserably. This just shows me that I can't ever slack on that.
Wednesday, Oct. 10: 10:55.80 of running, 15 minutes of yoga
Yay! I ran! Only a mile to test things out for both of us, but it went okay. We also took it purposefully slow for that purpose. Also did the running and all sports mini workouts from the Yoga for Athletes DVD.
Thursday, Oct. 11: 18:13.98 of swimming
800m for a 2:16/100m. 2x100m, 1x200m, 2x50m, 1x200m, 1x100m. This swim was a major struggle and I also burped up breakfast, almost puking in the pool. Not pretty.
In other news, I also signed up for MX12, a members-only site/program that includes 12 of Chris McCormack's most effective training workouts. I saw it on Twitter, kind of hated the infomercial-cheesy site, but for $97, figured why not? The workouts look awesome (and brutal) and I can't wait to start doing them. Brandon and I figured that this would be the closest thing to coaching without hiring an actual coach (something that we can't afford). I also put forth a couple extra bucks per month for the VIP membership which includes access to a special Facebook page and spreecasts with Macca. If anything, it's lending itself to be an awesome community of triathletes that I look forward to interacting with more once I get back into serious training.
Friday, Oct. 12: 26 minutes of Wii Fit Plus
Put this off until almost midnight. Hate putting stuff off that late.
Saturday, Oct. 13: 21 minutes of Wii Fit Plus
Also late at night due to family business.
Sunday, Oct. 14: 21 minutes of Wii Fit Plus
From the workout log: "hate that this is all i've really done this week. but at least i did more of the yoga and strength"
Once again, nothing special. Week three so far isn't all that wonderful, but I'm hoping to change that soon.
I've been rehabbing my calf. It's going pretty well.
Here's the deal. All season long I've felt a twinge in my calf. Only once during the season did it force me to stop a run. So I didn't really think it was that big of deal. That changed after the Denver 1/2 Marathon.
I was throwing a football around in the park with a friend and when I was running, I definitely felt the twinge. The problem is, it forced me to come up limping. I iced it and we tried running again the next day, but I made it about 10 feet before I felt pain. Ok, I decided, this wasn't going to work.
I rested it and iced it and elevated it, but nothing seemed to improve it. I still felt that twinge. Finally, we decided enough was enough. With T recovering from back pain and my calf still bothering me, we made an appointment at Cherry Creek Spine and Sport to have someone take a look at us. This clinic specializes in Active Release Therapy, or ART. Our friend Steve in a Speedo has undergone this, and it comes very highly recommended.
I met with the doctor who told me this was a common injury among runners and I would recover quickly. Telling me that I had significant scar tissue built up from 4 years of running, maybe improperly, maybe just the way I run, he explained to me the calf muscle. He showed me that towards the bottom of the calf, the two muscles come together and unfortunately, blood flow becomes limited. (I forgot the terms. Dr. J can perhaps help?) Furthermore, because of this area the injury is in, it can affect your hamstrings, hips, and your Achilles. I guess it shows that everything in your body is truly connected.
After some vigorous work that had me groaning in pain (I broke the rule of a massage...don't groan) he showed me some stretches that would help me heal faster. He said the scar tissue had to be broken down and once he broke it down, I could run to keep it loose and stretch it to keep the scar tissue from forming. Sure enough, the day after he broke it down, I was able to run a mile. It was only a mile, and it was slow, and there was some pain, but it wasn't so bad that I didn't have to stop.
I have been consistent with the stretching and my calf, dare I say, is on the way to recovery! I am going in to see him again tomorrow and we'll see where we're at. I hope to be running more seriously very soon.
