Too Busy to Blog

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I've updated this blog! While I may have been remiss in my writings, I certainly haven't been skipping out on the training (or at least not TOO bad). Here are some of the highlights...

Overall, training is going very well. The week of 7/27 was a concern because I had friends visiting for a long weekend (7/29-8/3), and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the training plan. I'm happy to report that I was able to adhere to the schedule all week, thanks to my friends who were very understanding, patient, and supportive. The running, biking, and swimming were all good that week, and I think I made good progress.

The following week, I traveled to Rhode Island on Wednesday night and returned Thursday night. This meant I missed an open water swim - which I REALLY wanted to do - but I had no choice. Ultimately, I missed a couple training sessions that week. Monday was a rest day, Tuesday night I swam 2000m in the pool (500m longer than the actual race distance), Wednesday I skipped training, Thursday I ran in Providence, and Friday I skipped my swimming session (I was WAY too tired and had to drive up to Madison that night).

Sidebar: Running in Providence is almost as bad as driving there! I asked the hotel for a jogging route, and they gave me a handy little card to use as a reference for a 5 mile run. What they didn't tell me was half of the streets they referenced changed names several times on the route, and many of the streets weren't marked with signs at all - at least not on the blocks I was supposed to turn! A run that should have taken me about 40 minutes ended up being 55 minutes! Oh well, I felt good that I was able to work in an early morning run while traveling.

My weekend in Madison (8/8&9) was GREAT! I went up there to train with my brother Brad (who has done a couple of Iron Man Triathlons), and it was well worth the trip! On Saturday, I ran about 6 miles in a steady rain, which actually felt very nice. I was treated with a bonus of celebrating my sister-in-law's 45th birthday, which included a 'birthday challenge' that consisted of a wide variety of fitness challenges in increments of 45. She started with a 22.5k run (half of a 45k - in a major thunderstorm no less), and pounded through weights, cardio exercises, rock climbing problems, and more. She really rocked! Her birthday challenge put my triathlon to shame!

Anyway... back to training... Sunday represented a real turning point for me. Early in the morning, Brad and his friend Stan took me to Lake Monona for some open water swim practice. Before we starting swimming, I asked to spend some time just floating around in the wetsuit. It had occurred to me that both times I swam in Lake Michigan I didn't have a chance to really test out the suit. We always jumped in and went right for the swim course. I never had the opportunity to 'just hang'.

So we did... and boy was I glad we did! While I knew that the suit was buoyant, I didn't realize just how buoyant it was! I pretty much floated without having to tread water at all! That more or less dispelled any fears I had, which meant I could focus my mental and physical energy on the task at hand - good swimming form and rhythm. We swam about 2000m in the lake, and while I still have a lot of room for improvement, I feel confident that I will do OK in the race. I now know that if I start getting panicky, or too tired, I can just stop... and I will float. Nice.

But that wasn't all. After swimming, and a light breakfast, we then moved on to the biking portion of the day. It turns out Madison has a phenomenal network of biking paths that skirt in and around the city, and we took full advantage of them. We probably covered about 20 miles, and I was able to practice my form using the 'tri bars'. It was a great workout, and I'm feeling more and more comfortable every time I ride. Doing a 'double-header' also made me feel better about the training sessions I skipped earlier in the week. The net result is I missed one session that week. Not bad considering I traveled.

Sunday afternoon, we headed back to Chicago, and I couldn't have been more pleased with the weekend. Thanks Brad! It was nice spending time with the family, too!

Last week included more travel, and I must admit that again I missed a couple sessions.

Monday was supposed to be a rest day, but I swam instead - knowing that I was going to miss a couple days later in the week. I followed the swim routine I missed the Friday before, which was challenging. I was really tired from an exhausting weekend... and it probably wasn't my best effort... but I did it. And that's what counts.

Tuesday and Wednesday were travel days and I was not able to work in a training session. Thursday I had fitness training, and planned on running afterwards. Unfortunately, Janelle (my trainer extraordinaire) did such a good job of kicking my ass that I was too jittery and queasy to run afterwards. After less than 3 minutes on the treadmill, I gave up. That's OK. I'm pretty sure I know how to run.

Friday night I still felt wiped out, and skipped yet another swim session. UGH! That means the net for the week was (-3). One could argue that it was (-2) if you count the strength training toward my workout regimen. Either way, I slipped some last week.

I did, however, have another very productive weekend. Saturday I went to team training, which included an '80/40' - 80 minutes on the bike and 40 minutes of running. It was a great workout, and it boosted my confidence somewhat. Between the swim / bike last weekend and the bike / run this weekend, I'm starting to feel like I'm in good enough shape to make it through this triathlon. Sunday I topped off the week by running about 7 miles from the house to the gym, and treated myself to a 90 minute hot stone massage when I got there. Yes, it was very soothing and sorely needed!

So that's how I spent the last three weeks. Today is a rest day, and I took advantage of it without remorse. Looking ahead... I need to be really serious about adhering to the program this week, as this is the last REAL week of training before I begin tapering for the race. I can't believe it's true, but the race is one week from Sunday! I don't know if I'm excited, scared, or both! Truthfully, I think it's both. At this point, I just want to get through this.

I'll try to post daily between now and the race. Thanks to all who are following the blog! I appreciate your support and encouragement!