3 Down, 30 To Go

I just completed week 3 of Ironman training, and so far things seem to be going well.  I've settled into a routine of 2 and even 3 workouts most days of the week quite nicely.  It's amazing how much more organized I am with my time when someone tells me what I need to do each and every day of the week. Thanks to the training my appetite is that of a teenage boy, and I'm rocking some pretty sweet tan lines from my bike shorts.  Don't be jealous!

Training does take a toll on my body.  I see my chiropractor and massage therapist for routine maintenance. It's good to take care of the little things before they  become big things.  Over the last few days my shoulder has been giving me problems, so I paid Dr. T a visit today.  He figured out what the problem was and treated it with a little ART!  By this, I mean that he shoved his fingers into my arm pits and inflicted enough pain for me to justify punching him in the face (which I did not do because I was paralized with pain). It felt like he was stabbing me with a knife! I'm sure that whatever he did will help.  If nothing else it will make the discomfort I've been feeling seem like nothing compared to what he did to me today.

We've had some great weather here in north Texas over the past few weeks.  It's nice to see all the green trees and grass and colorful flowers while I'm out on my rides and runs. On Sunday I didn't want to stop running because it was so nice outside.  I'm trying to savor every minute of this beautiful time of year because I know it won't last.  In a few short weeks it will feel like the fires of hell are descending on us and everything will turn brown.  While I am looking forward to a nice tan, I'm not looking forward to the kind of heat that will force me carry my weight in water and salt tabs on my workouts.  

We did have one Saturday recently that wasn't so pretty.  Jeneen and I began a four hour ride beneath the dark storm clouds.  For some reason I was convinced that it wouldn't rain until we were finished our ride, but I was wrong.  We found our selves riding on isolated country roads in the rain for part of our ride.  The wet weather did little to dampen our spirits.  It actually wasn't too bad.  What was bad, however, was the wind!  There were times on our ride when we were dealing with some pretty torrential winds of 20 miles an hour.  The first few hours were bearable, but after three hours this was no longer the case.  This was when the winds really seemed to pick up.  We found ourselves having to pedal just to get DOWN the hills, and you don't even want to know what it was like riding up a hill in 20 mph head winds.  I tried to tell myself that this is as bad as it can get.  I was dead wrong.  Some jerk in a pick up truck decided that it would be fun to hit the gas and blow black smoke on us he passed us.  We were riding on a very wide shoulder of the road, so it's not like we slowed him down or forced him to change lanes as he passed us. The _______ _______ _________ actually hit the gas just before reaching us and did let off until he was past us.  He then settled back to his regular speed.  The smoke he choked us with was actually so thick that I couldn't see Jeneen, who was only about 20 or so feet in front of me.  Seriously, is that how some people entertain themselves?  

Mother nature may not always give us optimal weather for training, but there is something to be gained from training in less than ideal conditions.  It can make you stronger bother mentally and physically.  You never know what race day will bring, so the experience of bad weather can help prepare you for the  unexpected.

"Desire is the most important factor in the success of any athlete." ~ Willie Shoemaker