There are good days in Ironman training and then there are not so good days. I'm not sure I like saying that I had few bad days last week because I am still so thrilled to be able to do this. Any day that I can get up and take another step toward my goal should be considered a good day.
Last week I hit a rough patch. As the week went on my legs were screaming obscenities at me. Thursday morning I showed for a track workout at 5:30. My body was just plain tired. It wasn't a sleepy tired, just a "I've been pushed too far and I'm not going any further" tired. I figured my legs were just pissed because I was making them run again. I left track early and headed out for a two hour bike ride. My legs are generally very cooperative on the bike so I figured it wouldn't be a problem. WRONG! After one 9 mile loop around Whiterock Lake I was ready to pack up my bike and go home, but I went a head and began a second loop. I'm sure the two people I scolded for not following trail etiquette wished I had made a different decision. I was on the verge of tears by the end of that loop and didn't even contemplate the final loop to complete my workout. I was done.
I hosted a pity party for myself for the remainder of the day. It began with hitting up Chic-fil-a for my second breakfast that morning. Those little chicken minis are darn good. Once home, my sofa and I spent some quality time together. I worried how I was going to manage Ironman training and work in just a few short weeks. The feeling of defeat ate away at me all day.
By the end of the night I knew my attitude needed major adjusting. I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself because I'm actually getting to do something I've been dreaming about doing for almost two years. I'm not the first person to juggle a full time job and Ironman training. Many people I know have a lot more on their plates than I do, and they still manage to get it done. I also get a nice 10 week vacation from work in the middle of all my training! I shut the pity party down decided to move forward.
My remaining workouts for the week did go better, but the legs continued to curse me. Yesterday my bike workout required me to go out with the fast group and try to hang on as long as possible. I did stay with them for almost 6 miles before getting dropped. As it turned out, one of the guys was actually trying drop the fast group so the pace got a little out of control. Despite being way out of my league on the ride, I did have a lot of fun. Maybe next time I can make it a little longer. Thankfully this week is a recover week with just under 9 hours of training. I don't have any workouts today, and I'm fine with that, but in the next couple of days I know I'll be going crazy. As much as I'll want to do more, I know my body needs this rest, so I'll resist the temptation.
"It's hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is again the little voice inside of you that wants to quit." ~~ Dr. George Sheehan
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