Get out of my way Life!

So it's fair to say these past few weeks have been causing chaos in my life.  Not one particular thing that has happened, just stuff.  I have A LOT of stress in my life right now & it's really affecting all aspects of my life.  Someone who was in my life a few years ago, who made quite the impact, once told me "sometimes life just gets in the way".  That's EXACTLY how I've been feeling these past few weeks...LIFE has been getting in the way of me living the life I want to be living and getting in the way of me training the way I want to be training!  Boy, that was a mouthful, are you still there??

How ironic that Jen posted someone else's blog today about nutrition.  I haven't read it yet, but that's just one of the aspects of my life that went by the wayside these past few weeks.  Coming clean, yes, I've indulged much more than usual these past few weeks, without a care in the world.  And yep, it caught up with me...LOL

I've been training but my heart hasn't been in it.  Just sort of going through the motions.  I was taking some time off running, due to my right calf & shin bothering me, and I think at some point, that alone got to me because I wanted to run!   I miss it!!  And am I the only one whose mind wanders while swimming?  I can't tell you how many times I lost track of where I was in my set, or while counting laps.  My life is getting in the way of my training!  Heck, I even space out during my bike rides...

So, no more Life.  Get out of my way!  Or at least, mellow out, will ya?  I have an Ironman to train for & I need to stay focused :) 

Cabin fever...

Is it just me, or does anyone else have a case of cabin fever?  Itching for the warm weather to get (and STAY) here?  Oh, I've been running outside for a long time, but I want to bike & swim outside too.  I'm sure part of it, at least for me, is I just got my bike back from having a tune-up/major overhaul & (FINALLY) got a replacement computer put on.  Bit the bullet & got one with cadence.  Now to figure out how it works & see if I'll like it!  Bring on a long, outdoor ride...sun, no wind & warm temps please. 

But seriously, what was that little tease of warm weather we had a few weeks ago?  What happened to it?  The only thing it did is make these 40's & 50's we're having seem that much colder to me!  Holy crap, I had my warmest jacket on this morning for Erin's walk, gloves & all.  I did go for a run outside this morning.  I guess it had warmed up a bit since the 5:30am walk...I was a bit overdressed.  Oops...

I think the real reason I have this weather thing on my mind is I've been thinking about Madison a lot lately.  Water temps...what will the air temperature be that day...god help me if it rains!  You know, it's September, it can go either way in a normal year!  I guess it's a combination of conversations I've had recently, thinking about other races I've spectated at & how hot it's been for them...and wondering if our very mild winter is going to come back & bite me in the you know what come Sept. 9th!  Oh, I know it's pointless to worry about it now, and I'm not worried, just wondering...and I know my history...LOL...if I didn't have bad luck, I wouldn't have any luck at all !!  So please, weather gods, if you happen to be reading this blog...please, no cold or wet weather on Sept 9th...just lots of sunshine & warm temps! 

One day at a time...

So it's been almost 3 months since I've been training w/ Jen...holy crap...3 months!  Ironman is now just a bit over 5 months away... where is this time going?  Sept is only 5 months away?  Huh?  I have a feeling it's going to creep up on me & all of a sudden it's going to be a month away.  And I'm going to panic...LOL  OK, in reality, I think I'm a bit anxious & even though it's months away...I'm getting more excited & one thing I don't have, is patience!

My training has been going good.  Really good, in fact.  I am definitely challenged by what I'm doing...and sometimes I hate the workouts (translation...they are REALLY HARD).  Like today's bike!  I seriously thought I was going to die, well not really, but I FELT like it!  For a second I had considered cheating for one set, I needed a break, but I did not.  These workouts just remind me that what I used to consider a HARD workout, really was not.  Unless I was racing.  And I'm doing more strength training.  I LOVE my strength training...I am sore after my strength training...love, love, love it! 

I'm coming off of a little leg issue (hopefully) now...I think I mentioned it last time...a bit of a calf/shin issue that was bothering me so I took last week off of running & am going to see how it goes tomorrow.  I have a nice, easy zone 1-2 run.  Fingers crossed my rest, stretching & foam rolling has fixed it.  I even cut out some of the walks for the dog in order to rest it...more playing fetch in the yard for her ;)  Again, no patience, want to test out the leg & see how it feels.  I haven't run in almost 10 days...blah!

Looking forward to the weather getting warmer.  I need to work on my tan, er, tan lines.  I think I have a bit of cabin fever, even with the few weeks of warmer weather we had, I'm ready to move it all outside...patience I tell myself...one day at a time...soon enough...until then, I will take one day at a time.

Buzy Bee...

I'm a bit overdue for this blog but honestly, don't have much to say at this point.  I had one helluva week personally & just didn't have the time to blog...let alone take some time for myself.  I guess my training IS my time for myself these days...LOL  How did THAT happen?  I'm still not working full-time, but working part time doing some inside sales and finding that I'm loving it...and loving being back amongst the working :)

I do want to thank a few of my friends who noticed me having a rough morning on Saturday.  I guess it showed & nothing like a big bear hug & kiss on the cheek with a "now go have a good workout" from a friend's husband...sometimes it's the little things that make you smile.  Not sure if he'll read this but thanks Nick!!!   You made the girls at the front desk very jealous...LOL  And Jen C, oops, Jen S, your pep talk about training & your Ironman experiences truly did help.  Loved your suggestions & really, it came at the perfect time.  I hope you can find the time, if not to come to Madison, to track my progress on Sept 9th!  I still have your trainer too, thank you!

Other than that, pretty much status quo.  My right leg/shin/calf is pissing me off right now so I'm taking this week off of running.  Nothing major, calf feels very tight & the stretching & foam rolling doesn't seem to be helping.  I have a huge bruise on my inner shin on the same leg & that has been causing me a bit of grief this past week...so resting it.  Biking is good, swimming is good (relatively speaking, of course) and life is (sorta) good!

Morning girl here...

OK, truth be told, I am a morning person.  As much as I HATE getting up at 5:30am, or 5am, or, as I did at least once last week, 4:45am...I am a morning person.  I like to workout in the morning.  Take one shower & I'm done.  Get it done before my day goes berserk or I just "don't feel like it" later on.  The hardest part for me is just getting out of bed.  But once I'm up, I'm loving my morning workouts.  These past few weeks, back at the gym at the crack of dawn, I felt at home...and I even think I had better workouts then when I was being a bum and going in late morning.

So now I'm starting to struggle.  My workouts are getting longer & at some point (this week?) I just won't be able to get the full workout in in the morning.  I have to figure out just how early is my breaking point...before I have to give in and split up the workouts.  UGH...how is it that I totally did not think about this before signing up for an Ironman?  I HATE working out in the evening...hate is a strong word, but it's truly how I feel.  Yes,  I swam Masters for a few years...liked Masters, hated the fact that I had to come back at night.  No doubt I skipped a few just because I didn't feel like working out again.

So, any veteran Ironmen reading this ever struggle with the same thing?  Am I going to ultimately have to work out twice a day?  I do realize there are probably some workouts where I'll need recovery time (again, wasn't thinking about this prior to signing up)...but I really am dreading it.  God help me when I find a full-time job & have to be at work at 8 or 9am...maybe I'll start playing the Lotto ;)

Who would've thought?

...that I'd be sitting out on my deck at 5:30pm on March 11th...wearing shorts & a long sleeve tee shirt...as I write this blog?  What a great weekend!!  It seems like everyone was outside today.  I'm actually a little bummed I didn't carry insurance on my motorcycle through this winter...how fun that would've been to go for a ride in mid-March!!  Ha!  And just now I got a text from a fellow tri friend who said "first moto ride of 2012 done"!  Nice Joe...I'm jealous!! 

Seriously though, I spent the entire day yesterday outside.  If you didn't know, I volunteer at PACT Humane Society at the Petco in Bloomingdale.  And I know I've posted a pic, but I'm fostering a lab/terrier mix named Erin.  She often runs with me, but not always.  This is her :) I'm watching her race from one side of my yard to the other right now, back & forth. There must be dogs or kids on bikes walking by...she loves to chase!  If she were a cat, she would've lost 2 lives today!!! 

We had a dog adoption event yesterday & I figured it out...not counting all my time INSIDE the shelter doing whatever, I spent over 3 hours walking dogs.  A few times I just sat down in a grassy area & let them play or roll around in the grass like dogs like to.  It was so nice out I didn't care that by the end of the day, my feet hurt & I actually had blisters!  Never had a blister from running, but yesterday I got 2 walking dogs. 

Oh, I suppose I should admit though, I did not ride outside yesterday.  Admittedly, I can do it, but I'm not good at changing the back tire (or front for that matter) on my bike.  And I'm not ready to take my trainer tire off until I know for a fact the weather will be consistently warm.  Plus, I had to be at the shelter early so at 7:45am when I hopped on my trainer, it was still winter cold outside ;)

And on my run today, everyone was outside.  Kids playing in shorts, motorcycles everywhere, bikes...the only thing I didn't see (or smell) was a backyard BBQ!!  Might've been tempted to stop if I had...LOL  I mean, it's MARCH!!  We know how bad March usually is...heck, the cold & unpredictable weather is the main reason I never run the Shamrock Shuffle (although isn't this the 2nd year it's been moved to April?)...I digress.  I mean, I remember seeing it on TV a few years ago & it was snowing...slushy, wet snow.  Yukko!  Not me!  So this weekend I was a happy camper!  Now let's hope that rain that's predicted for this week misses us...and here's to Spring which is right around the corner!

Getting back to normal...

So this was the week!  This was the week I was going to start getting up early again and getting back to my "routine".  For months, although I'm still working out in the mornings, I've been sleeping later & later, working out later & later, the "business" part of my days has been starting later & later.  Don't get me wrong, I've thoroughly enjoyed sleeping 9+ hours each night!  But something's been missing.  It's a totally different crowd at the gym at 9am vs. 6am.  I've missed my friends...I've been wanting to start going back early again but just never did it. 

So this week was it!  I was going to ease into it though...would I need to be dragged ouf of bed this early?  I didn't know...maybe?

Monday I made myself get up at 7am.  Yes, that's early for me...and it was my rest day on top of it.  Woo hoo...success!  Tuesday, 6:30.  Another success, and yet still, a trainer workout so didn't even go to the gym.  Yesterday...6am.  It's getting easier.  And I got to the gym & saw a bunch of old friends. Saw lots of surprised faces, got a few "welcome back to the real world" comments.  It felt good.  And surprisingly, wasn't that difficult to get up.  Then there was today... the dreaded 5:30am wake up.  Go figure, 5am I'm wide awake.  By 5:25, after laying in bed for 25 minutes, I said screw it & got up.  At the gym working out by 6:30 (yes, having the foster dog adds 30 minutes to my morning routine).  This one felt great!! 

It's amazing how quickly you fall out of a habit. Hard to form a habit but easy to fall out of it!  You hear it all the time...it takes 90 days, 6 weeks, 3 months, whatever...to form a habit but less than 1/2 that time to break it.  Exactly what happened to me.  But I'm back.  And it felt great.  And I look forward to being in the pool tomorrow morning at 6:30am.  Oh, don't get crazy on me...the excited part is about the 6:30...not excited to be swimming.  That's still a ways away ;)  And who knows, maybe next week I'll get up at 5am...