Looking Forward to Looking Back

The past few months have been challenging. In looking through the blog, I can tell that my frustration and  negativity has spilled out from my every day life and onto the interweb. For that, dear reader, I am very sorry. The truth is that this blog is designed to let me talk openly about this crazy athletic journey I'm on and the truth isn't always sunshine and unicorns.

As I've begun thinking about the year ahead I've found myself thinking more and more about the year behind. In the weight of all of the negative energy plaguing my life this fall I haven't taken time to really look back and appreciate what 2015 brought me. After all, the only way to figure out where I'm going is to really appreciate where I've been.

So lets see...What happened in 2015? 

I Became a Triathlete

As an adult I don't think there's anything harder than trying something new. With all of the struggles that "adulting" brings it can be hard just to do the things we do ordinarily, let alone add in something different. I learned this year that 'new' can be good. New can be fun and exciting and scary and challenging in a truly amazing way. That's what triathlon has meant for me. I wrote in October of 2014 about feeling underwhelmed with myself. The sweet sweet highs you get after finishing your first 'X' just don't seem to come after your 8th. Triathlon brought that back for me. Each new race, new distance, new experience made me feel excited about my own possibilities. That, friends, is a great feeling. 

I Raced - A Lot!
I didn't set out to race a lot in 2015, but I set out to race Muncie. Part of that meant building up the triathlon ladder. I did that by racing and it was awesome.

Rhoades 10K

Papa John's 10 Miler

Shelbyville Sprint Tri

KDF Mini Marathon

TriFest Olympic

Race the Bridge Olympic

Muncie 70.3 

I was a first timer for four of those races. Each one brought it's own challenges: from the rain at the KDF 13.1 to the heat at Tri Fest or the congestion at Race the Bridge, but each was a great experience. Because of my training and planning - and mental approach - I didn't have a single negative experience at a race this year.

I Stuck to my training plan
When I decided to do Muncie I started reading everything I could get my hands on. The first Tri book I read was Don Fink's, "Be Iron Fit 70.3". I credit my success to this book and the "Just Finish" training plan I got from it. The plan was 16 weeks - longer than most plans I'd attempted before. It included workouts 5 days a week with two-a-days on Tuesdays & Wednesdays. It was challenging, of course, but it never really felt impossible. I missed some swims, of course, but I think at the end of it I'd only missed one or two long workouts. I consider that a huge win. I remember putting the plan up on the fridge and thinking, "Oh God. Can I really do this?" It was intimidating!! 8 hours of training a week while working 50ish? I stuck to my guns and embraced the 'hard' and got it done. This mindset and planning really helped me tackle other challenges in my life. The mental fortitude you get from making a plan and executing it is really something. I'm proud of myself for putting in the work to accomplish my goals

I Learned to Bike
Anyone who followed the blog in 2015 knows what an odyssey this was. I hadn't ridden a bike since I was 12. At least. Learning as an adult has a brand new sense of "ugh" because....well, it just does! Your sense of fear is heightened, I think. There are real consequences to breaking your arm/leg/collarbone in the adult world. And also, it hurts.When I toed the line at Muncie I'd had my bike less than a year. I spent the winter getting comfortable peddling the damn thing, but then in the spring I jut rode. I rode a lot. I got comfortable riding in groups, going out with the Louisville Bicycle Club on Saturday mornings. I completed 3 50+ mile rides at the end of 2015. I didn't have any serious crashes. 

I logged a lot of miles
I often find myself comparing my athleticism or my fitness to prior years. Back in 2009 when I did the Flying Pig I ran long and fast often. I've never been able to get that fast again. In 2012 I logged a ton of miles and dropped some serious weight in anticipation of a marathon and a wedding. Looking back at 2013 and 2014 it's no wonder the weight came back on - I wasn't committing to anything! Just comparing 2014 to 2015 I seriously upped my game.

I increased my swim and bike miles 10 fold while still logging more running. Obviously that's a natural consequence of training for a 70.3. Still, looking at the raw data and seeing in black and white my improvement is pretty spectacular.

I had a lot of fun
I did. I really did. It was hard, and there were tough times where I thought, "Fuck it". But I really had fun. I met a lot of really neat, nice people. So many folks in the Tri Club were so good to me and I look forward to repaying that this year. Most of all, I think I got reacquainted with me. I don't think I realized how bogged down and stressed I was. I don't think I realized how miserable I was. My day to day work is filled with so much negative. So much "No". So many limits to what I can do. To be able to leave here every day and push past my limits was a god send. 2015 put me to the test and what I found that underneath I'm not the lazy slob I thought I was.

I am confident, I am capable, and I am a rockstar.

Thank you, 2015. You were a lot of fun. Now lets see what 2016 had for me.

Week 14 Recap

14 down, 2 to go. How is it that the last 14 weeks have gone by so slowly and yet so quickly? I sure don't know.

44 miles seems like so few! 

One swim & 10 minutes of biking away from perfection

I keep thinking, "What will I do with all of my free time once Muncie is over?" and the reality is that I don't feel overtrained. At least, not in that respect. I don't feel like I've had to sacrifice time and all that to get the training in. I take my Mondays and Fridays and I keep them sacred for the recovery gods. The two-a-days are getting a little old, but all in all I kinda like it. Probably won't be going for 11 mile runs on Sundays after Muncie though. Nope, probably not.

Best Workout of the Week
This is a tough one just because there wasn't anything super memorable. I felt pretty good Monday after Sunday's 50 miler but Tuesday I was a little sore. Tuesday morning's run was a little tough to say the least. Worse was Tuesday's swim. I definitely regretted blanking on my swims the last 2 weeks. My "easy" brick Wednesday was really nice. I kept up some decent paces and felt great on the run. That Wednesday-Thursday combo has been really hard because Thursday's volleyball gets in the way of doubles on Thursdays. I've been doing my 45 min cycle on Wednesday and the shorter recovery ride Thursday but....that's not what my plan says and I think i'm seeing why. Live and learn, right?

Best Meal of the Week
I'm still super hyped on eggs. Egg sandwiches with mexican cheese on english muffins. Omg. Perfection. I had one for dinner Tuesday night and one for lunch today. They're so damn tasty. I think it's the salt that I'm craving (since I salt the shit out of my eggs so they taste less like, well, eggs!). But I'm proud of myself for getting in more protein, if nothing else. My love of sweets continues. It's my downfall.

This week begins a three or four week stint for me of 4 day work weeks. It cannot come at any better time. Work has been super hectic lately, in a couple of different ways. My work is so strange because it is a constant onslaught of stuff to do. It never stops. You get two things done and 2 more are waiting and 5 more get added. That's the nature of it. But then there's the emotional/psychological stuff. It takes the right balance of disconnection and empathy, compassion and coldness to get out alive. I lacked that balance significantly the last two weeks. It's just so funny that the things that make people good social workers, good public defenders, are what makes them weak and vulnerable to the casualties of compassion. It's so much easier being a heartless sonofabitch!

Hopefully this week - and the promise of a 4 day weekend! - brings a new adventure.

Happy Running!

How do you deal with the work/life balance? 
Eggs - yes or no? How do you cook them? Teach me!

Week 11 Recap - Hill Climbs & Bike Trouble

Didn't quite get everything in I'd hoped this week, but I made some big strides in key areas. Lets check it out.

62 miles seems like a lot

So even with my cross training minutes I was way under my target. I got 2:00hrs/26 miles into my 3:15/45 mile bike ride on Saturday and had mechanical issues. Had to have Hubz come get me. Boo. I'm confident I would've finished the ride, but who knows maybe it was for the best. Legs were still really tired for today's easy run. Now lets just keep fingers crossed that Ghost is back up and running in time for Race the Bridge this weekend!

Waiting for Hubz to come pick us up

Best Workout of the Week
The triathlon club does a hill session on Wednesday nights. When they started posting them I emailed the ride captain because it seemed pretty intimidating. He told me I should maybe work on some smaller climbs before tackling these. Wednesday there was an 'alternate' route that tackled some of the 'moderate' hills. There were three of us and I had a blast! I was super anxious, not knowing anything about the route or the hills, but they made sure not to drop me and I hauled some ass. We met up with the non-alternate (read: badass) riders and then headed back to our car. I'm glad we got done when we did because the sun was setting, but I had a blast!

On top of Spikert Knob

Trying to show how high we were

Favorite Meal of the Week
Ok so I'm cheating a little bit. Friday night I went to one of those paint & sip things with my mom. Since we'd be gone all night (and drinking) I got the Hummus Trio from Zoe's kitchen and ate all of it. It was SO good! Loved the three different types of hummus (particularly the pesto) and the chips. Also loved having so much fun with my mom. I got her the gift certificate for her birthday and hoped she'd picked me. We both better keep our day jobs, but I think our masterpieces turned out great!

Everybody keep your fingers crossed for Ghost this week. The wheel guy is in the shop tomorrow so I should know something then. Also, I'm hoping to do an open water swim in the Ohio river tomorrow so definitely hoping the projected thunder storms hold off!

Happy Running!

Have you ever had bike mechanical issues? How bad?
Do you love my painting? How much would you pay for it?