The Finish Line...

Today was RACE DAY....

I will write all about it when I'm not BEAT, but wanted you to see this...

I worked SO hard to get to the Finish Line. It was emotional and so rewarding.

I am doing more triathlons FOR SURE....

Just What I Needed

Rest. 
Not something one likes to think about doing when you are married to a Training Plan and Race Day is quickly approaching. The scrapes and bruises received from my minor bike crash were nothing compared to the pain the only increased in my ribs and shoulder as days went by. I wondered if a rib was broken because at one certain spot it would take my breath away if I barely touched my chest. It hurt to take deep breaths, it hurt to ride my bike, it hurt to run, and it really hurt to swim.

I took one bike ride off to rest, one run, and about 2-3 swim sessions. This made me so nervous since my training plan has me beginning to taper (back off training as Race Day approaches in order to have a well rested body and mind) and the swim is the majority of my training as of now. Saturday came and I decided it was time for a long swim. My previous swims were about 850m (32 laps), and on Saturday I felt SO good that I went for 1,050m (42 laps). I could have gone for more, but I wanted to get outside to hang with my kids! Rest was just what I needed. Last night I swam 900m and went for a 2mi run afterwards and felt strong the whole way through.

Tonight I will get back on the bike for a quick 18mi ride and then tomorrow I will take off. I am nervous and excited, feeling ready and yet questioning everything I've done to this point right now. Race Day is coming. Fast. Praying for AMAZING weather and a great experience all together.

Thanks to everyone for the support!

Digging Deep

A really quick update because I'm feeling frustrated this morning...

Woke up early for an 18 mile bike ride only to realize that my gear shift and handle bars are messed up on the right side. This is from a silly little crash I had on Saturday after Chip and I did a 21 mile ride up to and around the Chatfield Reservoir. I had a great ride - even did my first open road cycling - and as we were pulling up to the Xterra, I was reminding myself to gear down, completely forgetting to unclip my feet from the pedals. I was braking and all of a sudden I was stopped. With BOTH feet still locked into the pedals. It felt like slow motion... I just toppled over on my right side. I got a little bruised up, but couldn't stop laughing at myself! :) SO.... that little mishap created a problem for me this morning. Hopefully it is an easy fix!

Upon realizing the bike ride wasn't going to work out, I ran inside and changed my shorts and shoes for a run. I don't know if it was because my mind was prepared for a bike ride or what, but mentally it was really hard for me today. I walked for almost 2 minutes to warm up and refocus then began my run. Time was crunched because of all the time I spent messing with my bike (I had to be home in time for Chip to make it to work on time), so I decided on running my go-to 2 mile loop when I have less than 30 minutes to spend on a run.

Usually, I knock out my two mile loop with no problems. Today was different. It was as if I couldn't dig deep enough to motivate myself through it. I'm so sore. I'm tired. I have scrapes and bruises all over my arms and legs. I have this spot below my collar bone that hurts when I do simple movements like pull back my shoulders, or straighten my back. Today was hard. It didn't go as planned. It threw me off. It was a good lesson.

I have to roll with training, racing, LIFE... when it doesn't go as planned. By nature I am pretty laid back and go with the flow easily. We love being spontaneous in my house. We aren't ones to plan too much because we love to be flexible. In life, I know that things rarely go as planned and am prepared for that. In training, however, I've been married to this "Training Plan" and my brain didn't know what to do this morning when I had to do a quick change up. I have a picture in my mind how each day's training sessions will go from what route I will take, the time it will take me to do so, the sets, the reps, the rests... you get it. I have a similar picture in my head for race day, which is coming soon. I think today helped me to realize that I need to prepare for anything. That even when I am tired and sore, I have to get my mental game on track to dig deep and pull out whatever it takes to finish strong.

Today I didn't finish strong. I turned around early and ran a measly 1.5 miles. Lesson learned. Dig Deep.