2 minutes

Two minutes is about all I have this morning before I head out for my run and then off to work. And two minutes just happens to be the amount of time I took off of my four mile run!! This is a rest and test week ... we cut down on the volume of training and do a couple of hard efforts to test ourselves. Tuesday I had a 40 minute time trial (TT) on the schedule so I ran my normal 4 mile route. On an easy day I run that in about 42 minutes. The last time I did as a TT, my time was 38:10, and it was hard to hold on to that effort. This week I ran it in 36:13! And it wasn't so hard to hold on to that pace. I have not been doing any speed work so I think it's the strength training paying off here.

Sunday I am supposed to do a 2k swim TT (assigned by my tri coach), but my swim coach says we're not ready to swim yet. Last night was week 2 of the swim better clinic. It wasn't raining this week, but it was COLD (about 45 and windy), and we swim outside. During the first length of side balance, my arm that was resting on my leg was freezing! I had moments of breakthrough last night where I could really feel the difference and the power. So I will stick with the drills this week .... 4 times before next Wednesday.

this and that

Well, I've been back to work for three weeks now, and trying to fit it all in. It's not easy. I've had many blog worthy thoughts come and go before I found the time to sit down at the computer and bring them to life. Last weekend I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon. My good friend Liz came out to support me. It was also the year anniversary of my Mom's passing. It was great to see her, as always, but I discovered that I am not very comfortable with praise or compliments. Liz is so enthusiastic about my accomplishments, and I tend to focus too much on my flaws and shortcomings. It's a never ending battle, but I'm not giving up!

This week I began a four week, swim better clinic. I was proud of myself just for making it to the first session, Wednesday evening at 7pm. It was raining and cold and the pool is outdoors. Mapquest said it should take 17 minutes to get there or up to an hour with traffic. It took me one hour and forty-five minutes! They video taped each of us, and then we did lots of drills. Our homework is to get in the pool 3-4 times but NOT swim, just do the drills. It's hard to skip my scheduled swims, but I know I have some bad habits. Taking a couple of weeks now to improve my form should pay huge dividends for the rest of the season.

I got in two good workouts this weekend despite the bad weather. We had rain most of the week, but Saturday was clear and gorgeous. I rode for 3 and a half hours in Palos Verdes. My longest ride so far this season, and I felt good. Rain, wind and thunder were predicted for Sunday so I didn't set my alarm. I woke up at about 8, and it wasn't raining. For reasons I can't explain, I didn't get out for my run until about 9:30. I planned to run for 3 hours, but cut it short. I ran 12 miles in 2:15. I ran about half of it in the rain and strong winds, and decided I had had enough. I do like running in the rain though. The waves were awesome, and the Strand was mostly empty and I feel so hard core. I am glad I don't have to deal with bad weather for too long though :)

ABANDON HOPE!

Day 6 of the New Year, and already she's giving up? Not quite. I have been giving quite a bit of thought to what my New Year's resolutions should be. More so than usual. And number one on my list is to love and accept myself. As I am. Right. Now. No excuses. No what ifs. I must abandon hope* of becoming "perfect" for I am already perfect. Losing ten pounds will not make me a better person, nor will it make me happy. There will always be someone thinner, fitter, faster than me. To be truly happy, I need to be myself, and I need to love myself.


Having said all that, there are a few things I'm working on. And the new year is as good a time as any to work on changing some habits.

Living in the Moment -- I worry a lot and tend to over think things. Part of what made the Ironman such a great experience for me was that I was in the moment as soon as the gun went off. I stopped worrying and just swam and biked and ran for 16 hours and forty minutes. I was proud of myself for getting there. I soaked in the beautiful views and enjoyed the support and kindness of strangers. And the day just flew by! I want every day to be like that. People shouting my name and cheering for me eveywhere I go would be pretty cool too.

Stretching

As you can see, I need to work on my flexibility. This is me seriously stretching, and that's as far as I can go even with my knees bent. Right now. Lisa, my private trainer, says that my tight calf muscles are hindering my movement and has me using the foam roller every day. It's painful, but I am noticing an improvement. I went to yoga twice this week, and it felt sooo good. Once I go back to work (tomorrow!) I'll be lucky to fit in one yoga class a week, but I can stretch for 10-15 minutes at home everyday.

Nutrition -- I need to be more mindful of what I'm putting in my body. This mostly means planning, grocery shopping, and cooking so that I have good, healthy choices readily available. And it's not all that hard. The other night I threw a turkey breast tenderloin (preseasoned) in the oven and roasted some veggies along with it. It was very easy and tasty. The only drawback was that it took over an hour to cook. That's where the planning comes in.

So, I think this is enough to work on for now. Happy New Year!!

*I first heard the phrase "Abandon Hope" from my good friend and IronFan, Liz, on June 23, 2007, in Coeur d'Alene, ID.