Let's do it.

Get excited!! It is almost time to turn into a popcicle!!

All systems are a go for the tri this Saturday. The past 2 weeks there has been speculation as to whether or not the tri would go on considering lake temperatures were a ripe 53 degrees up until this past Monday when it hit a season high of 55. And now we're sitting pretty at 59. Maybe we'll luck out and it'll be in the low 60's in 2 days? At least we're supposed to get into the low 70's during the race.

This is the part where I thank my lucky stars I've got a full-sleeve wetsuit. Huzzah!!

Last year, I essentially got myself all worked up over this race...literally to the point where it made me sick. I first dropped from the tri to the du...and then eventually pulled a DNS as I had this whole "woe is me, I can't do hills" mentality. Totally pathetic...right!?

This year, I've embraced the HTFU mindset. Sure, I may have only done 2 outdoor rides (neither of which were on hills) and just 1 brick workout...but that's not going to stop me from going out there and simply getting it done. The reality is...I am in such better shape and a better place mentally than I was last year. I'm actually looking forward to taking on this challenge. And I guarentee you there will be folks out there who are less trained than I am. But we're all out there grinding it out at the same time.

I just need to remember that we're all in this together (shame on you if you ended up singing a line or two from High School Musical right there...you know who you are). Everyone has to ride the same set of brutal hills out of the canyon to get to the other side. Everyone will be feeling some level of pain and exhaustion. This isn't a me thing. It's a we thing. And as long as I remember that, and draw energy from the other participants, I'll be just fine.

As Coach Amy said yelled at me in her southern twang last week...just because the water is cold, doesn't mean you're not going to do it. And just because there are headwinds and crosswinds strong enough to blast Toto and Dorothy back to Oz, doesn't mean you're not going to do it. And just because there are ridiculous hills that never end, doesn't mean you're not going to do it. You can't change the conditions and you can't change the course...so quit freakin' out and just do it already.

More truer words have never been spoken.

I'm approaching Galena as a solid training run for Kansas.
- Galena has 1800 feet of climbing over 16.8 miles.
- Kansas has 2800 feet of climbing over 56 miles.

If I can handle this...I'm pretty sure I can handle anything.

I'm ready for the beast.

The hotel is confirmed. The packets have been picked up. And really, the only thing left to do at this point, is a bit of light speed work on the track tonight...followed by packing, unpacking, and repacking again to make sure I've got everything I need.

Let's do it.

Celebrating Tiny Victories

One thing I've learned is that when you start to feel a little overwhelmed with intense training, you need to celebrate tiny victories along the way. It's like a marathon...if you look at the big picture, all 26.2 miles, it's downright scary. Break it into small pieces and celebrate each tiny victory along the way makes it that much easier.

For starters, Mother Nature foiled our plans on Sunday and alas, we weren't able to do our long ride/brick due to torrential downpours. So I elected to rest on Sunday and then yesterday squeaked out a brick, albeit a short one.

I went out with the intent for a 90 minute ride. Within 5 minutes I was freezing my buns off. One fellow rider questioned my sanity as I was wearing shorts in temperates that peaked in the upper 40's (and here I thought it was mid-May...what gives!?). After 15 minutes I decided rather than to ride for speed, since I couldn't feel my legs, that I'd ride about 60 minutes and focus on my form and aero position.

Oof.

I'd get going and then settle one arm into the aerobars with the other holding onto the hood. Say a prayer and then hold on for dear life. Breathe a sigh of relief when I don't hit anything or anyone. And then I'd switch, repeating the process. Give myself a pep talk, saying it was okay if I fall trying to get both arms into aero, then I'd chicken out and go back to the one arm dealio. There was even a cyclist in an orange jersey who offered encouragement for my aeroposition efforts each time we'd cross paths.

This went on for about the first 8-9 miles. And then finally, as I headed back north toward McCormick Place, I mustered up the cahoonahs to go all the way down (err...get your mind outta the gutter)...all the way into aeroposition.

And it felt great.

Granted, I would only maintain aeroposition for maybe 10-20 seconds at first, and felt all wobbly in those first few crucial moments fearing for my life and the life of those within a 20 yard radius of me, but I was finally getting the feel of it all. As I zipped by Mike who was walking Phog, I think I shrieked like a little girl with excitement proclaiming I finally got into position. He was pretty amped for me. Even orange jersey dude flew by me an offered up a "great job!" taking pride in the fact that I finally did it.

And so I smiled...celebrating the latest tiny victory.

Other tiny victories of the past few days...
- After yesterday's ride I clipped off a 9:42 mile when I felt like I was plodding along slowly.
- The new bike fit is awesome, no more aches and pains in my back and shoulders (although it makes me neck slightly sore...hrmmm)
- Last week I peeled off 3 sub-10:00 500's with ease in the pool...9:46, 9:44 and 9:28.
- During my 11 miler on Saturday, I pulled it out at the end, making my final mile one of my fastest.
- We got Mario Kart for Wii. Okay. Not so much a tiny victory as it is a whole hell of a lot of awesome fun. :)

Okay. Off to work. Have a beautiful day!

Countdown...

Only 7 days until the Galena Triathlon. Where water temps in the mid-50's await us. As does 1800 feet of climbing over 16.8 miles to get our rears out of Apple Canyon. This isn't my "A" race by any means...it's my go out and get a feel for real hills like you'll find in Kansas and make sure you don't die in the process race.

Only 36 days until the Kansas 70.3 ...and I'm surprisingly calm (mostly). I know I can do the swim distance. I know I can do the run distance. And I'm fairly certain I can do the bike distance, although after Sunday's brick I'll have a much better gauge on this front. Whether I can do all three back to back to back in less than 8 hours remains to be determined. It'll certainly be fun to find out...right!? :)

Only 44 more days until I am faced with hitting the "Submit" button on making a year-long commitment that will render me certifiably insane.

Only 409 more days until I potentially toe the line on the pinnacle of endurance events.

And assuming all goes as planned there, only 410 days until I take a well-deserved break from endurance racing and go into hibernation for a long while. :)

Until then...I need to make the most out of the days and hours that lie ahead of me...

Tonight after work I'm getting fitted for the aero position over at Mission Bay Multisport. I'm hoping this makes a big difference with the comfort level on my bike. And then afterward, we're cranking out 2500 in the pool (including timed 3x500...fun times).

Speaking of swimming...Mike and I struck gold with our latest cheap swim suit grab bag experience. Last year brought me a nauseatingly ugly weird purple tie-dyed swim suit. This year...I got this beautiful piece for $28 (originally $76). JACKPOT! And Lane Four Swimming actually matched our swimsuits. It's pretty funny. Oh...and the best part? I got to buy the next size down...and it fits beautifully. Awesome.

Tomorrow morning brings an 11 mile run for me. And then Sunday I'm faced with my first official brick workout of the season...45 mile ride followed by a 20 minute run. We plan on going somewhere to find a few hills. It is my hope that I will live to tell the tale.

This past week can be called successful. My shoulder pains are slowly fading away and things are looking good.

Tuesday: 2600 yards in the pool

Wednesday: Bike class from hell...including a pyramind workout that got us up to 5 minutes in aero/3 minute standing/1 min 100+ rpm / 1 ez...building up and down to that point.

Thursday: 8x400 on the track...I won't go into split times, but overall, I averaged right around an 8 minute pace with these bad boys, with my fastest 400 done at a 7:16 pace. And during the last 400, I may or may not have puked a bit in my mouth...I wasn't lying when I called it my Run Till You Vomit Intervals Class. When you add up the drills and warm up/cool down laps, I covered a little over 5 miles.

That pretty much sums of this past week of fabulishousness of life in my neck of the woods. Hopefully this weekend finds you all filled with strong training runs and successful workouts!

Peace out, yo!

Are you on the list?

Hmm...the title makes it sound like I'm stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash and I'm cross-referencing some manifest to make sure we're all the surviving passengers are accounted for...only to find that paralyzed passengers can walk and that there's polar bears in the middle of the pacific and...

oh wait...

Wrong storyline.

Are you on this list?

The million blog list. It's essentially a wiki that is aiming to see how long it'll take to get 1 million blogs listed of the 70,000,000+ blogs that are floating out there in cyberspace.

I'm on it. I'm #1345 in fact.

Kind of a cool experiment, I s'pose.

Yesterday we rode outside for the first time since last September. It was a decent ride. Not too shabby for getting back in the groove of things. I am happy to report that I only ate one bug and remembered to clip out before stopping. I almost ran over a few morons along the path, but there's nothing new there. My biggest challenge as of right now is getting the cahoonahs to move from the hood into aero position on the bike. Oof. Color me a scaredy cat.

In other news...my shoulder is super sore. Like reeeeeeeeeeally sore. Should make for tonight's 2500 in the pool an interesting, possibly painful, task.

I'm considering waking up early to hit up a yoga class before work. We'll see if that comes to fruition. I'm still pretty miffed about last week's pre-work workout being cut short. And tomorrow night, we have our death by simulated hills on the trainer class with Lara.

Fun times, really. Fun times.

The hardest part...

I am slowly coming to the conclusion that the hardest part of training isn't the training at all. The hardest part is finding the time to get everything done...and not just the training, but other stuff, too. Things like packing for training, coordinating clothes and nutrition and hydration...or that post work-out shower. Timing really is of the essence. Especially when you often work long hours and have other commitments and actually want to maintain some glimmer of a social life.

I'm lucky to be in two different classes right now designed to push me in new ways. Without this formal structure and guidance from experienced coaches, I'd be at a great disadvantage. The cycling class has definitely made me better on the bike (which is, by and far, my weakest discipline). I'm excited to see how the past few months of bike workouts will come to fruition on my hilly race days.

The second class--this running intervals class--is pretty much a recipe for disaster. It looks like the "Run 'Till You Vomit" mindset...and I am the second slowest person in there. Most of the folks are clipping off sub-7:30 miles with ease and wanting to be in the 6:30 range. I, on the other hand...am striving for consistency on the sub-10:00 front. Me and the other BOPer, Sara, are in for a challenge this summer. Our coach has her work cut out for her. And apparently...I've got my work cut out for me, too.

I think I'm pretty fortunate to be married to someone who is going through everything right along with me. I honestly can't imagine trying to explain to your significant other that you can't do X, Y or Z because you have to go to bed before the sun just so you can wake up and do a 2 hour brick the following morning before work. Some folks just don't get the commitment, but that's okay. I really like getting to watch Mike train and go the big 140.6 before I even start toeing that type of training. I know he doesn't mind being the guinea pig. Plus it's not like he'll ever really be going at his training alone though. Sure, there are days where he has to ride 5 hours and I've only got 3 on the plan, but I'll still be out there with him...and I'll even get the privilege of setting up water stations for him along the way...and try to keep up with him for the extra company and what not.

But yeah...when there are only so many hours in the day...and sometimes, things have to drop. Like laundry. I can't remember the last time I personally did laundry (welcome to the gratuitous "My hubby rocks" section--without him, I'd probably be wearing dirty underwear inside out...okay, maybe not since that's so gross, but you get the point). And dishes? Hahahaa...my idea of doing dishes is letting them pile up in the sink as I have one foot out the door for my next training session (somewhere my mother is rolling her eyes thinking some things never change). And other times, I have to drop a mid-week run or cut back on my swimming in order to be somwhere or even for my own personal sanity.

Sometimes, something has to give...and that's okay. It's all about balance and choices.

I think Deena Kastor sums it up perfectly...

"We don't make sacrifices. If we truly love this sport and we have these goals and dreams in the sport, or in life, they're not sacrifices. They're choices that we make to fulfill these goals and dreams."

I have to admit I'm proud of the way each day this past week was tackled.
Monday - 31.8 miles on the bike (on the trainer...blech); 20 minutes yoga
Tuesday - 2300 yards
Wednesday - Cycling hills class 21.1 miles
Thursday - 4.5 miles in the running interval class
Friday - 1900 yards in the pool (3200 on the schedule, but got the boot due to a class...we'll see if I ever try to swim in the morning before work again--hah! Seriously, why is there a beginners swim class at 6:45 on a Friday morning? Go back to bed, people!)

And then tomorrow I've got an easy 10 mile run on tap...and then Sunday is a 2h15m outdoor ride. I have to get outside...have to, have to, have to...no more excuses. Galena is in 2 weeks and I'm not going to be riding the those 16.8 miles on a trainer, now am I?

Note to self: when outside, you must remember to clip out before stopping.

But I am seriously wiped out. Beyond wiped out, in fact. I think I'm going to have to start putting myself to sleep at the bedtime of a toddler. But when I'm not feeling exhausted, I usually feel ridonkulously hungry. Like I could eat an entire farm in one sitting. And when I'm not sleeping, eating, training or working...I'm usually thinking obsessing about something triathlon-related. It's at the point where it has become ingrained in my dreams now. And for the most part, I'm okay with it. Because for now, this is the lifestyle I have chosen.

And I can't imagine it any other way.

Finally.

So...I've been holding out on y'all.

I didn't want to talk about it until it actually happened. Because I was gunning for it to happen last year...but then the only race of that distance I ran last year was in about an inch of wintry slushy crap and I just didn't have it in me in cold temps and I didn't have the training to back it up either. Yeah...I'm a sissy. Regardless, it still left me a bit disappointed with myself.

I didn't even mention it on here because I didn't want to get all cocky like some folks 'round these parts or jinx myself with some bad pre-race karma or anything. But after seeing how the numbers fell during the Shamrock Shuffle last month and the new PR in the half marathon distance, I knew I'd be crazy not to go and try it.

So...as you may or may not know...one of my running goals is a sub-30:00 5k.

And I did it.

I actually did it.

And I couldn't be more excited or proud of myself.

This little Jayhawk is no longer a back of packer. My time put me in the top 39% in my age group. And 51% overall.

I actually ran a 28:40 at yesterday's Ravenswood Run.

TWENTY-EIGHT : FORTY.

Not 29:59. Not 29:00 even.

A 28:40.

A time I was convinced was impossible for my body.

That's a 9:14 pace. And home girl doesn't run that fast. My previous PR was 31:04 (a 10:00 pace) and that's a respectable chunk off my time.

In events I have pushed myself and raced this year...I am 3 for 3 on the PR count.

On the way home from Saturday's 9 mile run (which I cranked out at an easy 11:20 pace) I was telling Mike that I feel as if things have finally clicked between my head, my legs and my lungs. I'm not sure if that makes sense at all to anyone out there...but it's like everything has finally aligned. I find myself able to go farther and faster than ever before. And that's pretty exciting for me. It took me about three years to get to this point. And I couldn't have done it without the help of some really good friends (who put up with my incessant whining about being so damn slow and encouraged me to do "bite me miles," track workouts and LT runs in freezing cold downpours), and one awesome triathlon program that I am so very privileged to be a part of.

Finally...I am tapping into my potential. And I can't wait to see what happens next.

Tonight? We spin. And then it's off to find my inner zen with some yoga.

Barb vs. The Wetsuit...PART TWO.

Wetsuit, meet Barb. Notice the intimidation tactics.



















Barb, meet Wetsuit. Notice the skepticism.














Hmmm...how do we do this?



















LOOK!! A FOOT!! In record time, no less!



















So far, so good...



















Hmm...this is tough (and hot, I actually had to turn the fan on)...



















And the arms!



















VICTORIOUS!!!



















Damn...that thing is hot. I couldn't wait to take it off. But I was amazed at how quickly it went on (and off) and that there was not an abundance of 4-letter words in play. Yay for free wetsuits!! The folks at ProMotion were awesome. I'd definitely work with them again and recommend them to everyone. :)