It's Like A Heat Wave, Burning in My Heart

I have to say I have really been enjoying my summer and with it my training for a handful of smaller triathlons. There has been so much less pressure, externally and internally that I have experienced. I feel prepared for the distances, and am able to work on speed and strength instead of just surviving. My training consistency has been pretty poor during the week, but even that has not thrown me too much. I feel twinges of guilt over not getting it all in, but I also realize I am replacing some of my lost training time with quality family time, and that takes a bit of the sting away. I am soon going to recommit to get back onto a consistent plan, but in the meantime I am going to enjoy my erratic training schedule and my upcoming vacation at the end of June to Idaho to watch my first Ironman race in person. I am so excited!

This week I got in a few long runs with some new running partners as Lizzard was off on one of her many summer trips. It was fun trying out some new routes around the lakes and having some new company (shout out to Emily, Stephanie, and Heather). I also had a great bike ride on Saturday and we had almost the entire Fitbird ensemble together (minus our fearless leader and a few senior members) for the first time in a long time. It was great to have the old gang back together. I had forgotten how much fun it was to ride in a big group. I hope we can have more rides like that over the rest of the summer. And our temporarily fallen comrade Susan made it back onto her bike for her maiden voyage after her bike accident. Welcome back! It was great having you with us again!

This week brings many new challenges. As much as I have been working really hard over the past year and a half, I have not managed to stop the clock. Unless something dramatic happens before Wednesday, the unavoidable will happen... I will turn 40 (I think I kind of puked in my mouth a little as I typed that). I have officially become middle-aged. I can't even claim "thirty-something" anymore. I have never been bothered by a birthday number, as I know it is just a number, but this one stings a bit. Ouch. I guess nothing really changes though ~ I will continue to struggle onward, checking off items on my Bucket List, training for my Ironman Relay Team for 2040, and working hard to ward off the effects of the old age mentality that I see so many people fall prey to. Please someone slap me hard if I start to complain about my joints hurting and say things like "I can't move like that anymore. You have no idea what it's like to get old...". Please, please don't let me become that! I forbid it!!

This Saturday is my first Olympic distance triathlon. It is in Ridgeland, Mississippi and there is a good group of Fitbirds that are racing. I am looking forward to seeing how I do at this intermediate distance - an 800 yd swim, 24.5 mile bike, and 10K run. I have "loose" goals for this race. I really would like to finish the swim (freestyle of course) and be able to say "That wasn't bad! I could have gone farther..." or better yet, "That was actually enjoyable!". More than anything I want to have a long swim that I actually loved doing. That is my goal. I have been having much better experiences in my open water swim practices, so I feel that this is a realistic goal for once. After that I would like to finish the race with a big smile on my face. It will be icing on the cake if I can have a good run after the other two legs, as I feel my run is my strongest discipline if I can just keep the energy up at the end of the race.

Today I had an opportunity to grab my mountain bike that I haven't touched in over a year, dust it off, and take it out alone onto some of the trails behind my neighborhood. I wanted some quiet time to myself and was amazed at how tranquil the ride was. I promised myself I would do that more often. There was so much beauty in the untouched areas of nature. It was fun to just get out and explore. I also had a good workout. I forgot how different it feels to ride off road. I will be sore tomorrow...