SPLAT!

Well, right now one week ago, I was getting ready to start Run The Line. The funny thing about triathlon is that once a race is over, it's over, and your focus shifts to whatever is next on your calendar. So looking ahead, 6 weeks from today I will be getting ready to start Galveston 70.3, my first half-ironman! I have SO much to do in the coming weeks!

After Monday's swim, all I got in before the weekend was a 30-minute jog in Sulphur Springs on Wednesday evening. My legs were still in recovery mode, so I just wanted a slow jog. I did right at a 9:57 pace, which was fine. The last third of the run my legs felt dead.

Friday was going to be a swim with Harold. We were planning to do a brick Saturday around 1pm, so swimmimg at 5pm Friday would give us enough rest time to be ready. As we were about to get into the pool to swim (I was actually standing there waist deep in the water), we decided that we would brave the cold Saturday morning at 7am to go ahead and get our workout out of the way. We opted for a beer on my back patio for Friday's workout instead :)

Saturday morning was pretty chilly, but we were dressed for the weather. It was right around 40 degrees when I took off on my bike from my house toward Harold's. It is around 1.75 miles from my house to his. We took off and warmed up for 20 minutes, followed by an interval workout--5 minutes hard, 5 minutes rest. Harold looked great on the bike. He was all kinds of awesome. Me on the other hand, I am not as much a fan of these workouts yet. I think it is mostly because of two things. The first is that I am still very new with them, so it is different for me. The second reason is my overall mindset. I have been operating with the mindset that all I want to do is finish these races, so my focus is not on speed. It is on breathing, nutrition, and sometimes actually CONSERVING energy to be sure the tank isn't empty for my run at the end. There will be a day that my mind flips out of that thinking, but I'm just not there yet, and I am ok with that.

I did manage to get my first fall on my new bike out of the way yesterday. As I was turning after our first interval, my front tire found a bit of gravel, and as it was turning, the gravel helped accelerate that turn, and SPLAT--down I went. I'm fine, and the bike is fine, and now I've fallen twice. Both unseen by anyone else.

After just over 19 miles on the bike for our workout, we quickly transitioned and got out on a 30 minute jog. The beginning of this was the toughest part of our morning, as our feet were numb from the cold! I literally could not feel at least two toes on each foot for the first half or so of my jog. But we finished, and I did it at a 9:33 pace.

The great thing about this to me is that a year ago, this workout would have put me on my butt the rest of the day, but this year, I felt great. My body is ready for much more. I feel very confident that I can go and pace myself and ride the 56 miles and then jog the 13.1 once I get out of the water. Once I get out of the water, I will be prepared mentally and physically to pace myself. We just have to get out of the water! But I am very confident about accomplishing that, too. I just want to finish....