Badass Weekend Warrior

I’ve had some fun this week with training. I seem to come out of each workout with a smile on my face and general joy in my heart. And that is something I haven’t had in quite some time.

Thursday, I ran with my friend who’s doing her first half marathon at 3M. We did the 7-mile loop and talked about the race. I love running with beginners because it’s like you get to relive all those fun first moments again. Then, I hit the Y for strength training and the swim clinic with Cathy and Carrie.

Cycling, Inside and Outside

Friday was indoors on the trainer. This has got to be mental toughness training because I find it hard to spin away on the trainer whereas a spin class or being actually out on the bike just flies by. Thank God for “Flip This House”!

I was a little weird and wonky (my new favorite word, thanks to Claire) for Saturday’s ride as the whole cold thing was a new unknown. I am one of these folks who goes from cold to molten core in about 10 minutes…remember the cold Freescale Marathon two years ago? I ran in short sleeves, shorts, and gloves and felt great. Remember the cold, windy Motorola Marathon before that? That’s my marathon PR. So I like cold.

But I HATE wind…and windy cold just didn’t seem fun. I wound up buying some new things: cycling tights (wow, that’s a big pad! I only have tri shorts), full-fingered bike gloves (my el cheapo $1.40 Target gloves I run in were too slippery the previous weekend), SmartWool cycling socks, a long-sleeved cycle shirt with pockets in the back, and a cool jacket with removable sleeves (Cathy tipped me off to this and steered me to REI, where I found one that fit my ample hips and slender wallet).

It was actually a beautiful day on Saturday; within minutes of starting out, all my fears were gone and I truely enjoyed the ride. I think I could be a cyclist if I could get over my fear of traffic and lack of confidence in my bike handling skills, as I find it very relaxing to just get out there and go.

My gloves were a bit on the small side and I could’ve used another layer on my toes, but the rest of me was perfect. AND, thanks to the new meds, there was no snot fest and swollen, slitty eyes at the end. We had a short run at the end, which was hilarious…we’re both freezing and we start running and in less than a minute, both of us simultaneously reach up to unzip our jackets. We had to keep telling ourselves to slow down.

Sunday, I had an early morning soccer game (indoors, thank the little baby Jesus) to attend followed by a baby shower, which meant that my long run got pushed back to the late afternoon. I hit Town Lake Trail at 3 p.m. I always forget that I really like running late in the day and it was quite nice. I had overdressed, which I seem to be doing a lot lately — I’m dressing for the fact that I’m feeling cold inside — and so clothes came off as much as possible while I ran. I did two 7-mile loops and a little farting around here and there to fill my 2.5-hour run.

I was very stiff that night and EXTREMELY tight; it was nice to watch the playoff game and sit on the floor and stretch. I think I am going to need to invest in some regular massage through all this if I am going to stay healthy. My only sour note was realizing that I was supposed to “paddle, soak” in the pool after my run and I completely flaked. This is going to be a hard habit to build.

Week 2: IM Training Totals

Swim      1:30
Bike        3:15
Run        4:55
——————
Total       9:40