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June 26, 2006
Quite a Day
Wow - what a whirlwind of a day! First up was my 1st pool swim in 2 weeks. I was actually nervous, like I had somehow forgotten to swim in a pool. What was I thinking? In a pool you can actually see where you are going! My swim actually felt really good although I did mess up the workout some for me and my group. That's what they get for letting me lead. I can't even add in my head let alone multiply and subtract while trying to swim hard. :)
2 sets of:
300/200/100/100/200/300
The times for my group were supposed to be based on 100s of 2 min/1:55/1:50/2/1:55/1:50 and then for the 2nd set 1:55/1:50/1:45/1:55/1:50/1:45. The part I messed up was the first set - I did 2/1:55/1:50/1:50/1:55/2. Oops. Not that big of a deal. We got less rest for the middle 100s and more for the last 300. Either way, my group kindly pointed out my mistake and I did it correctly on the 2nd set. :)
With my warmup and cooldown I did 3500 meters total.
Next up was work. Nothing crazy in particular other than it was my first day back after 11 days off. That's never a good thing people. It actually wasn't that bad other than the fact that I got notice that I was going to get kicked out of my parking garage starting next week and I spent most of the morning trying to determine where exactly it was that I was going to park instead. My choices? One lot that was less expensive but would probably add about 30 minutes to my commute each way (1 hour total) because the drive is farther and it invovles a shuttle. The other choice was somewhere that I could still park and then walk to the hospital but that was more expensive than I already pay. And I pay >$800/year to park already. Ugh. I hate to say it but I went for the more expensive option. I just can't imagine taking another hour of my day to sit in my car or on a shuttle. What a waste.
After work was a trip to the bike store. Where do I begin with this? Perhaps a short explanation that hopefully won't bore people too much...
The guy that owns the bike store where I bought my bike and go just about every other day (or so it seems), is a triathlete himself and also a coach. He has a "team" of triathletes as well as a team of cyclists. Some of his triathletes are almost to the point of obtaining pro status - aka - they are really good. So anyway, my friend and teammate from college K and I are sort of getting pulled into this little group. I think the store owner J just wants some women to claim and that's the reason why he has shown interest in us. He knows that we both ran collegiately and have been blessed with some sort of talent in that sense and I think he possibly sees some potential. I also think that he really likes to coach and truly gets enjoyment out of helping people achieve their goals.
Anyway, J wanted me to try to ride in the crits, the bike races on Tuesday nights, but I don't have a road bike. No problem in J's eyes - he will just let me use one of the bikes from the store! It's such a wonderful opportunity for me, one that I really can't pass on, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really nervous about it! A cycling race? What the heck? There is strategy and drafting and oh my...lots to learn. But I can't pass it up and so this afternoon I went to the bike store and J set me up on a pretty sweet road bike. It's not mine of course - I will race on it on Tuesdays and I will ride it on group rides on Saturdays but otherwise I'll just ride my own tri bike. K, my friend, will also be racing the crits but she can't come tomorrow so she met me this afternoon at the bike store and we both rode over (me on the road bike to get used to it) to the oval where the races are. She wanted to give me some pointers about the races as she has already done two. The ride over was about 15 miles.
The oval is a little scary. The curves aren't so bad in themselves but what concerns me is being amongst 20 other riders on those turns. I suppose I'll survive though. My goal for tomorrow is literally to survive and try not to get dropped by the pack. The races are 15 miles long. What have I gotten myself into? Don't get me wrong - I'm very excited for it and I know this will help me be a better triathlete but cycling isn't a world I necessarily feel like I fit into too well!
And that's that. I'm excited. I'm nervous. But I will re-read one of my favorite quotes:
"Unless you test yourself, you stagnate. Unless you try to go way beyond what you've been able to do before, you won't develop and grow. When you go for it 100%, when you don't have the fear of "what if I fail," that's when you learn. That's when you're really living." Mark Allen
These words really sum up my experience thus far in the sport of triathlon. I have so much to learn. And I'm scared of a lot of it. It's not safe and comfortable like running has been for the past 10 years. But with God's strength I will keep pushing through and keep learning and hopefully come out a better person for it.
PS I also bought a heart rate monitor today too because - what the heck?! - why not try to learn a whole new way of training while I'm at it. First step - learn how to make heart rate monitor watch display anything other than the current time. I told you I have a lot to learn... :)
Posted by beth at June 26, 2006 9:05 PM
Comments
WOAH! That IS quite a day. But I am confident you will do wonderful tonight!! I can't wait to see how the race goes!
Posted by: Audrey at June 27, 2006 8:40 AM
I'm glad you had a great vacation! Good luck in your bike race. I can't wait to hear about it!
Posted by: Caitlin at June 27, 2006 3:16 PM