Tri, tri again

I'm better today. I got a good nights' sleep and started my day with yoga and 30 minutes in the pool. It was a little bit of a tough emotional day - today is the official longest run of the Flying Pig training group, and on my way to the gym, I saw part of the group (in addition to several other random runners - it's a beautiful morning). I assume I saw some of the faster people. (Hey, Running Buddy - did my eyes deceive me or was Coach Joe F carrying pink balloons??) I was sad for me, but happy for them. I mean, they were running up the Watterson hill and smiling about it. Good for them. My time to shine in the Pig will come.

But, the situation is what it is. The funny thing I realized is that I kept thinking I'd like to try a triathlon one of these days, but I couldn't pull myself away from running long enough to work on the other two. And so my body did it for me. So I'm really focusing on swimming, and I'm finding that it feels good. It's still boring - and I'm waiting for the company in China to send me replacement waterproof earbuds, since the ones I got arrived half dead and then fully died after one round in the pool - but in a weird way, it feels good. It feels challenging yet relaxing, kind of like a long run on a good day. Afterward, I feel good - not as good as after a run, but I feel content and relaxed and like I've done something good for myself. Plus, whenever something hurts (like today), swimming loosens everything up without that pesky gravity thing being hard on me.

I also think I'm going to do some bike shopping this weekend. I can kind of afford a bike. :) At any rate, even if I decide that triathlons aren't for me, I do want a nicer bike. The guy who teaches circuit training at my gym is a cyclist and he gave me some pointers, and told me I could do all right with $400ish.

What else....oh, I bought a real actual swim cap instead of having to constantly re-do my ponytail mid-swim. And I put Total Immersion on hold at the library. And my 400m time is right about at 11:00. I'd be ok with it being 10ish for the tri. I also think I'm losing time on the turns because I don't do a flip turn, and I'm not sure I care much about learning. I wouldn't use it in an open-water race, and I'm a little wary of smacking my head.

I also think I'm going to include a lot more cross-training in the future, even when I am back to running again. I tried running and running and running and it got me here....so I'm going to run and bike and run and swim, and I don't think it'll interfere with me reaching my full running potential (like I was deathly afraid of before.)

I also realized something.....a stress fracture, from what I understand of my recent education on the subject, starts from the inside. The bones themselves actually get inflamed, inflammatory fluid shows up in the marrow, and they eventually get so inflamed that they crack. Mine weren't cracking yet, but they were close. Meaning I basically had enough pressure on my bones that they could crack. Doesn't it take a TON of pressure to crack a bone? Especially a tibia. So yeah, wow, NO WONDER I was hurting. I feel validated in a weird way.

Anyway, as far as the tri thing goes, I have a new goal. It's a bit of a crazy one, but....provided I do a sprint tri this summer and it goes all right and I enjoy it....I want to do an Ironman! Not any time soon, but maybe in a couple of years. Maybe I could work toward a half Ironman next summer. I don't care about doing it fast, I just want to finish it. I think I could do it. And for real....how many people have finished an Ironman??? That would just be awesomesauce. Even better would be the ability to brag about it at my 15th (HOLY CRAP) high school reunion. That's in 2014.

Off to have a lazy Saturday, now that I've earned it!