That which does not kill us, makes us stronger. - Nietzsche

Saturday, April 9, 2011

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!

5 comments:

  1. Glad you're getting settled into your new training routine! Sorry that seeing the group this morning bummed you out - if it's any consolation, my group had to run UP Gilbert, again.

    You probably don't want to know this, but I think that outside of the Roncker's group, Joe F. has an informal triatholon/Ironman training group. He's done a few of those and might be a good resource for you if you catch him in a conversational mood.

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  2. Yes, that was Joe F. with the balloons. They sent the pace teams out to practice. I was also going to mention his Ironman history, like Nota did. Might be one avenue to pursue, anyway!

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  3. LMFAO! You know how you have to enter a word to let blogger know you aren't a computer? The word is gave me was "pronate." No lie. I think that's a sign that you'll be pounding the pavement again real soon.

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  4. I DO want to know that!! I'll send him an email and see if he'd let me pick his brain. Err...maybe I'll email him when the Pig is over. He's probably got training group stuff on the brain like crazy these days!

    And Jene....you should do an Ironman with me. If a 4ish hour race is lonely, I may lose my mind by the end of a 10+ one! :) I'm trying to talk my husband into it, but I don't know if he's the right brand of crazy.

    And I'm thrilled about the automatically generated word choice!! Although pronating was part of what got me into this mess in the first place!!

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  5. The word I got on my second comment was "dizzamit." Not as appropriate, but I like the 'izzle speak :)

    Don't know if I can commit to Ironanything. I don't have access to a pool, and I don't know if I can take that much time. Just the marathon is pushing it :(

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