Usually the phrase giving in is followed directly with giving up. Not in this case. After 3 weeks of training I am finally realizing that fighting to "do my own thing" might not be the best plan. I am struggling to give up my standard weekly running mileage and would have no qualms in adding more running to the training. But, I am not going into this triathlon with a bunch of newbies. Team In Training has helped millions of people complete these events and have done so with the same training plan I am currently following. Realizing that made me see that I was being pretty annoying thinking I knew better than them. I have never done this before and they have, maybe it's time to shut up and do what I am told (not my strong suit). Somewhere between a swimming panic attack and actually riding my bike successfully I realized that if I just follow the plan I will get to point B. I can't see it but it is there. I was reminded of this by my lovely Ragnarian family who posted the image above to Facebook this morning. This is certainly the challenge that I thought it was going to be -- actually it is WAY more of a challenge than I expected, but I am in good hands and I need to trust the plan and follow it. Sure I might be able to push further in some areas but that sets off a domino effect and I can't afford to struggle in the disciplines I am just learning. Life may have been simpler when I was just running but letting go and resigning myself to an outside plan just may be more rewarding.
When the going gets tough, the tough get ... a catchy motivational phrase? Not the traditional theory but, let me tell you, it absolutely works! Sometimes you have those teachers, coaches, leaders who just bring it out of you and who aren't afraid to throw a cheesy line at you to get you to push that little bit further than you thought was humanly possible. Case in point: yesterday morning after a bit too much in the way of Mardi Gras celebrating, I rolled into my favorite spin class knowing that there was a 50/50 chance that I might pass out. I was tired from the week before and the evening celebration had only compounded the issue. But when I got on the bike and we started to roll I began to hit my stride. I peaked about 40 minutes in, you know right before it gets REALLY hard, and I felt like that was it -- I couldn't give any more. And right as I was about to coast through the rest of the class our teacher was right there reminding us that what we felt wasn't PAIN, it was PROGRESS. Damn, I thought, that's a good one! I couldn't help myself, I pushed and sprinted my way through the next 20 minutes and I felt better for it afterward. (We won't discuss how it felt to get in the pool and swim laps an hour after.) As we were reminded in our coach's email last night, week 3 is gonna be a beast. Your body is beyond the initial excitement of new things and is starting to realize what you are doing to it and the strain of the past two weeks is pushing us closer to exhaustion. I certainly feel it too. But throughout this beast of a week, when I am tired and falling over on the bike, you better believe that phrase will be running though my head and pushing me. Progress is my goal at every workout and if pain is the cost so be it!
Well, it is official. We are, quite literally, off to the races. After a lot of discussion, worry, pre-training, more discussing and even a little excitement this whole triathlon thing is on. This morning I wrapped up a fantastic string of events. Thursday night after a grueling day I was able to make it to one of my favorite spin classes and banged out a rocking class. I switched up my long run schedule and ran on a Friday morning. I forgot how absolutely thrilling a pre-dawn run can be. Watching the sunrise over the Potomac may be one of the most beautiful things in the world. To finish off my road to the starting line, today we had our Team in Training kick off celebration. I met my teammates, coaches and the fantastic TNT staff. It was basically a giant pep rally for everyone doing a TNT event this summer and was a ton of fun! I know some people may think that this isn't really the start line but just the beginning of a long arduous journey. But I am reminded of another great quote. Yes, I am in a very quote-y mood this week. This one comes to us from John "The Penguin" Bingham, a famous running coach and author of many running books. He reminds us that "The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
And away we go! How does someone who did not participate in any athletic endeavors growing up reach a point in their lives when they say "sure, I will do a triathlon!" It actually isn't a complicated answer. You just put one foot in front of the other until you have run a 5k and then a 10k and then a 10 miler and then... you get the point. A lot of people talk about racing like an addiction and I think that in some (very positive) ways they are right. And if that is true, running seems to be the gateway drug for all distance athletes. Why, because it is easy to understand, it is easy to measure your gains and most of all you just lace up and go. Anyone can do it, trust me! I would have laughed at you if you had told me 5 years ago that I would be registered to compete in a triathlon! I would have told you to "get lost" if you told me I would have run a marathon! But that's the amazing part about running (and I hope it is also true for triathlons), it is a sport that you can grow into and seems to grow WITH you at times. I did, in fact, run my first marathon this past November. And it was an amazing feeling to be able to think back to the first race I ever ran. I had only been running for a few months, I didn't know anyone, I had no one at the finish to cheer me on, no running buddy to log the miles with. I just ran because it felt good and I could feel myself getting better. In these first few weeks of preparation for training I am trying to stay aware of that feeling. I do not want to let the fear of the unknown creep over me. So I remember that human beings can do extraordinary things as long as they believe.
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