My first DNS will be tomorrow. :(

I was all set to race tomorrow but my mouth has gotten in the way.  By that, I mean a huge abscess requiring a big scary root canal has presented itself and I can't get an appointment to fix it until Monday.  They did give me pain pills (which make me sleep all day).  I'm not sure I want to Open Water Swim when high on Vicodin and barely conscious. Although, it might be an improvement since I PANIC in open water!

Anyway, I am bummed.  And my least favorite tooth hurts.  And Vicodin is no fun.  Why do people take this for recreation?  I am sad and tired on it.  If that is better than not taking it for some people, I need to stop and count my blessings, like immediately.

Here's a totally unrelated graphic that makes me laugh every April 25th:

So,  no sprint tri tomorrow.  I'm tough, but I'm not mouth-pain tough. 

Some Forward Progress

Good news:  I have been running.  Just 3.1 every other day this week, but it is a start.  The busiest week of our busy season is pretty much past, so I can concentrate more on making the time to train.  I have been just squeezing it in when I found an hour, but I think I need a firm schedule or this house of cards is going down.

More good news:  With birthday money, I bought new shoes and some new tri shorts.  I had a one-piece suit, but I wanted just some shorts for another option.  They are nothing fancy - just black 2XU tri shorts.

Less than good news:  I haven't been swimming or biking and I have a Sprint Tri next Sunday.  I reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally need to get on that this week.  I'd say it was the swimming that terrified me most, but I'm not so hot on the biking either.  I still need to get my bike in for a tune-up before then as well.  I am definitely having some DNS feelings about this race.  I think I can do it, but I will be dead last and that is never a good feeling.  I wonder if I don't commit and train like I should to give myself that mental "out" for being last or not even starting.  I don't know.  All I know is that I am trying to make changes and it's hard.  I feel like such an ALL OR NOTHING kind of person, where I am religious in my training or I just half-ass it and don't do what I'm supposed to.  Maybe I do need a coach to help motivate me?  I don't know... I don't know... I don't know... I need to figure out something though.

Happy Birthday To ME!

A friend posted this to my FB wall and I couldn't be more in love.  Anchorman is my FAVORITE movie and I just had to laugh at this birthday wish.  So I thought I would share it with y'all!

I am spending the morning watching live coverage of the Rock N Roll Raleigh Marathon finish line and it's inspiring, to say the least.  It reminds me of why I started running and the joy that can be found there.

I have two updates in my upcoming race schedule.  First, I was scheduled for an Olympic Triathlon on April 26th.  I checked and they are running a Sprint Tri at the same time/location so I asked to be switched to the Sprint.  I haven't heard back yet but I can't imagine why they wouldn't let me make this change.  I feel like I can reasonably finish a Sprint with my base plus two weeks to get back into beast mode.  It's 750m swimming, 16.5 miles biking, and 3.1 miles running.  Totally a doable challenge (I hope).  The second thing I am thinking of signing up for is the 16th Annual NCRC Classic 10K on May 18th.  I need a 10K or Half time to get me out of the last corral at the Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare over Labor Day and the cut off for submitting a time is June 1st.  These are both non-medal events (boo - I love my bling) but both will serve a very useful purpose in my training and for my mental health.

My personal calendar year really goes from birthday to birthday, so today is the first day of my new year and I plan on making some much needed changes!

No sprint tri for you!

I went to register for the Sprint Tri this weekend and it was sold out.  I was bummed, but I always try to look for the positive (ie - things happen the way they are meant to, and who knows?  I could have gotten into a car accident on the way there if I had gotten in).  Soooooooo, no practice tri for me before the main event.

I have TWO WEEKS from today!  Let's recap my progress: 
I am swimming every day and getting better.  This is good. 
I am slow as molasses.  This is bad. 
I have a great & fast bike to ride.  This is good.
I don't ride it regularly.  This is bad.
I run almost every day.  This is good.
Again, slow.  So very slow.  This is bad.


I have 4.5 hours to complete this Olympic Tri.  My estimates of time are:
Swim - 1.5 hours
Bike - 2 hours
Run - 1.5 hours

This is 5 hours. :(

I don't know how to make myself faster in two weeks.  And all that BS about "race day adrenaline" has NEVER applied to me.  I race like I train.  No faster, no slower.

I am overwhelmed with how much I need to improve, but I don't feel doomed.  As my mom said, "What's the WORST thing that will happen?"  Well, the worst thing is that I get a DNF.  And I can live with that, really.  In comparison to something being wrong with the kids or not being able to work towards my current educational goals (I'm going back to college), a DNF is not the end of the world and would probably be a great learning opportunity.  One I DO NOT want and will fight like Hell not to have happen, but really... it's worth trying and giving my all because at least I know I put my heart into it and went down fighting. 

I hope it doesn't sound like I expect that to happen.  I am almost absurdly optimistic that I can finish, despite what reality seeps in.  I guess we will find out in two weeks!  I am great under pressure and I feel like I have the mental part down, so I just have to drag my body behind my mind and make it work!

Ok, I didn't fall. Now what?

I wish this damn thing came with training wheels.

Well, I got on the bike and have ridden it around the neighborhood for a few miles at a time.  I need a lot more practice, but at least I don't feel as intimidated.  Tomorrow, I plan to take it out for a longer ride - targeting 12.5 miles - from my house to a local greenway.  It involves going on streets with traffic to get to the greenway, but hopefully, it will be during a lower traffic time.

On thing I noticed on my ride today was that I sweat my ass off.  It was hot outside, sure, but this was EFFORT SWEAT.  I was barely going 7 miles an hour and at the gym, I go about 14.5 mph.  I don't get it.

This is what I look like on my tri bike.

One "win" (I guess) is that I am getting better at shifting.  I read about 50 articles and watched 20 YouTubes on shifting and it still took actual practice to figure it out. 

I am starting to have some serious doubts about this olympic triathlon in 5 weeks.  Is that enough time to get use to the bike and learn proper swimming?  My logical inner voice says HELL NO.  But some stupid part of me says I just need to try harder and things will fall into place.  Who do I listen to?


There is a sprint tri about 1.5 hours away 2 weeks before my oly and I was thinking of doing that for practice.  I need to find $65 not being used to feed my children to register, so it's a little iffy.  I have really blown the budget this month on the bike - plus all the things I needed to ride it!  Helmet, lady saddle, maintenance kit, new pedals, etc, etc, etc.  Triathlons are not the cheapest hobby.

Ok - just wanted to update the blog since the last entry was sad and measly.  I rode the bike and didn't fall.  Yay for forward progress!