Sunday, March 08, 2009

Changes.....Again

So two weeks ago I began a new journey to Ironman #2. Ok, ok I'll admit, this is not the first time I've announced a new start. But so many things have changed that I think this really is a new start. I've got a great new job that I generally enjoy and I think I'm finally at the point where I can invest the time I need into my training. Two weeks into my training there are a few things I've learned:

1. Doing two workouts a day most days of the week is hard. Luckily I work at a gym so it's not too hard to get the training in. But my days mostly consist of getting to work at 5:30 or 6 am to train, then work for awhlile, train again, and work some more. By the time I go home at 7 or 8 pm I'm so tired I usually fall asleep on the couch. How do people do this with regular jobs and kids?

2. I'm hungry all the time. I had forgotten about this. The other day I went to Subway and got a footlong sandwich because I thought I'd save half later. Instead I ate the whole thing and then was still hungry. I pretty much never stop being hungry. Someone told me I should try eating two doughnuts a day while I'm training and I'm thinking that could be exactly what I need.

3. Swimming sucks. I'm an Aquatics Director so maybe I'm not allowed to say that. But it does. It just doesn't seem to get any easier. Ok, it's only been two weeks. But still you'd think I'd be flying through a 2000 yard workout by now. Right???

4. If you were afraid of going fast on the bike 2 years ago it doesn't just go away when you take some time off. I cannot for the life of me let go of the brake while going down a big hill. I realize this is silly and I even laugh at myself but I still don't let go of that brake. After crashing it's going to take awhile I think. The bike and I have a love-hate relationship.

5. I love to run. No matter how long of a training day, how sore I am or how bad my other workouts were I never have a bad run. Everytime I put on my headphones and head out the door I come back happier and generally feeling great. So why not just run you ask? Well, that would just be too easy.

6. This isn't going to be easy. Just wanting to be an Ironman isn't going to make it happen. It takes work, dedication, and commitment. It takes rolling out of bed at 3:30 am when it would be so easy to turn the alarm off and go back to sleep. It takes sacrifice to give up your free time and your sleep. It takes finding the motivation you didn't know you had when you're tired and just want to do nothing. It's easy to forgot that nothing worthwhile is easy.

7. It is worth it and it is going to be fun. In the end I love the training almost as much as the event itself. I love pushing myself and seeing what I'm capable of. I love knowing that I'm in amazing shape. And honestly, I love the surprise when people learn that you're training for an Ironman. I hope this year will bring the results I want. I hope that I've made the right choices as far as training. I hope that I continue to find the motivation I need each day. And I hope the bike and I have finally made peace.

More to come later....I promise.