Irongirl Atlanta 2012

All I can say is WOW!!

What a life changing experience.  I experienced such a range of emotions at the event.  Starting with the swim. As a new swimmer, I hoped it wouldn't take longer than 35 minutes to complete. Well, it took longer than that and I learned a lesson.  Although I can swim on my back in open water, it's not the best approach. My goal will be to improve my comfort level in the water, including breathing so that I can continuously swim freestyle 600 meters.  I'm not sure how long it will take to reach the goal but it's ok.  I'm in no rush. If I practice consistently and with focus, I'll get there.

Next up, the bike. I enjoyed the ride. By the time I left transition, the roads were fairly clear. The good thing was I wasn't the only one on the roads. The volunteers were offering words of encouragement and I took the time to thank them.  It was a reasonably relaxed ride. There was an accident on the course which caused a short delay. During that time, I chatted with other cyclists, shared water with someone who'd forgotten theirs and said a prayer for the fallen cyclist. 

Finally, the run. I was so pumped by the time the run arrived. Although I was tired, I felt energized. Jesse and Kam were there every step of the way cheering for me.  My friends from TNT and USAFit were also cheering.  I was so proud of myself on that day. Durly the first 90 minutes, on a number of occasions I had to dig deep and keep going.  Honestly, I wanted to quit during the swim a few times but I didn't, couldn't.  I put in so much work training and my family sacrified so much, I couldn't quit.

Running down the final chute, hearing the announcement that I'm not an Irongirl was incredible.  Thanks to everyone that provided support throughout the event and after.

Keep moving forward.

One last long swim practice

This will be the Irongirl teams' last long swim.  I can’t believe it!  Our training season is almost over and we are less than 2 weeks out from Irongirl.  Todays practice will involve swimming further than race distance.  We will swim 600 meters. I’ve been reading a lot on staying present and not worrying about what other athletes are doing around me.  A key tenant of the book is to have fun while swimming and go at my own pace. So, instead of panicking, I decide to swim the entire distance backstroke. I don’t want to stress. I figure worse case scenario—if I have to backstroke the entire 500 meters at Irongirl, it would be nice to know how long it might take. Would I be able to complete it before the cutoff time?  This would be my chance to see. 

So, we get in the lane and I start.  Of course, the faster swimmers head out but I’m not going to panic. Oh, I forgot to mention, the swimmers training for the Oconee Olympic would be swimming 1300 meters. I knew some if not all would catch and pass me. Again, I didn’t panic and figured I could use this to simulate later waves where swimmers would catch and pass me.  On, I go, settling myself down..singing ‘Expect a Miracle’ by the Clark Sisters, ‘Control’ by Janet Jackson, ‘Lose Yourself by Eminem and I’m chugging along. After 450 meters or so, I get a bit distracted and remind myself, I can do all things through Jesus Christ..by now, the Oconee swimmers are passing me.  A couple times I swallow water or get water in my nose and choke up. I hate that choking feeling. It's so unnatural to feel my body seize up like that. I eventually regroup and keep going. Tuning out others and not worrying about being the last person. The goal is to finish before the cutoff and have fun.

Finally, I’m in the last 50 meters. Out of my peripheral vision, I see Cameron and a few others cheering me on. I make it to the end of the lane, climb the ladder out and hear Coach Beth say 30 minutes.  Whoo hoo!! I’ll take that. 600 meters backstroke in 30 minutes. That’s better than 40 or 50 minutes! Better yet, I accept that I’m much calmer on my back and will no doubt swim some of Irongirl on it. I know that due to limited visibility I don’t want to swim the entire thing on my back but I’m willing to swim some or most of it.  The goal is to finish the swim way before the cutoff and have fun doing it!

A takeway from this practice is to work on swimming 100-200 meters continuously over the next week. Not sure if I’ll reach that goal but I’m going to try.

Keep moving forward…

Open water swim at Van Pugh Park

It’s been a couple weeks since my last swim at Van Pugh. Looking at the distance we swam a couple weeks ago, it looks so much shorter. I can’t believe, I didn’t just jump into the water and go. But, I guess that’s where the mental training come in.

This is not a TNT training swim. The purpose of this outing is more time in the water to improve my comfort level.  I need it to be less intimidating on race day.

Dee and I decided to come out swam along the shoreline. We estimated the distance from one post to another at 100 meters and proceeded to move continuously for 30 minutes.  It took less than that to complete 500 m which made me feel good.  However, I do understand that swimming in shallow will be a bit different from deep. I know, I know, you swim the same in shallow and deep but to the newbie it still fills a bit different.  The water felt pretty good and we spent an hour or so out there.

Both of us are proud to have taken extra steps to get this done.  We had a great practice and plan to go to Mary Alice on Friday. 

Keep moving forward....

Tri brick workout - putting it all together

This was a good workout. I had a couple anxious moments during the swim but was able to work through them by holding on to the kayak and talking with Coach Jo.  I remember becoming so angry with her after swallowing water and having a coughing spell.  She later explained knowing that I’d be able to settle myself [I did] but I was still mad.  In hindsight, I understand how important being able to keep focus and/or settle myself down during the event will be.  I’ve got to stay focus and swim my pace/race while not worrying about others.  After returning to shore from the buoy swim, I wanted to swim more along the shore to get comfortable with the water. We did that and also practiced side stroke.  I felt a bit better.  Then asked about practicing the start.  So, I ran into the water and ‘dove’ in to simulate the start and it didn’t feel too bad.  At this point, I realized I need to get in the water 3-4 times before the last TNT swim on 5/19. If I have to drag Jesse to the lake to watch me, I will.  Turns out Dee was thinking the same so we agreed to come back to MAP on Monday.

I go to transition to the bike for the 5 mile out and back route.  My bike feels good. We are given cue sheets and I head out on the ride with Dee & Shana.  My gear shifting has improved a lot. I’m much more relaxed and even practice arm signals. There may be hope for me.

T2, dismount roll my bike to the rack and head out for the run.  The transition went well although my legs felt a big wobbly. Shana decides to run/walk with me.  We chat a bit during the outing before returning to our bikes for the second 5 miles. I realized I didn’t put air in my tires before the first ride.  I’ve got to not skip on that.  Complete the second files but decide to not run a second time.

I leave on a high note. It was a good practice.  

Is it possible to have a love/hate relationship with the sport of triathlon?  I love the challenge and beauty of it.  I also love the physical conditioning required and how good I feel.  I’m having a tougher time with the mental aspects of it.  This is a first for me.  I’ve achieved a lot in my life and usually meet/exceed my goals.  This one is throwing me for a loop. 

Sunday, April 29 was my first open water swim [ows] the training season. For those that don’t know, you basicly go to an open body of water and swim.  The water may be cold or warm, there is no wall to hold onto or push off of, and there isn’t a black line running along the bottom for guidance.  Also, there may be murky water, limited visibility, fish, debris, rocks, and other sorts of stuff that you don’t have to worry about in a pool. 

So, coming off my practice last Wednesday, I was fairly confident that today’s swim would go ok.  That wasn't the case. I woke up physically tired.  I actually thought of not going but then decided to push myself and ‘just show up’.  That’s usually half the battle.  "If I show up, I’ll get excited being around my friends and coaches, which would result in motivation and I’ll complete the yardage with no problems. I would be a domino effect."  Yeah, right!  Tired, cranky, limited mental ability Theresa showed up.  The water was cold and shortly after rounding the 1st pole, I looked way off into the distance, saw the 3^rd pole and decided it was too far away.  That did it, there went the little mental strength I had and I gave up.  Now that I’m writing this, I realize the importance of that mental decision. At that point, I didn’t care, I wanted out. 

I completed maybe 150 yards, changed direction—swam to the shore and announced I was done. No words of encouragement would change my mind. I actually, thought wow—is this considered giving up or does it count since it’s practice.  You know you can’t do this during the race.  Yeah, I know but I’m doing it today. I have a lot of solo conversations when training.

Two days later, I realized the important role mental strength will play in this event.  I will have to dig deep, say prayers, talk to myself, whatever it takes to finish. I know this, having told myself on a daily basis.  I have to say this is one of the toughest things I've ever had to do.  One of my coworkers has this on his email signature:  

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.  

This is my great opportunity.  I'll keep moving forward…

15 miles on the schedule today!

Triathlon is wearing me out! My body is tired...my mind is too.  I’d finally decided to take today as a rest day.  I’d accepted that I wasn’t a slacker for not going to the pool today.  Checked email and see threads from TNT members announcing ‘I’m riding at Columns, anyone want to ride’ and ‘We’re riding Stone Mountain at 6, if anyone wants to join us’.  Oh crap! I checked the May training calendar and on Tuesday, May 1, it says 15 miles!  Double crap, 15 miles…but I need/want to rest.

Then I hear that tiny voice saying, you need to follow the training plan. Figure out a way to get 15 miles in.  I think on it for 30 seconds, then decide to work on other things.  A couple hours later, I head out to lunch. The thought that I have a trainer at home pops into my head.  You can ride the trainer for 90 minutes to get 15 miles in.  Yes!  I can ride the trainer!

Although it’s not the same as an outdoor ride, I’ll be on the trainer. I feel good about sticking to the training schedule. Hopefully, this qualifies as some sort of mental training exercise also.

Keep moving forward...