Two blogs in seven days is unheard of for me. I don't do many things that are "blog worthy", but I feel like writing up what went down Friday morning. Friday's, up until last week have been dedicated to teaching youngins' the benefits of physical activity, locomotor skills, and developing them as movers and learners. Those who actually read my last blog, know last Friday was a day from hell as Catie and I sat in a car for hours on end in search of our hotel. However, this Friday brought something a little bit different. For those who don't know me I am a morning person. For those who know my mom, can tell you I probably get this trait from her. She has been granted the name Jane from Tarzan by our family. She has more energy/ stregnth than anyone I know. So I can thank her for making me a morning person. Meaning I somewhat enjoy waking up at before the sun rises for the simple fact that I can knock out a workout or two before most people wake up. Nobody bothers me, the gyms aren't crowded, I can get a lane to myself in the pool, and I don't feel like I am being selfish training at this hour. Another huge reason the mornings are so beneficial is because I don't go through the day thinking "Man I still have to run, or bike or swim." I dislike having things dwell over my head all day, and prefer to relax come night time. So for those who say they never have any time to exercise, that is a faulty excuse. Set that alarm clock, make a commitment, get up and workout!
Onward with the purpose of this post. Yesterday was a scheduled swim of 30 minutes (easy recovery) and hour bike (4x10 intervals) and a run of 40-60 minutes depending on how I felt. Thursday night I told Catie I think I am going to combine my workout tomorrow and do an Olympic triathlon(not official). By no means was this the right way to train and I do not recommend it to many, but I wanted to get the feel of transitioning and running off of the bike. I woke up Friday morning at 5:45 and had little desire to achieve the thought that ran through my head the night before. I drove to the pool and hopped into the freezing cold pool. I did a 300yd warm up then decided to do a mile TT. After the mile TT I wen on to do some easier drills and a nice little cool down which put me at 2600yds for the day. I hopped out of the pool and put on my bike shorts. I drove back home, grabbed my bottles out of the fridge and starred at my bike. Should I ride or should I just eat breakfast? I rode. I rode 25 miles in 1:09 (while watching DMB live in Atlanta, great addition to any ride). After the ride I got off my bike, through on some clothes and ran out the door. Here is a hint for any aspiring triathlete: ALWAYS put "normal" running clothes on before you run outside or else you will get some strange looks when running through the streets in spandex. Trust me I made that rookie mistake when I first started out and I will never do that again. Back to the run... I wanted to see where I was when it came to running off the bike. I opted to run the first 5k at race pace then do a recovery 5k to cap off the workout. I pushed the fist 5k and believe it or not I felt pretty good. The second 5k however was not to my liking. I forgot to take in calories on the bike, and barely drank anything. I ticked odd the first 5k in 18:10 (which I was okay with) and the remaining 5k was 22 minutes almost even. I wasn't too bent out of shape over the second 5k time, considering I had no true nutrition in me, nor was anyone chasing me trying to beat me to the line. Once I got back to my apartment I crashed on the couch, looked at the clock and noticed it was only 9:50! I did a whole day's workout before 10am. That was a victory in and of its self.
Sometimes, in my opinion, you have to step outside of that constructed box of training, go out on a limb and do something to let your mind have some fun. Forget the number crunching, forget the watch, the heart rate monitor and just enjoy being a triathlete. I hope everyone who reads this, all 2 or 3 of you finds something that keeps/gets you motivated no matter what your niche may be and just have fun with it. Nothing is impossible if you just tri.
Weeks Total:
Swim- 2:40
Bike- 10:10
Run- 4:11
Strength- 20 minutes!
For a total of ......17 hours and 21 minutes
