Facing our fears - Part 1

I'll address the subject line in my workout later in the blog

Another morning I awoke far too early. I needed to be up at 6am to drive out to Vancouver Lake to help set up our annual Tri Club mock-tri. It's kind of a season kick off, targeted at beginners or seasoned triathletes that wanted to get their feet in the water pre racing. Anywho, my mind and body must have been on a different time zone because I was up and ready to embrace the day at - ready for it? 4:30am. WTF!? I decided to make the most of my "free" time with Pilates and foam rolling.

It was a beautiful day for our sprint mock -tri. By race start it was in the 60s and not a cloud in the sky. I opted not to participate this year and instead volunteered with transition rack set up, body markings (oh-la-la), a T2 and run clinic, post race food prep and finish line tape holder. It was great to catch up with all the TNT alumni and new TNT athletes. Race season is in the air and it is making me giddy!

Facing our fears - part 1
2.5 hour trail run
I did 2.5 hours last weekend on a road path. I know I can do the distance, that's not what really scared me. Last weekend I ran with my good friend Michelle. I'm a social runner, I love to hear and tell stories. It helps make the time go by and keep my mind in a positive place. Today I would be running alone. Not only was I alone but I had no music. I've had two Ipods die on me in the last month and I'm not about to go invest in another one. So with that being said, I truly ran my run alone. IF things would get rough, IE leg pain, GI problems, fatigue I knew that I only had myself to count on. But really, it's always just me, myself and I. It can be depressing but in the end I think it makes me stronger. I'm testing out a Suunto HR monitor for work. This is good, it would be the first time I'd be able to use HR data since I'd been injured. Lol, it's funny, Suunto has activity settings based off of your training level. The say 2+ workouts a day is level 10. I feel like IM athletes should have their own special level 11, crank it up to level 11! My goal was to do this run at an LSD pace and keep my avg HR down below 160 - my Z2. This would be a bit of a challenge since I've lost run efficiency, I was running on hilly trails and I was running mid day when the temp was around 85 - thankfully for me I was in the forrest and I think it was about 10 degrees cooler. My second goal was to stay positive :) I ran steady and consistent, nice and easy. 1:15 I hit my 1/2 point and turned around. I was feeling good! I spent most of the time day dreaming about IMC and the training. It kept me focused and energized. 2 hours in and I was starting to feel fatigue set in. I didn't bring enough water, 32 oz is just not enough for me. I knew better, I should have done a shorter out and back and refilled. Note to self for next time. I ended my run tired but happy. I did it. I ran alone, pain free (never thought I would say that again!) and stayed in my happy place and avg'd 157 :) I recovered at Sweet Tomatoes where I ate their entire salad buffet, they should have charged me twice - I also treated myself to strawberry apple cobbler topped off with vanilla frozen yogurt. Yummy!

I stopped by the store and treated myself to 21lbs of ice. Tonight pampering came in the form of an ice bath, hot tub and foam rolling. My legs never hurt and my body felt pretty good. BUT the trail can leave behind some nasty DOMS, which I am prone to. Rather then allowing them to sneak up on me I'm trying to be proactive and stop them before they start. Plus tomorrow starts part 2 of facing my fears - I'm pretty sure I will feel as if someone has thrown me up against a wall (not in a good way!) come Sunday night. Ice bath tomorrow as well.

Side note - I was told by 3 different people today during our mock-tri that I scare them or people they know. This is not the first time I've heard this before ad find it rather depressing. I don't want to "scare" or "intimidate" anyone. I want to inspire. I don't race on a competitive level against anyone but myself. I opted out of joining a specific tri club this year for this kind of stero-type. I guess it doesn't really matter, I am who I am and people can think what they want. Maybe next year I'll join the "scary" people, at least then I'll feel like I'm apart of something, rather than an outsider looking in.