I hooked the trailer up and hauled the kids down to the beach for a 9 mile ride. Our bike trail is awesome because you're either going uphill with the wind or downhill against the wind. While the ride proved a little challenging for me, the kids had a blast! I suspect most of my bike training will come by pulling the kids behind me (collective weight: 80 lbs.). When I finally hit my road bike, with any luck, I'll fly!
Friday: Midweek was pretty mellow, so I lit the fire today. I did a 45 minute tempo ride on the stationary bike at the gym and followed it with a challenging abs workout. I even did a set of explosive push-ups where I clapped when I came up! I felt great throughout the whole workout. I'm going to have a great dinner tonight to prep for my long workout tomorrow.
Saturday: Wrestled with stomach cramps last night. Not so fun. Woke up early today and felt good, but the tummy pains came and went. I was going to work out in the morning, but by the time we got ready to leave, I realized I would only have about 10 minutes in the pool before the AquaRobics ladies took over. Not worth it. I opted for the afternoon (which is a gamble because I might talk myself into being tired). I followed through on my committment and had an amazing swim! I practiced my open water swimming stroke after an encouraging chat with Lexi. I felt really strong. I swam about 3/4 mile. Then, I went out and ran for an hour. Now, the cramps were en force, but I was messaged by God to persevere. First, this lady in the locker room had a dope tatoo that read "Discipline Through Pain," and then, when I was running and contemplating whether to turn around and go home or keep at it, I saw a guy wearing a shirt that said, "Pain is temporary. Pride is forever." Hell yeah! I ticked it up a notch, found my rhythm, and had a great run!
Each time I work out now, I imagine I'm racing. If I'm swimming, I imagine I'm in the lake, swimming as strong as I feel. If I'm on the bike, I imagine climbing one of the 5 hills of the ride. If I'm running, I imagine that every step takes me closer to the finish line. While training, I imagine myself undaunted, indeed strengthened, by the psychological challenges presented on the course.
One of the most important challenges of my training is that I want to include the kids, especially Alexandria. I want them on this adventure as much as possible. I think it's important for kids to watch their parents achieve goals. I especially want my girl to see her mom do this. I want my kids to not just believe, but know, everything is possible with hard work.
What Sapped My Motivation:
- Tummy ache on Friday night from aforementioned huge dinner. Totally worth it, but still, I didn't feel so great when running on Saturday.
- No chance to have good workouts on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
- Spending a lot of energy cleaning the house on Saturday before re-motivating to leave for the gym. I could have easily ditched.
- Lady in the locker room with the bad-A tatoo that read "Discipline Through Pain." Seriously.
- While trying to stay motivated through my crampy tummy on Saturday's run, the guy wearing a shirt that said, "Pain is temporary. Pride is forever." With that, I decided I'd continue.
- When discussing the challenges of training within the confines of our schedules, Dave asked, "What do you need from me?" Amazing support. He's so proud!
- My awesome friend Lexi giving me encouragement and great advice for open-water swimming.
- People I've never met in person cheering me on!
- Talking with Alexandria about camping on race weekend.
- The excitement of doing this.
Awesome achievement. Stay strong. I'll be watching your progress and rooting for you on race day!
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