Thursday, January 26, 2012

Week of CHAOS and little training.....

Hello everyone!!!

I know that it has been a good while since I have posted anything. This week has been really hectic. It started on Monday when I drove to Mobile, AL. My car broke down with my bike on the rack and had to be towed to a car shop. I had to rent a car and drive back to Hattiesburg for class while leaving my bike at my dad's house in Mobile. I ran 65 minutes on Tuesday and that actually was a great run. On Wednesday I drove back to Mobile, AL to pick up my car and return the rental car. I got back to Hattiesburg fairly late and went to the YMCA. I played basketball for about 30 + minutes and then I headed out to meet a few friends (one that is moving this upcoming weekend) to go to church.

On my way back to Laurel, my car's check engine light came on and so the saga of the car issues continue.

I ran a short run today, but have fallen behind with my school work due to all the traveling and not to mention falling behind with training this week. I am leaving tomorrow morning and heading back to Mobile to take my car back to the shop. I hope to have an intense training weekend and a weekend to complete my school work. I can honestly say that this has been a very hard week for maintaining my schedule. I understand the importance of time management for the Ironman and I am really glad that I began training 5 weeks early.

With all of this being said, I have actually felt much better this week in terms of my emotions. I really appreciate the fb messages and text messages that you all have sent to me. It really did help me pull through during this week and realize what wonderful friends I have. Thank you to all of you that acted as a motivation for me. I will update you about this upcoming weekend and hopefully things will begin to settle out soon.

Friday, January 20, 2012

This is only a test.....

Hey everyone!!!

I apologize for not keeping y'all up to date over this past week. We will consider this a test to see if any of you followers were going to contact me to be sure I am on track!!!! I am on track still and I hope that you guys are ready for a full week's worth of updates and my progress.

Last Saturday I met with Jeanetta and John Mark at the YMCA. We actually swam a few laps (12 laps) then hit the bike for about 20 miles and finished with a 5 mile run. The weather started out pretty cold and then by the time we started the run, it was manageable. It felt great being able to have a multi-sport training day. I really am thankful that I had two others join me. It was a nice and easy day. I did not push myself to the extreme, but I definitely enjoyed riding the hills. Thanks guys for joining me.

On Sunday (1-15-2012) I ran 6.93 miles with a 7:56 avg/pace and it took me 55:01 minutes of running total. I also included a few speed running drills with my workout at the Y. I also did a few crunches and push ups. I officially completed my first week of training. I am really proud of myself for knocking the dust off of my body and my bike. It was a wonderful first week. I really love being back in the training mode. I am gradually easing into this whole experience and really glad that I have friends to help motivate me and yes that includes those that are following me. If for some reason you guys do not see that I have updated my blog within 5 days or so, please, please, please check in with me and make sure I am on track. I need to be accountable and you guys help to hold me accountable. We can do this journey together and I definitely need the support.

Now for this week. I will admit that this week has been a struggle for me. Not in terms of training, but emotionally. I also have not been eating appropriately and weighed 147 yesterday a.m. I weighed 145 today. That is the heaviest that I have weighed in over a year. I say this to you guys, because I want y'all to know exactly what this journey is about for me and eating the appropriate food is critical to training. I think that I have tried to cope with what all I have been dealing with personally through comfort foods which include chips and queso, chocolate, and a margarita. Needless to say, I must get back on track to a healthy and balanced diet. I know that eating the appropriate diet also helps me mentally feel better and it makes training much easier because of the energy produced through food intake.

On Monday (1-16-2012) I swam 24 laps in the pool. That equates to 1200 yards. I really enjoyed this swim because I completed a few different swim drills to help with my swimming stroke. I did 50 yd kick, 120 yd freestyle, 600 freestyle, 50 yd rt arm, 50 yd lft arm, 100 yd kick, 50 yd side kick, and 50 yd kick. This definitely worked my legs the most.

On Tuesday (1-17-2012) I went for a bike ride and managed to get a flat tire about 26 minutes into my ride. I stopped and changed the tire and made one of the biggest mistakes that a biker can make- I did not check for particles in my tire as in glass. I changed the tube and began riding and then it popped again because I found glass in my tire. I was able to fill it with my second CO2 cartridge and ride to the Jackson station area on the Trails and have John Mark come and pick me up. This is a great lesson for training. I know that I can change a flat without the help of others and I also know that I will check for particles in the tire FIRST from here on out. These instances are exactly what could happen on race day and I am really glad to have the opportunity to test myself even though it was a bummer to stop riding only after 26 minutes.

On Wednesday (1-18-2012) I swam 27 laps which equals 1,350 yards and that is 3/4 of a mile. It felt great and my arms were a little sore, but loosened up after about the 7th lap. I then ran 4.61 miles with a 7:55 avg/pace and it took me about 36:28 minutes. I had eaten chips and dip the day before and it definitely did not sit well for training. It is important to eat healthy foods to be able to get the most out of my training and yes, I realize that and know better. After running, I did a few line drills at the gym (5 to be exact). This brought back memories of playing basketball in Junior high and High school. I must say that I run them much slower now. It was a great change though. I really enjoyed Wednesday especially the swim portion.

On Thursday (1-19-2012) I swam 12 laps (600 yards) and then had to stop because they were giving swimming lessons. I jumped out of the pool and ran 4.80 miles at a 7:40 avg/pace and that took me 36:47 minutes to complete the run. It was a really easy day. The weather was over cast and it was pretty dark when I began my run. It was a nice change of scenery too because I switched up my running route.

Today......has yet to occur. I am just about to head out the door to go to the YMCA for a swim and then i am planning on running a long run today. I went to the Bike Shop and purchased new tires for my bike along with new tubes. I hope to teach John Mark how to change a tire tomorrow prior to our workout. This is great practice for me and any of you out there that need a tire changed especially the rear tire, I would love to tackle that for you. I need all the practice I can get and the rear is the challenge because of the chain. I will keep you all posted about my training activities for the weekend.

I want to let you all know that at times I can struggle with my emotional state and this is one of those challenges that I am taking on through this process. I have had a few things that have crept up in my life and battled a large amount of anxiety over the past two weeks. I am thankful that I have been able to train through this anxiety and truthfully it has been a wonderful outlet. I am thankful for each day that I have been given and each day is a new day for me. I must focus on today and let tomorrow worry about itself. This of course is easier said then done for me. I am trying to take it one day at a time and be thankful for the accomplishments within that one day. I am very proud of myself for nearing the end of the second week of training. If you have any resources of quotes that might help with worry, anxiety, depression, etc. please feel free to post. We are all humans and we all have emotions especially when triggered by events in our lives. Thanks for following my blog and remember to keep me in check if I appear to be drifting away or isolating. Sometimes I might just be busy, but please still check in on me. Thanks for all that you guys do to help keep me motivated. It takes a village to create an IronMary!!!!  

Friday, January 13, 2012

Short and Sweet....

Hello everyone!

I hope that Friday was a great day for y'all even though it was Friday the 13th. Mine was quite uneventful and I actually took it easy in terms of training today (not because I am superstitious, but rather because I chose to). I went to the YMCA to swim laps today and to check out the facility. I was impressed with the pool and I am also excited that they offer spinning classes in addition to a Master's swim class with a coach. I swam 22 laps (1,100 yards) today in 24 minutes. That is equivalent to more than a 1/2 mile, but less than 3/4 of a mile. I was taking it easy today and giving my hip a bit of a rest. Tomorrow is a different story. I will give you all the update once I complete the activities for the day. It will include 2 other people and possibly a 3rd. Oooohhh.... how the suspense builds!!!!!

I was very thankful for a "resting" day today. I am just now getting back into the swing of things and shocking my body back into training mode. This is the fun time of preparing for such a long event. I am building my base up and this will last for about the next 4 weeks and then it will intensify slightly from weeks 5-7 and then it starts to get serious. The program that I am following has 4 cycles to it. The first cycle is the Orientation phase and this is just getting back into training more than just running a few times a week. This allows me to swim some and bike some along with continuing to run, but all very casually. It lasts about 7 weeks. The second cycle is the pre-season cycle which is tougher than the first cycle, but not nearly as intense as the third cycle. The third cycle is by far the most intense cycle and has the hardest and longest training days. I will really be pushing myself to limits during this phase or at least I should be. The final phase of my training is the two week taper period leading up to the race. This will allow my body to rest up for the race, but still continue a lower amount of training so I will be ready for the big day.

As you all can see this is a gradual building process. As a friend stated today, "Rome was not built in one night". I must remember that and remained focus on each day instead of focusing on the total picture. It is important to know my ultimate goal, but achieve small goals each week leading up to the main goal. I have achieved my goals for this week already. The goal was to get back in the water and get back on the bike. I have done both of those and have two days of training left for this week. I will already give myself a pat on the back because I have accomplished both goals. Congrats Mary!!!! One step closer than you were last week. Keep up the great work for the next two days.

Just so you know, it is important to compliment yourself along the way in training and in life. That is something that I am trying to focusing on through this process instead of just pushing myself to the extremes without rewarding myself. Rewards are a must when attempting something like this and they are a must in life. Well, until next time......Carpe Diem even when it is Saturday!!!!!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Bit off more than I was ready to chew!!!

Hey everyone!!! I just thought I would fill you all in on my third day of training.

Whew.....I must say, it challenged me. I got moving a little later than I had anticipated this morning. I am trying to take advantage of these last few days off from classes and train a bit later instead of the lovely 5am or earlier. Those early mornings will come soon enough. Anyway, I left Laurel around 11:00am and started my run around 11:50 or so. I ran for 7.55 miles and averaged a 7.57 pace which means I stopped at exactly an hour of running. After I completed my run I jumped in my car and drove to the Southern Miss Payne Center and swam 18 laps which is the equivalent to a 1/2 mile swim. I did that in about 30 minutes or so. I swam in intervals today because I incorporated a few speed drills with the lap swims. My target was actually to swim 36 laps which would be 1 mile, but I really was not ready to bite off that much in one day. I have started training a few weeks earlier than required mainly because of not having the solid base that I need as well as allowing for some sick days because I know how my allergies are living back in the South. Needless to say, I am glad that I am in the early phases of just preparing my body and mind for training again. I am easing back into it and I will admit that I am already challenged.

The run was absolutely wonderful today. I experienced a ton of wind and that was really challenging, but I must say it was great running more than 5 or 6 miles. I needed that. I had gotten to where it was challenging for me to keep on going beyond the 5 or 6 mile mark. I guess this has something to do with the fact that I was not training for a specific event and now I am. I am always much more motivated once I am focused on an event instead of just running for my sanity which is inclusive of my general well-being. I honestly had a blast running today. I did listen to music on my i-pod and if you were working anywhere near the vicinity of the FGH or U.S.M. you probably heard me trucking along due to my loud singing. It was tons of fun. I felt free!!! It did not matter what people were thinking and most people grinned as they heard music coming from my mouth. I am the worst singer in the world, but absolutely love to sing.

It is a little harder to sing while underwater, but the bubbles are a great tool to meditate on while swimming laps. The hardest part of swimming for me is not the swimming part, but the initial temperature change of jumping into the water. Once I am in the water I am fine, but getting to that point is really hard. It almost hurts my body. It is one thing that I really dread and I know that the ocean will be pretty cold in November, so I need the practice. It really is one of the most disliked parts of training and triathlons personally. I just hate that my breath gets taken away and it hurts my spine!!! Ok, I know, enough complaining about something that minor. I am glad that I had the opportunity to swim laps today (much better in terms of outlook!). The swim was pretty tough following the run. The warm-up was nice and easy, but then as I included a few speed drills into the mix it became pretty tough. I decided that all I needed today was to complete a 1/2 mile instead of a full mile. I realize that I have plenty of time to build especially since I have started early. This is just the first week and I will reach that goal soon enough.

As for today, I am thankful for the wonderful time hitting the pavement and my health. I am also thankful that I had a safe time training and no issues occurred. That is always a blessing. I am also thankful for the accountability that this blog is giving me. It really does push me because I know that I must fill you all in on my day. Thanks for being a part of this journey. May you all have a restful evening and a wonderful Friday!!! TGIF, but training must go on. Until next time, may we all remain healthy, happy, and safe. 

Today's Totals:

Run:
        1:00 hour
        7.55 miles
        7:57 avg./ mile
Swim:
        18 laps
        approximately 30 minutes

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Survived Day 2

January 11, 2012

I see that I have a few followers now and that excites me. I know that blogging about this journey will help keep me accountable for my training schedule in order to be able to complete this event (as brought to my attention by one of you intelligent followers ;) ). I hope that you guys will stick it out with me and help motivate me when needed with quotes, music lyrics, spiritual verses, advice, information, and anything else that might add some spice to our journey.

Today was a great day. I was really excited to put the bike rack back on my car. I can tell you that I am definitely not in triathlon condition and I realize that I should not be at this point. I mean, after all it is the off season and I took the term holidays literally. I definitely had a wake up call today though. I loaded all my biking gear and running gear and headed to Hattiesburg this morning. It was overcast and the temperatures were in the mid to low 40's. There was nothing pretty about how the skies looked because they were gloomy, but I was really happy just to be back on my bike.

My training schedule was to ride 50 minutes on my bike followed by a 35 minute run (brick workout). That should be really easy for me, but I will say that brick definitely made me realize how far I have to go in terms of preparing my body. I actually was struggling on the 50 minute ride which normally would not be challenging at all for me. Keep in mind that I have not ridden my bike since October, so my legs are definitely not prepared at this point. It is safe to say that I have lost my biking legs. After getting off the bike, I ran 35 minutes. This part was pretty easy for me. I have continued running since triathlon season ended unlike biking and swimming. As some of you might know the "noodle" leg feeling experienced when completing a brick workout (a brick workout is riding your bike and directly following the ride begin running) or in a triathlon, I definitely felt that today. I also had some hip pain while riding and running. You will hear of that throughout this process and I will probably have to get a few injections between now and the race. I have major hip pain in both sides, but my right side is the most painful. This will become inflamed at times especially as the training amps up. It will more than likely be one of my sore spots during the race. The important thing is to learn to train with the pain to hopefully prepare me for the pain that I will face during the race. There are some positives to feeling a little pain, it takes your mind off of distance and times!!!!

I want to be honest about my most recent experiences in my life. I have always been on a spiritual journey, but felt distance between myself and a higher power. Lately I have really been trying to connect with my higher power and gain a better understanding of my own spirituality. It is amazing how during a ride or a run something just comes over me, a sense of peace, a calmness strikes me and I feel as though I am right where I need to be and doing exactly what I need to be doing in that very moment. That feeling came over me today while I was riding. I guess it hit about 30 minutes into the ride. I just had a moment of pure happiness. Serenity is a great word for the feeling I had. I guess for me this is one of the main ways that I connect with my higher power. It allows me to be directly in nature and view my surroundings without interruptions or noises. The only noises that I could hear were the birds chirping and the wind blowing. It was quite peaceful and the grey skies added to the calmness that I felt. For me, today was spiritual and that is what I hope this journey will be for me- a personal journey towards the FL Ironman, but also a spiritual journey to learn more about myself. I have no doubt that I will be challenged, but I hope that this opportunity will also allow me to understand the inner strength and mental strength that I have stored away inside. I have no doubt that my physical, mental, and inner strength will be tested on the road ahead. I have a feeling that I will get exactly what I am hoping for if not more.

My friend sent me a quote today and I figured I would insert it in my blog. It was just too perfect in terms of timing based on creating this blog.

"If we write our dreams and goals down, we dramatically increase our odds of realization. If we share them with others, they become potent and alive."- Kristin Armstrong

Thanks for following my progress!!! Carpe Diem!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

So the Journey begins.....

Well, it is January 10, 2012 and I have officially begun training for the Florida Ironman 2012. This event will be held on November 03, 2012. I have just completed creating my 41 week training program to prepare me for this marvelous challenge. Upon talking with a friend today at lunch, I decided to create a blog for all my friends and family members to follow my progress. I have never created a blog before, but I figured this granted me a wonderful opportunity to begin blogging. I have struggled with fear and anxiety based on signing up for this event. I have taken full advantage of the holiday season and definitely are just now easing into training. For those of you that may not know what the Ironman is, it consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 (Marathon) which totals 140.6 miles that must be completed by 17 hours. There are various cut-off times for each event and I must make the cut-off times of each leg to be able to continue the race. I have decided to approach this "race" a bit differently than I have from my past races. I am hoping that this will be a self journey instead of a competition.

Speaking of a journey, I would like to share a brief outline about how I decided to tackle this endurance race.

In 2005-2006, I was attending Ole Miss and had gained a large amount of weight due to smoking and not exercising along with a terrible, cheap fast food habit. I actually had reached 186 lbs. which is the largest that I have ever been in my life. For those of you that have known me for years, I have always been extremely active and athletic, but not at this point. I knew that I needed to make a change because I was suffering not just physically, but mentally as well. The change began with the determination to stop smoking. This was the first step I needed to take in hopes of being able to exercise again and reduce my weight. In addition to quitting smoking, I began Weight Watchers. I started exercising weekly to gain points to be able to eat specific treats each week. The type of exercise that I was able to do was power walk and truthfully that hurt my knees and hips considering I was carrying 186 lbs. I dropped down to 170 lbs. and was very proud of myself. I was able to start lightly jogging and finally was able to jog a full mile without stopping.

In 2008, my best friend Andrea had asked me if I wanted to sign up for the Seabees Mud Run on the MS Gulf Coast and I reluctantly agreed. I weighed about 168 at that point in my life and was proud of the changes that I had made. We ran this mud run as a team and Heather, Andrea and myself came in 1st place for the female team. This started my desire to enter races. I then decided that Team Ramrod (aka Heather, Andrea and myself) needed to sign up for the Crescent City Classic 10k in New Orleans and so we did. In training for that race, I actually signed up for McGuire's 5k in Pensacola- which was my first road race ever. I had a blast! I found a new healthy way to spend my Saturdays and racing was the answer. I had finally reached my goal weight of 165lbs. I still was smoke free and absolutely loving training.

I then ran the Mobile 8k and met a few people that invited me to the Mellow Mushroom running club. I met tons of new friends that were into these things called triathlons. Now this was certainly new terminology for me. I had no idea that "common folk" could enter these events. One guy invited me to come to the YMCA and swim laps with him, ummm yeah, sounds fun right? Well, I had never actually swam laps before, but I loved swimming as a kid so how different could it actually be from playing sharks and minnows at the country club? Apparently very different. He spent a little time explaining a proper swim stroke and before the hour was up I had caught on. I was very slow and nearly died after about 5 laps, but I felt as though I knew how to swim laps (Hilarious!!!!). He had a friend and that friend's wife had signed up for the Grandman Triathlon, but  was unable to make it due to having cosmetic surgery and they offered me the slot. I agreed even though I had never been on a road bike, never swam in open water, and never put all three activities together, but I was IN, in over my head, but nonetheless in.

They allowed me to use her bike and she is 5'3 and I am 5'8- that matters on a road bike. They took me out the day before the race and showed me how to lock in with the bike shoes and pedals as well as taught me how to shift gears and we went for a 10 mile bike ride. I did survive the training and was ready for race day (oh what a novice little triathlete!!!! LOL!) On race day, these guys had forgotten to explain what a transition was as well as how to mount my bike and pretty much any information that I needed to have a successful race, but nonetheless I was determined. When they marked me for my age, I had to lie and say that I was 38 years old because that was her age. The volunteer said wow....because I was actually 26, but who was counting, right? Anyway, my heat was called and I was still searching for the race packet which had my swim cap and everything in it. I did not know if I could get into the water without my swim cap and none of the volunteers knew either. Finally I found someone who told me to go ahead and go so I started 2 heats behind my heat in the swim. I finished the swim without drowning and jumped on the tiny bike and headed off. My knees were basically up to my chin, but I was loving it already. Finally the bike portion was over and my favorite part was about to begin- the run. I made up lost time on the run and wound up beating two of the guys that came with us and had participated in triathlons the year before. I was instantly hooked!!!! Thus is the true beginning of my triathlon career.

After that I decided to purchase a road bike of my own that actually fit me and started riding with groups in Mobile and training for triathlons. I weighed 160 at this point and was really proud of myself because of the lifestyle changes that I had made. I learned healthy eating habits and was exercising routinely. I began training with a person who was in the midst of training for the Florida Ironman 2009. I learned at that point that you did not have to be an elite athlete or pro to sign up for the race, all you needed was to volunteer the year before and be prepared to lay down cash for the following year's race. I did go to the FL Ironman 2009 and watched the race. I was in awe. I knew at that moment that I would have to attempt to complete an Ironman at some point in the near future. I decided that I needed to sign up for a Half Ironman the following year and that is exactly what I did. I signed up for the Augusta Half Ironman 2010. I actually dropped even more weight and weighed 142lbs. and now weigh 138lbs. I completed the half in 5 hours and 32 minutes with a ridiculous eye injury and loved every minute of it. I needed more......what was next? I volunteered in 2011 at the FL Ironman and registered for the race the next day. That solidified my spot for the FL Ironman 2012 on November 03, 2012. Thus the journey continues...........