Spring Awakening

I've always thought of spring as a good time for renewal. Everything that's been dormant for the winter comes back to life. My garden, currently, is starting to come up, oblivious to the fact that this is Nebraska and only March and it could still find itself covered in snow a month or two from now. Everything seems so optimistic this time of year.

People make new year's resolutions, and the gyms flood will people in January who think they're ready to make a change, but by this time most of those people have disappeared. They're back on their couches, visiting the local drive thru, given up on whatever it was they set out to do. January really isn't a great time for resolutions. Everything is bleak, winter lasts forever, the sun never shines, and hibernation seems like the best way to go. If I designed the calendar I would move New Years to April.

This time of year I feel like gearing up for something big. Some new challenge. My mind is in the preperation phase right now. Deciding what it will be, how it will happen. What my life will look like a month from now. I'm still going along like winter, putting in the hours at the gym without a huge focus or deadline, doing my best on nutrition, but mostly sailing along. But internally I'm shifting gears. Ready to explode into spring, fired up and with a singular goal in mind.

Spring officially starts in 15 days. Daylight savings is in one week. Both are great times to start a new life. So I'm officially decided that, next Monday, will be MY day. No matter the weather I will bundle up and hit the bike trail. Whether it's just a quick ride up the street and back again (likely, considering the Nebraska winds this time of year) or a full-blown excursion, I WILL ride again. My goal for this year is to BECOME a biker. And it starts now.

This past year has felt like a waste in so many ways. I know I've come so far mentally, emotionally... but physically it was one giant backslide. I mentioned in my Trek recap that I've gained quite a bit of weight this year, all due to poor eating. While I've been working on stabilizing my moods and working hard in therapy to heal past traumas I've let my eating slide. And although I'm still working out with Marty, five sessions per week, this knee injury has slowed me down considerably. Add thirty extra pounds to a bad knee and you have a recipe for disaster. I haven't been able to push as hard, go as fast, do as well at most of the things we do in our workouts. Lame lunges, wimpy squats, one-legged push ups and walk outs. No running, no jumping, no step ups. Missing out on all of that doesn't make for a very fit girl. Combine it with bad eating and....what you get is what seems like a wasted year.

I know, logically, that the year was far from a waste. I learned so much about myself, my life, my world. In terms of fitness goals, I learned more about hydration (learned it the hard way), about the importance of training (again, learned the hard way), more about my limitations (the very hard way). But what do I have to show for it?

Well, right now it doesn't seem like I have much to show for it at all. And that is why I need to make a change. It's time to re-up my committment. To get serious. So training starts now.

My first real test will be the Omaha Women's Triathlon, on June 3rd. By that time I hope my knee feels better so that I can jog/walk the run portion, rather than being forced to hobble the entire way. But that is something that's not really under my control. I will do my best to take care of my knee, I'll tape it whenever I workout and be extra careful on the ellipticals. I'll make sure I have the spin bike seats adjusted properly for me (a major source of pain if I'm neglectful). I'll do what I can, but if it doesn't heal it won't be something I could have controlled. It won't be my "failure".
The swim portion, I would like to be more prepared for than last year at Papio, but this isn't really my focus either. I plan to swim every other Wednesday at Montclair, the Wednesdays when we don't have Square1SocialClub. I'll put my laps in, 750meters in a row. Strengthen my shoulders and arms, practice spotting, close my eyes and practice staying on course. This should keep me reasonably strong enough that I won't be the last one out of the water, and I should be efficient enough to not tire myself out too much before the bike.
The bike....this is my goal. This is what I want to be confident about going into the race, rather than terrified of. The cure, apparently, is T.I.T.S. No, not those. Time In The Saddle. Every website and blog posting and FAQ I've found on the subject of biking or triathlons has said the same thing. They only way to get stronger, faster, better at hills, is to spend more time on the bike. So how, when I'm already so overbooked, do I accomplish that?
I've decided the only answer is to ride everyday. No excuses.

So, beginning next Monday, March 12th, I will ride. Everyday.
Depending on how chilly the mornings are I may start up again with biking to work. It may wait for next month, if there's any danger of ice it's not worth the risk, but if it's at least in the 40's or so I will start next week. This will give me 5 miles a day in the saddle. 2.5 to work, 2.5 home. Not bad, but considering I'm not just training for a 12.5 mile sprint tri bike, but also for a planned Century Ride later this summer, it's not enough. So that brings me to Friday afternoons.

I get off work at 2:30. This leaves a big chunk of day for activities like long rides. And so, beginning on March 16th, I plan to ride on Friday afternoons. Again, this depends on the weather. I'm not insane. I will not ride in the snow, or in 50mph wind gusts. I do not want hypothermia. But as soon as possible, as much as possible, this is the plan. Friday afternoon is MY afternoon. Just me and my bike. Out on the trail.

I'll devise a more specific training plan once the weather is warmer and more predictable. I need to do hill work, speed work, even longer rides. But for now, this will do. It's a start. And I can't wait to start it! This spring is going to be the best spring ever.

One month down!

Well folks, this is it. The last day of January. And it's 61 degrees outside! What's even more remarkable than the weather, however, is the fact that this is my 31st day without a single donut. As many of you know, donuts are one of my biggest weaknesses. I gave them up for new years and haven't looked back...for the most part.
I will admit to being tempted. Saturday I drove by Krispy Kreme and the "hot now" sign was lit. I had two dollars in the visor of my car, enough for two original glazed sugary puffs of air and fat. But before I could get into the turn lane I remembered: I'm not supposed to be eating donuts. It's not congruent with my goals. So I drove on.
This morning I was tempted again. I was driving to work and had some time to spare. A QT chocolate covered creme filled sounded really tasty. This time it was harder to drive by. Only when I realized I would have to update my "PAL board" and tell everyone what I did was I able to drive on.

This "PAL board" thing is a new thing we have at the new gym. We each get a rectangle of dry erase board, with our picture and name at the top. We have spots for long term and short term goals, spots to track last week's nutrition, spots that show how much weight we've lost this year, this month, and this week, and a "status". The status is my favorite part. We can basically write whatever we want in that square. Mine currently says "Still donut free!" and I sure would like to keep it that way. I PLAN to keep it that way.

In my short term goals I have listed that I want to finish Trek Up The Tower in less than 19 minutes. This is a lofty goal for me, and I'm not sure whether I will achieve it or not. Last year my time was just shy of 23 minutes. And last year I not only trained for it, I had no injuries to speak of. This year I have not trained at all, and have been battling a knee injury for months. In addition, I sadly also weigh around 15 pounds MORE than this time last year. (Depressing? Yes. Discouraging? Yes. Defeating? NO!) This means a very challenging race to the top of the First National Bank building here in Omaha. It's up 40 stories, 870 steps. It's a long, tough race. The elite runners finish in 5-10 minutes. Normal people take between 10 and 15. I will be ecstatic if I just beat last year's time, but finishing in under 20 minutes is what I want. The only way to get there at this point, with my knee injury and with so little time left (the event is on February 25th) is just to push myself harder that day than I think I can go.
Last year I took it fairly easy at Trek. I rested after nearly every flight. At least every other, after about the 20th floor or so. I would just stop for a second, catch my breath, rest my quads, and then move on again. This year I won't be able to do that if I want to beat my time. My goal is not to make it all the way up without resting at all, that would be insane. But I do hope to do at least 3-4 flights before taking my short breaks this year. I feel more fit, cardiovascularly, and I feel like my legs are stronger despite the bad knee. I think I can do it.

My long term goal is to complete a Century Ride. For those of you who aren't down with the bike lingo, that's a bike ride of 100 miles. My goal is to complete this on August 25th. That's exactly six months after Trek, and I've scheduled a few days off work to prepare, complete, and rest and recover. I'm hoping some friends will ride part of it with me, or meet me at spots with supplies and cheers. It'll take some planning and coordination, but I'm really excited for this. Luckily the new gym has brand new, really nice spin bikes, so it's easier than ever to train.

In the 6 months between Trek and my Century Ride I have oodles of other events planned that I'm excited about too. In May there's the Lucky Bucket (a 7k trail run, actually called Mud Sweat and Beers) and also the UNO TRYathlon, a miniature indoor/outdoor tri. In June is the Omaha Women's Tri, and the Saturday after that is the Warrior Dash which I just signed up for today. Then in July I have the Papio Tri, and possibly a Cornhusker State Games event (either the Hot Dog Chase again, or one of the open water swimming events or bike events).

All in all this race reason is shaping up to be challenging but FUN. It all starts in three weeks with Trek Up The Tower. I'm getting excited. :)