Summertime

It's finally here. The kids have been out of school for almost three weeks, and I remain busier than ever. How does this happen? It's been five weeks since my last blog. Further proof of my increasing inability to keep all the balls in the air. At this moment, I should be at school. My goal for this summer is to re-organize my three offices. I did spend some time at work during my first week off, simply finishing out the school year. I've not been back since. My days are filled with training, racing, volunteering at races, grad parties, birthday parties, visiting with friends and family, a 3-day trip to the cabin, welcoming Katie's babies....(YEAH!!)..and worrying about a sick friend. I have always realized how fortunate I am to be able to have this time off in the summer, especially given my tri passion. But I really do need to suck it up and spend more time at work this summer. 13 years of accumulating paperwork and the stuff of school nursing. Time to purge and clean up!
Now for a training update! Since my last post, I have recovered completely from my sprained ankle. My swim is beginning to come along and is nearly pre-injury pace. We are in the heart of the season and I'm really feeling the increase in volume. My long rides are between 4 and 5 hours, and my long runs are 2 hours. The swimming volume is still lagging, but I will be pushing that this week. I'm in the middle of two weeks of a pretty heavy load, and I'm really feeling it today! It started with my first triathlon one week ago. It was the Triterium olympic distance, and it was an interesting race. The morning started out stormy with tons of rain, lightning and thunder. The start was delayed for one-half hour, then the race director decided to cancel the swim portion of the race. It turned into a duathlon,(minus the run BEFORE the bike that most duathlons have)...yippee!! I would not have to swim the 3 loops of 500!!! BUT, that's the whole reason I do that race....to work on my weakest link in a race situation. Part of me was disappointed. It was still raining at that point and I had considered not doing the race at all. I was shivering and cold...of course...:-((...and I was worried about crashing my bike on the hilly course and wet roads. And did I mention I was FREEZING??
I did it anyway. Blake was there with some team members, a few doing the sprint and one other doing the olympic with me. We all had a good time chatting and joking under the tent in the pouring rain! None of the others were backing out. If I didn't do the race, I'd have to go to the damned gym anyway! So again, I lold myself my new favorite phrase..."Suck it up, buttercup!"
The rain quit at about mile 5 of the 25.5 mile course and I was starting to finally warm up a bit. I hammered my way up those damned hills, reminding myself how tough I thought this race was last year! I finished the bike without wiping out...success!! I entered transition and saw that Mike and Robyn were there, and my teammates were cheering me on! The sun was out, and it was warm and muggy. I said to Mike as he asked how it was going, "I am in my happy place!"
I ran the 3 loops with that "DAMNED" hill, without checking my watch. I just ran, and looked forward to seeing everyone 3 times. I felt good! No pain...at all. My stomach was a little lurchy after the third time up that hill, but it was better by the bottom of it already. I finished strong and happy...a successful first duathlon. It was so cool to have my team there, supporting not only me, but each other. And this is just a taste of what is yet to come!
It took a few minutes for my time to get posted. When I saw that I was second in my age group, (ok, so it was out of 4!! ;-)), I was amazed. Then I looked at my run time, and I couldn't believe it. I literally thought a mistake had been made. I ran that 10k in 49:35...my fastest ever!! I thought my chances of running a 10k in under 50:00 were far behind me. It's a goal I've had since I've started running. I've gotten close, but have never broken 50:00, stand alone races or otherwise. I was ecstatic!
It didn't take too long for me to start wondering how I would have done if I would have had to swim first. Would I have had the energy and the legs to pull that off? Maybe. I haven't been able to run that in a stand alone race, and this was after a tough ride. My body really likes to run off the bike. I'll take it and be grateful!
Then it got me thinking...maybe I should stick to duathlons? ...Nah....I'll just continue to try to make my weakest link stronger!
Next up is Pardeville sprint triathlon on my birthday...YEAH! I'm really looking forward to this race as many members of the team will be there. Actually, we are having a team fun triathlon this Thursday! This will again be a new experience, and it's going to be a blast! I hope I have some snap back in my legs by then. I am feeling every bit of the tough training weekend this morning. I am thinking about how grateful I am to my friend Susan. Two days after her 6 mile swim across Lake Mendota, she graciously agreed to do my two hour run with me yesterday. The last half hour were tough for both of us. How many times have we been in that raw place together...where just talking is a struggle? How do you measure the loyalty of a true friend? When they stick with you even when it gets tough and ugly. Thanks so much AGAIN Susan!
Enjoy this day! :-)