May 16 and Beyond

Well, let’s see... I’m happy to report that on May 16, I woke up and I felt good.

Shane and my Dad had a rally cross in Nanaimo that day so Shane had left the house early. I slept later than I normally do and when I finally opened my eyes, I took a little longer to get out of bed. I found myself just staring at the ceiling, thinking about how different this morning felt compared to the same morning one year ago. I realize now, I felt relief.

I got up and had some breakfast and enjoyed a bit of down time before heading down to Colwood to do my long run. On the drive down, something hit me and I had a few tears. This actually happened a few times throughout the day – just a sudden, random onset of emotion. The tears were not those of sadness though, but I think tears of relief.

That weekend, I actually had a really great couple of days training-wise - starting with Saturday the 15th. The plan for the day was a 4k swim, followed by a 5hr 30min bike (approximately 130k). Since Kirsten was away, this was a solo mission. I got up quite early to head into Crystal Pool (as it was the only pool I could find in Victoria that opened at 6am). My swim wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t the worst either, and the distance felt very manageable. I got out of the pool feeling confident in my abilities. Almost immediately after the swim, I hopped on my bike. I struggled a bit in the first hour as my tummy was cramping slightly and I was feeling a little overwhelmed mentally by taking on such a long ride with no one else around. At one point in the ride, I actually said to myself “if you can get through this workout today, you can do Ironman” and I truly believe that to be true. Once I found my rhythm on the bike, the ride actually went by very quickly and I started to feel really good. Some of the climbs burned a little on the legs, but for the most part, I felt pretty strong. I know Ironman is going to be as much of a mental battle as it is a physical one, and for some reason conquering such a large workout on my own, on such an emotional weekend, really boosted my confidence.

Sunday (the 16th) I had a 2hr run. It went really well and at the end I actually felt pretty amazing. About an hour after I finished running I headed to a technical swim and run session with Kelly and some of the other LiveFit athletes. The session was great, I would say probably one of the most helpful sessions yet, and not necessarily because the coaching was any different, but more so that something in me just clicked. Like a light switch finally turned on.

After the workout, in the car on the way home, I had a few more tears. Again – they came in a wave of relief. I think I had this moment where I felt like, not only have I bounced back, but I have actually come further than where I was a year ago. To have two pretty big training days and come away feeling like they went so amazingly well, on such an emotional weekend, well, it leaves me without words (well, any more words that is, haha).

Training through the past week has had its ups and downs. Some days the workouts went well, other days I felt a bit tired and unmotivated. All in all, it was pretty typical I suppose.

Flash forward to yesterday (Sunday, May 23)...
I had my first open water session of the season – in a very cold Shawnigan Lake. While my fingers and toes were a little numb upon exiting the water, I was happy with how things went and know I will be fine on the swim next weekend. Now, here I am, Monday night, my taper week has begun and I’m noticing that all the pre-race jitters are really starting to set in. May 30 and the Shawnigan Half Iron will be here in no time.

Hmmm....