I can’t believe I’m checking in 4 weeks out from Ironman Texas! This has all been so surreal. I’m happy to report things are going splendidly. I finally got that knee brace I was waiting for. It only cost me an arm and a leg!
The past few weeks since my last check in have been pretty hectic. Since receiving my knee brace, I have started running again. YAY! The whole processes took so long that it only left me with about 7 weeks to catch up on running. As you might guess, that’s not nearly enough time to train for a marathon. My coach and I decided on a run/walk approach on race day and that seems to be working for training as well. I won’t be hitting any PRs, but it will get me across the finish line! I have to admit though, I’m pretty proud of how well I’ve kept up. I may have torn my ACL, but I have kept training like a champ!
The goal of peak phase is building volume which means lots of long swims, bikes, and runs and now that I’m training for three sports again my life has become one long non-stop series of sweat sessions played out twice, sometimes, three times a day. Trying to keep up after an injury is tough! I wake up every morning groggy and unclear of exactly what’s happening, but I gather myself (and one of the four gym bags I now carry) and drag myself to the to the gym.
The smell of chlorine never goes away! As a fellow triathlete once stated – “It has burned itself into my soul!”
I swear to you, my coach must think two-a-days are like the best thing on Earth because she has me doing 4-5 per week. I’m surprised I haven’t died yet. She did however, give me a rest week last week. She prefaced it with an email alerting me of the chaos that would ensure immediately following.
Although I’m completely ecstatic to have come this far and incredibly grateful for my coach, I’m glad race day is approaching. Ironman training is hard people. I knew it would be, but nothing prepared me for the sacrifices I would have to make in order to keep this up. It’s the little things that matter too! Like going a solid 24 hours with clean hair or going 8 hours with nice make-up.
My hair has become a disaster 80% of the time. Even when I do manage to make it look pretty, it only lasts for a few hours before I am, again, at the gym sweating for my next work out. I do my make up beautifully every morning, but by 1 o’clock I’m wearing my 9 o’clock face.
Most days, I’m just trying to make it to my next meal! I wake up at 5am, have my pre-workout snack, come home around 7 AM and have my breakfast. By 9am or 10am my stomach is growling so loud that I have to eat again or someone might think I’m dying by intestinal relapse. Then, by 12 o’clock I’m on my to my second workout of the day thinking about what I’ll be eating for lunch when I’m done. Heaven help me if I forget my 2 o’clock snack! Oh boy, and by the time 5 o’clock rolls around I feel like I’ve been starving all day. I’m so hungry guys! All. The. Time.
….and tired! Oh my God, I’m tired! Some days I’m not even sure what’s really going on, what day it is, what time it is or where I’m supposed to be. It reminds me of college when I worked two full-time jobs and went to school. It was utter insanity.
The only moments of peace that I really get are when I’m sleeping or when I’m in the middle of a workout and the repetitious swimming biking or running takes over in my mind and I have a couple of hours to just fade away.
I can say that at least my house is always semi-clean! I manage to squeeze in one room a week so it’s not completely disastrous and the laundry’s done, for the most part (at least if it’s made of Lycra and only needs to be air dried). The only reason I even do laundry anymore is to make sure I have clean workout clothes. Luckily, that also means washing other clothes to make a full load.
The one good thing I can say, is that I’m sleeping like a rock these days. Truly, like a baby. Also, two glasses of wine hit me like a bottle of vodka and I’m knocked out in a dead sleep.
I knew Ironman training would be tough and that my schedule would be full, but to balance a torn ACL, physical therapy, Ironman training, work, and family life is crazy! Some how I’m surviving it and I can honestly say I’m having a great time. It’s funny to know that you are in the midst of chaos and be proud that you’re surviving. When I started this journey I wasn’t really sure how I would do it all. Then, I tore my ACL and things were even more uncertain. The one thing I always knew was that I wouldn’t give up. I would keep going so long as I was able. Here it is less than 30 days to race day and I’m actually doing it!
