Vacation!

I flew to Colorado on Saturday and on Sunday I managed to eek out 4 miles, though it was difficult due to the elevation and having a slight cold. Vacation can be used as an excuse to get out of my routine, but training has officially begun and I can't afford to miss a week, or even more than one day. Plus, it doesn't make sense to not work out when you're on vacation; you have so much extra free time!

On Monday morning, I went to the gym for my very first workout in the pool all by my lonesome. Swimming at 24 Hour Fitness is no different than being at the OCC pool except for one little detail: no one is watching. No one is there to notice if I cut it short, or don't do it at all. But I completed 1300 yards, using a workout from last week.

On Tuesday I did the best workout to date: an hour cycling class, followed by 1 mile on the treadmill (9:48 pace) and then 1000 yards in the pool. I'm going to need to start following some of my long bike rides with a run so that my body gets used to it. When I signed up for my first triathlon I scoffed at how short the distance was: 11 miles on the bike, followed by a wimpy 3.1 mile run. But the first mile of that run was brutal! I felt like I was running uphill, through quicksand.

Once in the pool, a swimmer asked to share my lane since all other were being used. Of course I let her, but felt a bit intimidated because she was clearly much more experienced than me. That's a safe assumption; at this point anyone within 10 feet of a swimming pool has a 90% chance of being better than me! Mostly I was worried about not staying in my own space, which was now decreased by half. I can swim straight sure, but I can be a little wayward when completing some of the drills. I paid close attention to where she was at all times and did my best to fake it and seem like I knew what I was doing. The last thing I wanted to do was run swim into her and have her bark at me to watch where I'm going. I played out several scenarios like that in my head. I'm used to having confidence with running, to knowing what I'm doing and being relatively god at it. It's hard to be so new to a sport. You feel like you're faking it, and that everyone can tell.

I chatted with her afterward, and found out that she has completed several 1/2 Ironman's and is training or her first full: Arizona in November. Yep, 11 months away and she's training. Here's her amazing blog: Banana Death. I'm excited to follow her training, and know that I'll learn a lot. But do I ever see myself completing a full Ironman? Maybe. If you had asked me last week, or even yesterday, I would have given you a resounding "No!" But it has been weighing heavily on my mind...I'm in awe of people who do...I have so much respect and adoration for them...and I want that. Someday. Maybe.

But, first things first: my 1/2 will consist of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile ride and then 13.1 mile run. Only after I signed up for it did I do the math and realize that it's going to take me about 8 hours to complete! At this point, I just can't fathom doubling that. But who knows. After my 1st marathon I did say "I'll never do that again!" and then went on to complete a dozen more.

Today I had planned to swim, but my arms and back are sore (already!? I've only had two swims!) and spending some time at Starbucks figuring out my new Kindle (gift from Jon - best present ever!) sounded way more appealing. It's snowing and about 25 degrees right now- I'm loving it! But tomorrow I'll be back at it, with another cycle/run/swim workout! The trifecta! =)