Weeks 22, 23 & 24 of Ironman training – Affirmation

Three more weeks of training behind me and now only 11 weeks until we lace them up for the real thing!  The last three weeks saw a well needed increase in outdoor activities, including several open water swims (swimming anywhere but the pool).  It is vital getting comfortable in open water as to not totally loose your sh*t on race day when the cannon fires and 2,500 people start swinging arms and legs.  With this in mind I participated in an 'aquathon' race this past week to get just that experience.  The race had a little over 150 people and it consisted of a 1,000 meter swim followed by a 5K foot race.  I started the swim right in the mix because I wanted to get bounced around a bit and to my surprise it wasn't nearly as bad as described by others.  I was grabbed a couple of times and thankfully with my football background was able to throw a few shoulders and haymakers myself.  Eventually I got back to the beach and ran a fast race and was able to get across the finish line feeling affirmed that my training has been making a difference.

I think it's incredibly important when setting a goal, to occasionally seek out some reassurance that you're doing the right things and a difference is being made.  Whether your goal is to lose weight, run a certain mileage, feel better, have more energy, or fit into some piece of clothing, you need to 'check-in' along the way to determine if you're on the right track.  I'm not talking about winning a competition or stepping on the scale each week and seeing another 10 pounds dropped, I'm talking about much smaller victories to keep you motivated.  So maybe you didn't drop any weight this week, but instead you fit into a piece of clothing or you have more energy, that's a win and that's affirmation that your hard work is paying off.  You may not have been able to run the full 2 miles, but if you ran a few blocks further today than you did last week then again it's a win because your training is paying off and making a difference.

I think it's much easier to set a goal and achieve it if you have check-points along the way that reassure you that the hard work and dedication is making a difference.  Your goals are personal to you and should never be compared with anyone else's, and the same about the grandeur of your check-points.  Don't get down on yourself because someone lost 5 pounds and you didn't loose any, be honest with yourself and find the silver lining in what you accomplished and did to make yourself better that day.  Keep your head up and get back to work on achieving your goals!

Weeks 19, 20, & 21 of Ironman training – Enough already!

I had no idea that I slacked off this much; I looked at the calendar today and realized I let a week slip by without a blog entry.  I’ll blame it on the holiday weekend and throwing my schedule for a loop.  Weeks 19, 20, & 21 are in the books and I’m still upright and making progress.  For many in my network of fellow competitors my week 20 marked the halfway point for their same 30 week training programs (remember I started my training 5 weeks early), so it’s a cause to celebrate…even though the most difficult training lies ahead.  Week 19 concluded with a great bike ride with a bunch of people I met from a Facebook group I joined, week 20 was my first trip of making two loops around the Ironman bike course, and week 21 was capped off by a 2 mile swim with the assistance of my Dad paddling next to me in his kayak (not exactly great Father-Son bonding time but thanks Dad!).

The point of this blog was twofold, 1) for me to document my journey so I could look back on it should I ever consider doing something so dumb again and 2) for me to express myself about training without having to annoy everyone with constantly talking about training.  I’m finding though that writing it down here is not enough to satisfy the urge to constantly talk about my training…and now I’m annoying!  The fact is that Ironman is dominating my life right now and it’s the only thing on my mind so naturally it’s the first thing out of my mouth when someone asks what I’ve been up to.  Every morning when my alarm clock goes off at 4:20 the first thought in my head is about the Ironman race.  I want to share my experiences with those that I see so that they can maybe be inspired, but at the very least learn from any of my mistakes. 

I appreciate when others tell me about their accomplishments or post them online.  It’s a badge of honor that you should be able to wear with pride and not have to worry about it getting compared to others.  I remember my first running race and each one of my training days I ran another distance that I had never run before, 3 miles, 5, 10, 15, etc. and that was exciting to me to reach a little further with each effort.  So I say bring on the bragging people!  If you walked a mile or ran 100 and you’re proud of the effort and time it took to accomplish this then tell those around you.  If you hear someone talking about their accomplishment, don’t compare it to anything just congratulate them and go about your day.   So please forgive me for the rest of the summer when I’m talking about training for the Ironman, I truly don’t want to sound smug or arrogant, it’s just my focus right now until September…then I’ll be talking about my new son or daughter!