Suck It Up

Today was a brutal ride....so much climbing into headwind! Uggggg!!! Today I thought about what I write on my arm before each Ironman race, "suck it" because so many times in racing you need to suck it up and push forward.

Went for a ride with the tri-club, thankfully i was not alone or I might have turned around. We climbed up Big Rock, a huge thank you to the man on the massive Trek, he must have been 6'5" that let me tuck in behind him and suck his wheel for a while. I dropped him on the limb and then he re-passed me on the down-hill. I kept pushing trying to see how long I could go without him passing me......I kept him away for a while and when he passed he said "nice pace"

We re-grouped a few times along the way. I realized that my body cols down and heart-rate sinks like a stone pretty quickly. Makes it harder to get started again, especially in the cold.

At one point in the ride I really just wanted to cry out of frustration with the headwind. NO matter if we turned or not, it was always there, like my worst nightmare. The climbing is not as bad since you can see when the pain will be over, but the wind....sneaky bitch, you just can't see! And then just when you think it will be at your back, the wind changes direction!

I cursed so may times during this ride, but survived and am stronger mentally and physically because of it. I was so hungry during this ride, not having dinner last night was probably not the best idea. Within the last 45minutes when I was mentally losing it, I grabbed my Mint Chocolate Gu......ahhhhh, a little squeeze of heaven and I felt much better. Toward the end of the ride Eric said to me "you really need to be bigger, you are too small to block the wind for me!" Too funny!

Pay attention to the feet!

Got up and made it to Masters swim today, yay me! We had to do a bunch of pull sets....uggg I need a better pull! My swimming would be so much faster if I could just use fins all the time :) Bizarre thing today was that every time I pushed of the wall today, the ball of my foot hurt. I didn't think much of it and just kept swimming.

All day I was bit uncomfortable when I walked on it, but for some reason never thought to look at what might be causing the pain. Maybe it's because I've become used to a few random pains while training for Ironman and just push it from my mind.

Later on this evening I'm sitting on the floor and for some reason I remember the pain, so I take a look at my foot.....turns out I have a huge slice in the ball of my foot! From all of the sweat and multiple daily showers my feet have gotten so dry that they are cracked!! Guess it's time to double-up on moisturizer for my feet. They are a total mess. This pic was taken post-moisturizing! Note the pretty callus on the pinky-toe, lovely.

Random thoughts.....

Was really looking forward to my Master's swim this morning, it would have been a huge help if I had actually checked the Master's swim schedule first! Turns out Masters does not swim at 7am on Tuesdays! Ugggg! Wound up swimming alone. Muscles were a bit sore, so I made a deal with myself that I only needed to swim 2000 yards and then I could hit the hot-tub.

I got my distance in and then while in the hot-tub, 2 guys get in. Keep in mind that as a participant in triathlon, specifically long distance, a lot of men shave their legs. Both of these guys did not subscribe to the shaving way of life. Anyway, for some reason...maybe it was low blood sugar, but I kept having these images of their leg hair floating away in the hot-tub and me getting tangled up in it! Yes, gross! So of course, I got out immediately......and now I don't think I will be making a journey back to the hot-tub for some time.

Later in the morning I went to my Computrainer class. I call it my 90-minute sweat-fest. As I'm driving over there is a woman in her car on the side of the road smoking, eating french fries and chatting on the phone. I was reminded of fortunate I am to not only have the ability to train, but the drive to push myself as well. Accepting that I am responsible for my health.

As I drive by, another random thought......if at this very moment someone was to take your picture and capture your life in one photo, would you really want to be sucking down french fries and smoking? I'm not making judgments, but it made me think more about how we spend our days. The next time I find myself in front of the tv or wasting time online, I will think of someone taking my picture and think "if this were to be the last photo taken of me, is this my legacy?"

Better to follow the heart than the training plan

Today's workout should have been the 4-hour ride that I swapped out yesterday, but my heart and mind were not in it. I needed to zone out a bit, not really conducive to riding on the roads with cars and other distractions, so I hit the trails of China Camp.

Along the way there was a dead lizard on the path, I'm guessing he was hit by a mountain biker. I ran past him and then doubled backed, took a rock and pushed him to the side of the trail. All creatures deserve a bit of dignity in death. I continued to run up to the top of the trail, pushing myself to the top of my own private Everest. I stopped along the way just to take in the beauty of the trail and the way the trees parted to give the most amazing view of the Bay.

I stood there in awe of my luck to have access to such an amazing sight, practically in my backyard. Suddenly, tears were rolling down my face. Sadness for so many who will never take advantage of what is in front of them and those who would give anything for the opportunity to run up a trail, but lack the physical ability to do so. I was reminded of what my grandmother said to me when I moved to California, "Abbala, (Jewish grandmother speak) God took everything beautiful ad gave it to California".

I continued on as my thoughts drifted to my current endeavor...3 Ironman races in one season. A total of 421.8 miles in racing, not to mention the distance I will train to accomplish my goal. I reminded myself that I need to stay focused on my goals and to enjoy the journey along the way. The finish line of each race is not my ultimate destination, it's pushing myself to new limits and overcoming obstacles along the way. Learning more about myself and what my body can accomplish.

Never waste the day or an opportunity to grow. On the way down the trail a deer stood in the way, I stopped and watched her as a huge grin spread across my face....this is what training is about, enjoying what is around me.....nature's therapy.