I recieved following email from my friend who I will refer to as Dirty.
From: Dirty (e-mail has been removed for privacy)
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011 9:50 AM
To: Harper, Tory
Subject: someone crazier than you...
I have been watching the promos for this on Regis and Kelly all week....a real life forest gump. My favorite is that his wife doesn't like to run :)
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=12998957
have been watching the promos for this on Regis and Kelly all week....a real life forest gump. My favorite is that his wife doesn't like to run :)
Ok, I haven't read any of Dean Karnazes' books or anything so I don't know a ton about him but my first reaction was "THIS GUYS CRAZY". Is running 50 miles a day really necessary:? That just seems a little absurd. I mean, really, 50 miles. I can't even imagine how one would fuel for a day like that, and then continue to fuel because you will be doing it again the next day. If you don't sleep that's 2 miles an hour. Then consider that you need 8 hours of sleep and then an half hour in the morning to get dressed, pack and prepare for your day, then an hour at the end of the day for icing, messages, stretching and showering. That leaves you with 14 hours in a day to run. So you are running on average 3.57 miles every hour.
Then I started thinking about the number of pairs of running shoe Dean must go through. It's generally recommended that you replace running shoes every 300-500 miles (depending on your weight and the surface that you run on) So Dean will be replacing his running shoes every week and a half! That's a lot of running shoes. Holy moly! I hope northface (his shoe sponsor) were aware of this endeavorer before they agreed to sponsor him.
I could go on and on about all the crazy things that come to my mind when someone talks about running an average of 50 miles a day. Who knows, maybe I don't love running enough or maybe I don't love pain enough. Or maybe I'm just not dedicated enough. The whole thing just seems well, Crazy!
So yes Dirty, there is someone crazier than me out there.
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Sunday, February 27, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Changes to the Boston Marathon
Registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon closed in 8 hours, reflecting the growing popularity of marathons.
As a result the Boston Athletic Association recently announced changes to the registration process for the 2012 and 2013 Boston Marathon. If you are not familiar with the changes, here's the cliff notes version: If you qualified you can apply on the dates indicated based on how much you time you beat the qualifying time by. In the end though, all the applications are put in order from fastest to slowest (I use the term "slowest" lightly because in my mind if you qualified for Boston slow is not a word to describe you) and then the top applicants in each age group are receive a registration.
Talk about a game changer. I don't know the what the distribution of times for athletes who qualify for the Boston Registration is, but theoretically you could beat the qualifying time by 20 minutes and still not get a spot in the race. Hmmmmm, so this means that the fastest runners in each age group will be running in Boston. Wow, it sounds kinda like the Ironman Championship in Kona. A race that brings together the fastest racers in that sport and lets them compete against each other. (Yes, I understand that there is a slight difference, Kona slots are given to the top performers of each age group for each race. So IM Wisconsin has a specific number of slots, IM Louisville has a specific number, etc. Someone could argue that a race could be slower than another). The point is though, there is now a marathon for the fastest runners in the sport.
Personally, I am very excited for the change in Boston. It means that it will be a really fun, fast race. I probably won't qualify for it without a TON TON TON of speed work and training, but that's not what I'm thinking about. I'm more excited that there is finally a race for the best in each age group! I'm sorry for the people that have been dreaming of qualifying and running it who are now faced with an even bigger challenge to now be in the top. Beyond feeling bad for my friends who dreamed of Boston, I think that as marathon runners we need to see this as an opportunity for the best athletes in our sport! It's proof that we're making it big! Who knows, maybe this years Boston Marathon will air on Fox Monday Night!
As a result the Boston Athletic Association recently announced changes to the registration process for the 2012 and 2013 Boston Marathon. If you are not familiar with the changes, here's the cliff notes version: If you qualified you can apply on the dates indicated based on how much you time you beat the qualifying time by. In the end though, all the applications are put in order from fastest to slowest (I use the term "slowest" lightly because in my mind if you qualified for Boston slow is not a word to describe you) and then the top applicants in each age group are receive a registration.
Talk about a game changer. I don't know the what the distribution of times for athletes who qualify for the Boston Registration is, but theoretically you could beat the qualifying time by 20 minutes and still not get a spot in the race. Hmmmmm, so this means that the fastest runners in each age group will be running in Boston. Wow, it sounds kinda like the Ironman Championship in Kona. A race that brings together the fastest racers in that sport and lets them compete against each other. (Yes, I understand that there is a slight difference, Kona slots are given to the top performers of each age group for each race. So IM Wisconsin has a specific number of slots, IM Louisville has a specific number, etc. Someone could argue that a race could be slower than another). The point is though, there is now a marathon for the fastest runners in the sport.
Personally, I am very excited for the change in Boston. It means that it will be a really fun, fast race. I probably won't qualify for it without a TON TON TON of speed work and training, but that's not what I'm thinking about. I'm more excited that there is finally a race for the best in each age group! I'm sorry for the people that have been dreaming of qualifying and running it who are now faced with an even bigger challenge to now be in the top. Beyond feeling bad for my friends who dreamed of Boston, I think that as marathon runners we need to see this as an opportunity for the best athletes in our sport! It's proof that we're making it big! Who knows, maybe this years Boston Marathon will air on Fox Monday Night!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Babies
No, I'm not pregnant. Babies, pregnancy and procreating seem to be a theme around me and it's got me thinking about a lot.
It's important to know that according to my tax filing this year I am "single". I live with my boyfriend of 20 months and he's awesome. There is no ring on the finger. I would prefer to be married before I get pregnant (I don't judge others who don't do it in that order though). So this is how this whole baby thing got in my head:
A month ago I was struggling during a hard brick workout* (think lots of hills, 100+ rpms, then lunges, then running hills on a treadmill, and then repeat). Three quarters of the way through the workout I had to excuse myself due to some nausea. My coaches response was "Are you pregnant".
"Uhmmmmm, NO!" I'm not. In fact, I'm not even married, or engaged. So no, there is nothing cooking in the oven. I was a little taken back by the question. No offended, just didn't expect it. So I was talking about it with a friend (who has three kids all in Elementary school) on the drive home that evening and her response was "Tory, your 27, this is the time when woman are getting pregnant in their life. You were nauseous, so she asked you if you were pregnant."
Then a couple of weeks later I was not feeling super hot so and didn't want to drink while I was out with some friends. Upon turning down a glass of wine and telling them that I just haven't been feeling well and am really tired someone asks "well, are you pregnant". Again I respond with "Uhmmmmm, NO!".
Then another incident happens where I again am not feeling that hot and my boyfriend asks if I'm pregnant. My response was "No, WE are not pregnant".
In addition to those incidents I found out that some of my friends are pregnant, thinking about getting pregnant or trying to plan when they want to be pregnant. This is so awesome. So all this talk of pregnancy has started to get me thinking about when I would like to have a baby. I'm not thinking about in terms of time or age, (But I get that it's very important variable for women and pregnancy), but more in terms of reaching a certain stage in my life.
Right now I love my life (yes you should all be jealous, hahaha). My average week is filled with 37.5 hours of working at a finance job that keeps me on my toes but doesn't cause major stress, hanging out with my boyfriend on the couch, cooking dinner with him, walking the dog, going out to eat or to the movies with friends, 9 hours of triathlon training (which will go up as I get closer to the event), an occasional manicure and pedicure, and a bunch of fun email chains between me and girlfriends making fun of pop culture and whatever we can find on the internet to take a dig at. I'm living with an awesome boyfriend (Monkey) who is supportive of me, my career and my athletic goals. For the record, Monkey thinks that I am clinically insane for doing an Ironman, and even more insane for doing it again. He doesn't love that during the summer I will be spending 8 hours working out, but he gets that it makes me happy and he likes seeing me happy. He was my biggest supporter throughout the training last year and having him on the course was an incredible feeling. In the other areas of my life, my job is challenging but it doesn't take over my life. I have friends both in the endurance sports arena and out of them who are good people, make me laugh, and are always supportive and there for me during the good and bad days. I have an awesome set of parents who I talk to 3-4 times a week and a brother and sister who I feel extremely close with even though they live in Atlanta and Palo Alto. My extended family is mostly healthy (which I am grateful for). The one area of my life I don't love (I actually hate) right now is that my Uncle has relapsed and is fighting Multiple Myeloma. You will learn more about him (and the motivation he provides me during training) in another blog post. I promise.
So I can't help but think that if I was to add a baby to the mix that life would change dramatically. No more lazy couch time, no more big dinners out on the town followed by a bar night, no more mani/pedis when I wanted. I think the biggest area that would change though is my training. I just can't see having the time to train for an Ironman. Perhaps I won't want to, perhaps all my priorities will change and I won't have the fire inside that drives me to train for races. Perhaps I will spend time as a spectathalete.
I just think can help but think that if I had a 6 month old I would not be running off to the gym for 2 hours, or participating in a 3 day race that's in the middle of nowhere Ohio, or taking a nice vacation to St. Croix for spring break, or having brunch in Boystown, or doing an 8 hour ride in the middle of Wisconsin. I'm not ready to give that up. I know there are super moms out there who can do it both. By both I mean have a young baby and do intense triathlon training. I'm not sure I have the "super" in me to be as organized as those women are. So for the time being, I will continue to think of a baby as something that will make if difficult for me to train. Even more importantly, I'm not ready to stop being selfish. I like things the way they are right now. The fact that the first thing that comes to mind when someone says "Baby" is exhaustion and no more races means that I'm not even close to wanting a baby in my life, yet.
I think that once I go through a some more seasons of racing I will be ready to put the bike on the rack and switch my priorities. I know there will be a time when I'm ready to do that. I know this because I've always been someone who (eventually) gets to the next stage in life. I know that when I get there, I will be ready and I won't think about a baby as just exhausting and taking away from my "me" time. Instead I will think of it as a blessing and a joy. Something that I can't wait to do. I see my friends who are either pregnant or planning on it and from what I can tell as their friend, they are ready to become moms. They have gone through the me time and are ready to move into that period of life. I'm happy for them, I'm just not at that point right now. I'm having too much fun.
It's important to know that according to my tax filing this year I am "single". I live with my boyfriend of 20 months and he's awesome. There is no ring on the finger. I would prefer to be married before I get pregnant (I don't judge others who don't do it in that order though). So this is how this whole baby thing got in my head:
A month ago I was struggling during a hard brick workout* (think lots of hills, 100+ rpms, then lunges, then running hills on a treadmill, and then repeat). Three quarters of the way through the workout I had to excuse myself due to some nausea. My coaches response was "Are you pregnant".
"Uhmmmmm, NO!" I'm not. In fact, I'm not even married, or engaged. So no, there is nothing cooking in the oven. I was a little taken back by the question. No offended, just didn't expect it. So I was talking about it with a friend (who has three kids all in Elementary school) on the drive home that evening and her response was "Tory, your 27, this is the time when woman are getting pregnant in their life. You were nauseous, so she asked you if you were pregnant."
Then a couple of weeks later I was not feeling super hot so and didn't want to drink while I was out with some friends. Upon turning down a glass of wine and telling them that I just haven't been feeling well and am really tired someone asks "well, are you pregnant". Again I respond with "Uhmmmmm, NO!".
Then another incident happens where I again am not feeling that hot and my boyfriend asks if I'm pregnant. My response was "No, WE are not pregnant".
In addition to those incidents I found out that some of my friends are pregnant, thinking about getting pregnant or trying to plan when they want to be pregnant. This is so awesome. So all this talk of pregnancy has started to get me thinking about when I would like to have a baby. I'm not thinking about in terms of time or age, (But I get that it's very important variable for women and pregnancy), but more in terms of reaching a certain stage in my life.
Right now I love my life (yes you should all be jealous, hahaha). My average week is filled with 37.5 hours of working at a finance job that keeps me on my toes but doesn't cause major stress, hanging out with my boyfriend on the couch, cooking dinner with him, walking the dog, going out to eat or to the movies with friends, 9 hours of triathlon training (which will go up as I get closer to the event), an occasional manicure and pedicure, and a bunch of fun email chains between me and girlfriends making fun of pop culture and whatever we can find on the internet to take a dig at. I'm living with an awesome boyfriend (Monkey) who is supportive of me, my career and my athletic goals. For the record, Monkey thinks that I am clinically insane for doing an Ironman, and even more insane for doing it again. He doesn't love that during the summer I will be spending 8 hours working out, but he gets that it makes me happy and he likes seeing me happy. He was my biggest supporter throughout the training last year and having him on the course was an incredible feeling. In the other areas of my life, my job is challenging but it doesn't take over my life. I have friends both in the endurance sports arena and out of them who are good people, make me laugh, and are always supportive and there for me during the good and bad days. I have an awesome set of parents who I talk to 3-4 times a week and a brother and sister who I feel extremely close with even though they live in Atlanta and Palo Alto. My extended family is mostly healthy (which I am grateful for). The one area of my life I don't love (I actually hate) right now is that my Uncle has relapsed and is fighting Multiple Myeloma. You will learn more about him (and the motivation he provides me during training) in another blog post. I promise.
So I can't help but think that if I was to add a baby to the mix that life would change dramatically. No more lazy couch time, no more big dinners out on the town followed by a bar night, no more mani/pedis when I wanted. I think the biggest area that would change though is my training. I just can't see having the time to train for an Ironman. Perhaps I won't want to, perhaps all my priorities will change and I won't have the fire inside that drives me to train for races. Perhaps I will spend time as a spectathalete.
I just think can help but think that if I had a 6 month old I would not be running off to the gym for 2 hours, or participating in a 3 day race that's in the middle of nowhere Ohio, or taking a nice vacation to St. Croix for spring break, or having brunch in Boystown, or doing an 8 hour ride in the middle of Wisconsin. I'm not ready to give that up. I know there are super moms out there who can do it both. By both I mean have a young baby and do intense triathlon training. I'm not sure I have the "super" in me to be as organized as those women are. So for the time being, I will continue to think of a baby as something that will make if difficult for me to train. Even more importantly, I'm not ready to stop being selfish. I like things the way they are right now. The fact that the first thing that comes to mind when someone says "Baby" is exhaustion and no more races means that I'm not even close to wanting a baby in my life, yet.
I think that once I go through a some more seasons of racing I will be ready to put the bike on the rack and switch my priorities. I know there will be a time when I'm ready to do that. I know this because I've always been someone who (eventually) gets to the next stage in life. I know that when I get there, I will be ready and I won't think about a baby as just exhausting and taking away from my "me" time. Instead I will think of it as a blessing and a joy. Something that I can't wait to do. I see my friends who are either pregnant or planning on it and from what I can tell as their friend, they are ready to become moms. They have gone through the me time and are ready to move into that period of life. I'm happy for them, I'm just not at that point right now. I'm having too much fun.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Is it possible to swim, bike, run and do strength workouts all in the same gym?
I think this is a simple request. I want to be able to swim, bike and run (indoors) at the same place.
The following is a (short) list of the amenities my dream gym would have: computrainer, laundry, open 24/7, a 25 meter pool (an olympic distance would also work), masters swim practices in the morning and after work, brand new equipment w/ TVs (treadmill, elliptical, stair climber, rowing machine), located in my office, bike storage, nice shower gel and shampoo/conditioner, professional hair dryers, a locker, not super busy but has people there, hot tub, sauna, steam room, yoga class, good music in the weight room, hot (male) personal trainers.
But seriously, I would settle for a gym that is conveniently located to the brown line, has a computrainer, pool, treadmill, some dumbells and a stability ball.
Since it's the middle of winter and I'm not crazy enough to ride outside and swim in the lake for my swim workouts I am forced to go inside to a gym. To meet the needs of my Ironman training schedule I currently I have memberships to two gyms and pay a master swimming fee. It's annoying. It's not just annoying becuase of the cost and the locations, but it's annoying becuase I have to always make sure I have the proper change of clothes with me for whatever that days workout it. Since I don't drive to work it means that I have to carry these bags with me on the train and busses of Chicago. I can't tell you the number of times I've shown up to do a bike/run brick workout with no sports bra or running shoes and instead a swim cap and a speedo.
For the record, I wore my speedo in hopes that it would give the girls some added support while on the treadmill. It did.
I thought about making a spread sheet that outlined what each gym has that the other one doesn't but that just seemed obnoxcious. My point it, it's tough in Chicago. The perfect Triathlete gym doesn't exist out there and as a result my life can get rather hectic. The gym that is super convenient to work/home doesn't have a pool or computrainers. If a gym has the cycling equipment there is no pool or it's a endless pool which is just hard to do good workouts in. Plus it's super inconvenient to public transportation. The gym that has the pool doesn't have a masters group. When I find a masters group that's convenient and works with my schedule it's super duper expensive. Blah Blah Blah, I could go on and on.
If there are any investors looking for a business idea you should call me. I don't think I'm asking for that much!
The following is a (short) list of the amenities my dream gym would have: computrainer, laundry, open 24/7, a 25 meter pool (an olympic distance would also work), masters swim practices in the morning and after work, brand new equipment w/ TVs (treadmill, elliptical, stair climber, rowing machine), located in my office, bike storage, nice shower gel and shampoo/conditioner, professional hair dryers, a locker, not super busy but has people there, hot tub, sauna, steam room, yoga class, good music in the weight room, hot (male) personal trainers.
But seriously, I would settle for a gym that is conveniently located to the brown line, has a computrainer, pool, treadmill, some dumbells and a stability ball.
Since it's the middle of winter and I'm not crazy enough to ride outside and swim in the lake for my swim workouts I am forced to go inside to a gym. To meet the needs of my Ironman training schedule I currently I have memberships to two gyms and pay a master swimming fee. It's annoying. It's not just annoying becuase of the cost and the locations, but it's annoying becuase I have to always make sure I have the proper change of clothes with me for whatever that days workout it. Since I don't drive to work it means that I have to carry these bags with me on the train and busses of Chicago. I can't tell you the number of times I've shown up to do a bike/run brick workout with no sports bra or running shoes and instead a swim cap and a speedo.
For the record, I wore my speedo in hopes that it would give the girls some added support while on the treadmill. It did.
I thought about making a spread sheet that outlined what each gym has that the other one doesn't but that just seemed obnoxcious. My point it, it's tough in Chicago. The perfect Triathlete gym doesn't exist out there and as a result my life can get rather hectic. The gym that is super convenient to work/home doesn't have a pool or computrainers. If a gym has the cycling equipment there is no pool or it's a endless pool which is just hard to do good workouts in. Plus it's super inconvenient to public transportation. The gym that has the pool doesn't have a masters group. When I find a masters group that's convenient and works with my schedule it's super duper expensive. Blah Blah Blah, I could go on and on.
If there are any investors looking for a business idea you should call me. I don't think I'm asking for that much!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
"Tory Harper YOU ARE ALREADY AN IRONMAN"
I signed up for my first Ironman on September 10, 2009. There were lots of reasons to do it, but mostly I just wanted to earn the title of Ironman, I wanted to run across the finish line and hear "Tory Harper YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!"
I signed up for my second Ironman on September 13, 2010. I am still trying to figure out why I signed up. What will Mike Reilly say this year? "Tory Harper, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN AGAIN" or "Tory Harper, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN TIMES TWO" or "Tory Harper, YOU ARE ALREADY AN IRONMAN"
I've been having some trouble getting motivated for Ironman training to begin. I train with a group that meets twice a week, Tuesday night for a brick (bike/run) workout and Friday mornings for a swim. Last week was our first official week of Ironman training. Unfortunately (or fortunately) our Tuesday night brick workout was cancelled to do Snowmaggedon 2011.
Tonight was my first class. I wasn't looking forward to it. Ironman training is slow and long. Every week we build our workouts by 15 - 30 minutes. We are preparing our bodies to workout for 12+ hours (or in my case 14 hours+). Each workout is about training our bodies to work as efficiently as possible so we can keep moving forward. This means we run at a pace where our heart rate stays low enough we can hold a conversation. We ride for 7+ hours as a part of the training. I've been struggling to get motivated for the long and slow season which is Ironman training. I've been trying to nail down why I'm struggling to get motivated for this season. Part of me says I'm just dreading the time commitment, the long weekend rides, or the 15 mile runs on Wednesday morning before work. Another part of says I'm dreading the patience it takes to slowly build up to the Ironman distance, It takes 20-24 weeks to go from working out 7.5 hours a week to 19-20 hours. Most importantly, I dread the exhaustion that comes along with holding a full time job, trying to be a good girlfriend, sister, daughter, friend, etc., and training for an Ironman.
There is an exhaustion that comes with training for Ironman and I still am not sure I can handle that again. It is a necessary part of training ourselves to be physically and mentally prepared for race day. Ironman is about asking our bodies to function under extreme exhaustion. In fact, their is no such thing as running on fresh legs during Ironman training. Last June a guy in my group posted on Face book "I just want to run on fresh legs". My coach responded with "Welcome to Ironman training". In the race you will be running a marathon after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride. There is nothing "fresh" about that. If I didn't train under exhaustion how could I possibly expect my body to run a marathon after having pushed you 114.4. miles. To help you understand I remember being so exhausted last July and August that in every aspect of my life (work, personal relationships, workouts) I could only think about the current day. I couldn't even look forward in my workout schedule. For me, training was MUCH harder than race day. It was harder to get myself out of bed every Saturday morning at the crack of dawn to go riding in the summer's heat, or hop in Lake Michigan at Ohio Street Beach at 5:45 so finish a swim and still get to work on time. Every time I wanted to sleep in I would tell myself "This is what it takes to be an Ironman" or "You have to earn the title of Ironman, if it was easy than everyone would do it". My motivation was centered around earning the title. So fast forward to this year. I've earned the title of Ironman. I proudly wear my "Finisher" jacket and keep my facebook profile pic as the photo of me crossing the finish line. So what do I tell myself when I have to get out of bed at 4:45 and walk the dog so I can get to swim practice (and it's 4 degrees out)
I guess part of me is scared about the coming months. It's hard, there will be pain, in fact I know this pain. I don't have to prove to myself I can handle the pain. I've done it before. I guess the question is . . . can I handle it again? Can I handle the pain when I know what it feels like? It's one thing when you sign up for it and you don't know what it will feel like. It's another thing when you sign up for it having experienced the pain before.
So tonight during my class I thought a lot about why I signed up to race Ironman again and why I'm struggling to find motivation. I was in a room where the majority of the people were training for Ironman for the first time. You could see the excitement in everyone's eyes, there is an eagerness, a hunger, a nervousness when you start training. I can remember the feelings I had during my first class and it was fun to feel that in others. It was sad that I didn't feel it in myself. For me, It was just a normal Tuesday night. In fact, in 2010 there were 52 Tuesday and all but about 17 were spent in that gym (I say 17 because I can count 15 that I wasn't at the gym because I wasn't training at that time. Then I know that there were a two other training sessions I missed due to travel or a rest week). Last night my coach went around and asked everyone why they signed up for an Ironman. She did this last year so I wasn't shocked. She skipped over me and when I called her out on it she replied with "I already know why your doing it, you told me last year". Then, realizing what she said she proceeded to ask me why I signed up for Ironman again. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, I'm bored.
So after she moved on I really thought about it, and I proceeded to think about it on the train home. A few things came into my head: Boredom, to say I wasn't a one and done, to stay in shape (this is a BAD reason), because I'm in my twenties, not married, don't have kids and have disposable income, All decent reasons. The real reason started to become apparent. I signed up for Ironman because I need to prove to myself that I can do it twice, prove to myself that even when I know how hard something is, I can still get it done. When faced with a difficult challenge I don't run away. It's easy to sign up with you don't know how bad the pain is, but can you sign up when you do know. Last year when I trained, I trained out of fear, fear that I would not finish. Each workout was a new experience, I was adding more distance each weak and the pain was something new. Doing it twice means that I'm not afraid of the pain, or the time commitment, or the risk that race day won't go as well as it did last year. Most importantly, it means I'm not afraid of the vulnerability and risks that come with Ironman training.
Let the pain begin!
I signed up for my second Ironman on September 13, 2010. I am still trying to figure out why I signed up. What will Mike Reilly say this year? "Tory Harper, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN AGAIN" or "Tory Harper, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN TIMES TWO" or "Tory Harper, YOU ARE ALREADY AN IRONMAN"
I've been having some trouble getting motivated for Ironman training to begin. I train with a group that meets twice a week, Tuesday night for a brick (bike/run) workout and Friday mornings for a swim. Last week was our first official week of Ironman training. Unfortunately (or fortunately) our Tuesday night brick workout was cancelled to do Snowmaggedon 2011.
Tonight was my first class. I wasn't looking forward to it. Ironman training is slow and long. Every week we build our workouts by 15 - 30 minutes. We are preparing our bodies to workout for 12+ hours (or in my case 14 hours+). Each workout is about training our bodies to work as efficiently as possible so we can keep moving forward. This means we run at a pace where our heart rate stays low enough we can hold a conversation. We ride for 7+ hours as a part of the training. I've been struggling to get motivated for the long and slow season which is Ironman training. I've been trying to nail down why I'm struggling to get motivated for this season. Part of me says I'm just dreading the time commitment, the long weekend rides, or the 15 mile runs on Wednesday morning before work. Another part of says I'm dreading the patience it takes to slowly build up to the Ironman distance, It takes 20-24 weeks to go from working out 7.5 hours a week to 19-20 hours. Most importantly, I dread the exhaustion that comes along with holding a full time job, trying to be a good girlfriend, sister, daughter, friend, etc., and training for an Ironman.
There is an exhaustion that comes with training for Ironman and I still am not sure I can handle that again. It is a necessary part of training ourselves to be physically and mentally prepared for race day. Ironman is about asking our bodies to function under extreme exhaustion. In fact, their is no such thing as running on fresh legs during Ironman training. Last June a guy in my group posted on Face book "I just want to run on fresh legs". My coach responded with "Welcome to Ironman training". In the race you will be running a marathon after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride. There is nothing "fresh" about that. If I didn't train under exhaustion how could I possibly expect my body to run a marathon after having pushed you 114.4. miles. To help you understand I remember being so exhausted last July and August that in every aspect of my life (work, personal relationships, workouts) I could only think about the current day. I couldn't even look forward in my workout schedule. For me, training was MUCH harder than race day. It was harder to get myself out of bed every Saturday morning at the crack of dawn to go riding in the summer's heat, or hop in Lake Michigan at Ohio Street Beach at 5:45 so finish a swim and still get to work on time. Every time I wanted to sleep in I would tell myself "This is what it takes to be an Ironman" or "You have to earn the title of Ironman, if it was easy than everyone would do it". My motivation was centered around earning the title. So fast forward to this year. I've earned the title of Ironman. I proudly wear my "Finisher" jacket and keep my facebook profile pic as the photo of me crossing the finish line. So what do I tell myself when I have to get out of bed at 4:45 and walk the dog so I can get to swim practice (and it's 4 degrees out)
I guess part of me is scared about the coming months. It's hard, there will be pain, in fact I know this pain. I don't have to prove to myself I can handle the pain. I've done it before. I guess the question is . . . can I handle it again? Can I handle the pain when I know what it feels like? It's one thing when you sign up for it and you don't know what it will feel like. It's another thing when you sign up for it having experienced the pain before.
So tonight during my class I thought a lot about why I signed up to race Ironman again and why I'm struggling to find motivation. I was in a room where the majority of the people were training for Ironman for the first time. You could see the excitement in everyone's eyes, there is an eagerness, a hunger, a nervousness when you start training. I can remember the feelings I had during my first class and it was fun to feel that in others. It was sad that I didn't feel it in myself. For me, It was just a normal Tuesday night. In fact, in 2010 there were 52 Tuesday and all but about 17 were spent in that gym (I say 17 because I can count 15 that I wasn't at the gym because I wasn't training at that time. Then I know that there were a two other training sessions I missed due to travel or a rest week). Last night my coach went around and asked everyone why they signed up for an Ironman. She did this last year so I wasn't shocked. She skipped over me and when I called her out on it she replied with "I already know why your doing it, you told me last year". Then, realizing what she said she proceeded to ask me why I signed up for Ironman again. I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, I'm bored.
So after she moved on I really thought about it, and I proceeded to think about it on the train home. A few things came into my head: Boredom, to say I wasn't a one and done, to stay in shape (this is a BAD reason), because I'm in my twenties, not married, don't have kids and have disposable income, All decent reasons. The real reason started to become apparent. I signed up for Ironman because I need to prove to myself that I can do it twice, prove to myself that even when I know how hard something is, I can still get it done. When faced with a difficult challenge I don't run away. It's easy to sign up with you don't know how bad the pain is, but can you sign up when you do know. Last year when I trained, I trained out of fear, fear that I would not finish. Each workout was a new experience, I was adding more distance each weak and the pain was something new. Doing it twice means that I'm not afraid of the pain, or the time commitment, or the risk that race day won't go as well as it did last year. Most importantly, it means I'm not afraid of the vulnerability and risks that come with Ironman training.
Let the pain begin!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
and HELLO February
Earlier today my coach emailed me announcing that my Tuesday night coached workout was cancelled. I completely understand why it was cancelled. My coach drives in from a suburb about 20 minutes outside the city (with no traffic). If I were her, I would have cancelled class simply because with all the hooplah right now about the storm, traffic will be ridiculous no matter what.
Since my bike is at my triathlon gym (I store it there since I can't ride it outside anyway), I did brick workout with the help of a spinning bike at my work gym. I'm lucky, I belong to a gym that is in the same building as my office. I really look forward to my coached workouts. It's fun to see my coach and all the other athletes. We're all grinding through the pain together and the adrenaline gets pumping. Plus I just like seeing everyone. So of course doing the workout at the gym made nearly not as much fun as I had hoped. It was a lot of one legged drills. They are annoying enough to do on a regular bike, let alone the spinning bike at the office gym. Plus, I never feel like the spinning bike just feels funny. But I guess it's better than skipping the workout :)
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