Puppy dogs, soft kittens, baby bunnies and a sharp stick

One shouldn’t really hate inanimate objects but I am here to tell you right now, I DO!

I HATE MY BIKE!

I have raced on this bike for the past 4 years.  It has never been right.  It hasn’t been so wrong, but it certainly isn’t right.  I have gone back to the bike shop that sold it to me (GEAR WEST!  I say this in all caps because as of right now I feel the same about them as I do about my bike) year after year to try to get it to fit right.  You see, it causes some discomfort to my left knee when I ride hills or hard workouts or very long distances.  Which seems to be the majority of my time right now.

I thought it was ok the first year of racing, I only did two races and the distance was not that long.  And, I didn’t know any better.

The second year I upped that ante on mileage and intensity of workouts.  That’s when I started to feel the issue.

The third and fourth years, I thought if I loved my bike more and didn’t think about how much I hated it, it would love me back.  It did, at least that’s what I like to think, but my knee still didn’t feel great.  I can only feel it when I bike, no other time.

Now, over the past few weeks, I have taken my bike into a cycling shop to have some work done and get another fitting by someone who DOES NOT WORK AT GEAR WEST.  I had at least three people shake their heads in disgust that I was ever sold that particular bike in the first place.  You see, it’s too small.  It’s more like a circus bike than a tri bike.  That about fits doesn’t it?

(Do you see the look in his face?  I can hardly help you lady but…I will try!)

So now, after several hours and two fittings later, I am left with riding low milage and light gears so my body can get use to it.  I don’t have the patients for this.  It doesn’t feel any better off the bat, in fact, it might be worse.

Jon told me to find my zen when I emailed him to complain.

There is no zen here, no thinking of soft fuzzy cute animals to make me feel better….only hatred, venom and loathing.

I am in the house of ANTI ZEN!

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60 is my new 20

I giggle and shake my head at the long distance training perspective.  It’s like when you are training for a marathon and you have done so many 18 and 20 mile runs, that when a 10 mile run comes around again, it seems like a walk in the park.  You actually think that 10 miles is almost nothing.

This is already happening with ironman training.  Today was a 60 mile ride, it wasn’t so long ago that I was on my trainer, biking 45 minutes.  60 is a lot, I am already looking to 20 as a walk in the park.  That’s messed up.

Luckily for me I have friends that are willing to ride with me, impart wisdom and help me along the way.

This is Jon.  He’s the guy, in my circle of friend’s, who knows just about everything there is to know about biking.  If I could download what is in his brain, just think of the speed I could attain.  This guy, will make me a better biker.

I have already warned him, that by the end of the summer….I will have sucked the life out of him.

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And I pay this guy

I have a coach to help me through the mind field of training for the Ironman.

I meet this coach, along with a few other ladies, on Thursday mornings to run exhausting hill workouts.

This is the type of coach that tells me to bring my “A” game.

And today, as he laid the workout out there, my heart started racing and I buckled down to do what I was told.

I ran up the hill, the hill I was suppose to run in under 2 minutes and 40 seconds, TWICE.  I found the blood rushing out of my arms and legs, my body aching and falling apart, my mind started screaming as everything was going to shit, DEAR GOD HELP ME,  DEAR GOD HELP ME, PLEASE!!

Seriously, I was thinking, “I have to blog about this because this is crazy.”  So crazy it felt like my vagina wasn’t even getting oxygen.

So very, very crazy-dumb-stupid-idiotic.  It is so wrong to push your body to the point of feeling like your going to fall over or vomit or pass out.  It is so wrong on so many levels.

But…it’s so right.  It is so right,  that I did both hills in under the time I needed to.

HEEEEEELLLLLLLLLL YEAH!

Ironman or bust BITCHES!

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Down the hill

I’m staring down at my training calendar and guess what…it is the last week of training.  Where has the time gone?  Did I really do all that was written down on that thing?

The beauty of the last week of training is it’s such a little amount of work, that it’s almost like cheating or it’s like you’ve been given a gift for working so hard or it’s just the mind fuck you get after so many hours on your bike, in the water and in your running shoes.

Here is what my last week of triathlon training looks like.

Monday:  swim-2×400 yard sprints with 45 seconds rest in between.

Tuesday:  run-just run

Wednesday:  bike-15 minutes at 40 km speed

Thursday:  run-10 minute run at 10 k speed, swim-just swim

Friday:  NOTHING

Saturday: NOTHING

Sunday:  Race Day and we will see how well this training plan worked this year.

Monday:  BonBons and spaop operas

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