embrace the suck: I can do hard things.

{image via}

so many people in my life have been inspiring me lately. today I read this post and this post, by my friend, jen, and just couldn't help but adopt her mantra, embrace the suck. I want to do things that make me hurt. that make me feel alive. that suck. it's sounds a little crazy, to want to hurt, but if you are an endurance athlete you know what I mean.

yesterday I went running with my friend tori. she's on the journey to ironman and I couldn't be more thrilled (plus slightly jealous) for her. she has pushed through injuries and setbacks and is planning on racing ironman cozumel this fall. she has gotten me so excited for a little triathlon we'll be doing together in june. I'm just doing the sprint distance, though in my heart of hearts I wish I was doing the olympic with her. but I have to be realistic and I have to take things slow. and let's be honest, the sprint is probably all I can handle right now. it's weird to say this, but the 5K run is what is freaking me out the most! did I just say that?

I'm also planning on doing a bike relay this summer. maybe this summer will be about the bike and swim. not so much the run. though if I could swing it, and my familia is serious, I would love to run the hobblecreek half marathon. (who's started training??!)

and that leaves us to the swim portion of my summer. I'm committing myself to a 5K marathon swim. yes, that's swimming 3.1 miles in open water. it might sound crazy, but when I initially heard about this event I secretly wanted to do the 10 mile swim! crazy much?!

so see, I've been craving the suck. I need to push myself and test my limits again. I want to remind myself that I can push past the pain + negative thoughts. that I can do hard things.

swimteam

ahhh, back in the pool. here is the workout:



500 warmup

8 X 50 kick (I did half before and half after the stroke drills. my drop foot ankle was starting to bug. and let's be honest, it made my legs really tired.)
8 X 50 stroke

3 X:
200 moderate
100 fast
50 easy

2 X 75
(50 easy, 25 fast
25 easy, 50 fast)

cooldown

joint swimteam

pete and I made it to the pool last night for a little bit of joint swimteam! we got there kinda late and were only able to swim for about half an hour until they closed the pool. but really, who are we kidding? a half an hour swim workout is good for the both of us, especially as pete is trying to ease back into working out since the accident. and I'm pregnant, so you know, whatever that means.

I must confess, I haven't been swimming much at all this summer. I know, total slacker! the pool should have been my second home. you'll feel so weightless in the pool, they all would say. but truth be told, I don't feel so weighted down so going for a walk isn't all that bad either. {really, really wish my knee didn't bother me because I feel I could still be running otherwise - albeit slowly and probably not very far} and it's true that sometimes I just like the exercise that takes less energy preparing for. I like the idea of heading out my door whenever I want and not having to worry about anything other than making sure I have some shoes on.

anyway, the workout:

freestyle. lots and lots of freestyle. basically, I just swam. I didn't really do anything specific. just some 50's, 100's, and I think I even through in a 300. once I tried to do the backstroke, but my left calf kept cramping up. oh, did I mention that the last two days my right hamstring had been bugging me? so that's why all the freestyle; I didn't want to aggravate it more.

so the outdoor meter pool is still open, it will be until the end of october! I remember when I used to be scared of the meter pool. the big kid pool. now I welcome it. my how things have changed. plus they're redoing the deck on the indoor yard pool, so that's exciting news too. yay for the pool!

yeah, so...

here is another update:

friday -- I'm pretty sure I took this as a rest day. I was going to try and at least get my core workout in, but didn't really remember that until I was drifting off to sleep that night. whoops!

saturday -- the worst long run of my life. or, the one in which anna falls. okay, so seriously I think everything was starting to catch up with me last saturday. I. was. tight. and tired. and fourteen miles? seemed like forever. by the end my little legs were just shuffling along. and within the last 1.5 miles of being done with the whole sordid affair, I tripped. I'm not even sure if I tripped over anything! there's a huge possibility I just didn't pick one of my feet up off the ground! I took a tumble right there on the sidewalk and scuffed up my hands and my right knee. and my shoulder and hip were sore afterwards too. the fall seemed to happen in slow motion, but my muscles were so tight I had no control, of them, of the situation. it definitely humbled me.

monday -- four miles + core

tuesday -- five miles

wednesday -- swimteam
500 warmup
6 X 50 drill
3 X 100 {slow, medium, fast}
200
3 X 100 build
300
3 X 100 {slow, medium, fast}
cooldown

thursday -- three miles + core

pool

went swimming at the local pool. it felt good. pete and I didn't share a lane, and actually had quite a productive workout. pete was even doing flip turns; I am so proud.

whenever I get back in the pool I get nervous about my left shoulder. I'm happy to say it didn't hurt. let's hope that as I put swimteam back into my regular routine I don't have any more problems with it. because seriously. I'm done with injuries!

the workout felt really good. I always love the way swimming makes me feel afterward. I will say, however, that I am still feeling yesterday's workout. I am sore. the run + the core workout + raking one billion leaves really threw my muscles through a loop. they don't know what to do with themselves. let's hope they figure it out soon.


500 warm up
4 X 50 kick
12 X 25 IM (sans free)
50, 75, 100 descending
25 breast
500 free
100, 75, 50 ascending
25 breast
4 X 50 hypoxic (strokes per breath: 5/25, 7/25)
100 cool down


1 hr; swimteam

bike + swim

bike to work: it's only about a three mile roundtrip, but man that ride back up the hill seemed hard today. I don't think it should really feel hard; I need to get on my bike more.

joint swimteam: pete and I hit the pool tonight. it was pretty awesome. we should never swim in the same lane. nothing but shenanigans from that boy. and we only lasted a little over thirty minutes. it was a good reintroduction to the water, though. {it's been months for both of us} I am happy to say that I could bust out some butterfly. though I'm not saying it looked pretty. because I'm pretty sure it didn't. but I was just happy that I could make it to the other end of the pool.

oh, and btw, they have closed the outdoor pool for the season. now we all have to adjust back to the yard pool.

swim + run

pete and I woke up early and did a joint swimteam. the problem with joint swimteam is we kind of play around a little too much. it's a lot of fun, but not as great of a workout. we need more discipline. or seperate lanes.

after the swim I decided to run home from the pool. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this sooner. especially if I have a short/easy pool workout. it's probably only about 2.5 miles, which was perfect this morning.

yes, I was at the pool again

I was going to wake up and run a quick two miles this morning. my bed won out. I hate that. tomorrow I'm running for sure! I need to get back into the routine.

the workout was good. I like it when I'm swimming behind faster people and I force myself to swim harder to keep up. it's a good feeling to work so hard. my left shoulder didn't hurt that much, which is good. I've been trying to be more aware of my stroke. I think it's been helping.

we swam hard but had plenty of recovery time after each set. so all in all it was a pretty good workout.

warmup
600
[250
200
150]
[200
150
100]
[150
100
50]
{the main set was on a 2:15 base per 100 meters}
cooldown

pool time

again, more swimming. I feel like I've abandoned running and biking. it's just so easy to go to the pool on these hot summer days. but I'm going to make a resolve to get back on the running bandwagon at least. next week. {I'm toying with the idea of a fall marathon}

I'm not really sure if I remember my swim workout. it had a 500 warmup. some kicking. some IM sets. all with fins. it was kind of fun. I'm sure there was more involved, but I can't really remember.


peter's workout:
warm up
6 50's kick
6 50's drill
100 easy
100 moderate
100 fast
100 easy
100 moderate
100 fast
200

more swimming

I opted out of masters last night {for a hot date to PC, of course} and instead did my own swim workout in the afternoon. now I remember why I don't swim there in the afternoon. it's always really annoying. you have to compete for lanes--especially with the kid swimteam, SYAC. I had dreamed up this workout revolving around 600's. a 600 of drill/kick, a 600 of descending, a 600 of IM and a 600 of breath control. I had to cut the IM/BC short because I had to run to catch a bus. which I barely missed, btw.

my shoulder felt ok. not 100 percent fantastic, but ok.

warmup
6 X 50 kick
6 X 50 drill
6 X 100 (descend 1-3, 4-6)
3 X 100 IM
3 X 100 breath control (3, 5, 7 per 50 meters)
cooldown

stroke analysis

I think my shoulder starts to hurt if my left stroke is off. if I dig too deep, pulling downward instead of the s then it strains the muscles. when I take time to think about my stroke and have better form, things seem to go better.

here is another workout where I actually remember the intervals. probably because this workout was so dependent upon the intervals. and they weren't hard; I always had plenty of rest in between.

warm up
2 X 200 (4:30)
4 X 100 (2:20)
3 X 100 (2:15)
2 X 100 (2:10)
100 (2:05)
100 (2:05)
2 X 100 (2:10)
3 X 100 (2:15)
cool down


pete's workout:
warm up
6 X 50 drill
100 slow
100 medium
100 fast
200
3 X 100 build
300
100 slow
100 medium
100 fast
cool down

bike, swim, bike, no run

wednesday afternoon I got a text from my friend tori saying she wasn't going to go to swimteam. normally she's my ride home from steiner, and pete was working late so I had to figure something else out. I decided to ride my bike. it's a climb to get there, so I guess it's a nice warmup. at least the cold water is inviting + refreshing at that point.

as I was walking me and my bike into steiner my friend/coworker was walking out with soaking wet hair. she had forgotten her towel. we had a good laugh over that and then said our goodbyes. as I was getting my cap + goggles out of my bag I realized I had forgotten my towel too. such is life.

I don't remember the workout.

I do remember that my left shoulder is still hurting.



post script: I finally got to meet a new bloggy friend, elizabeth. she was at the pool with mal and jer. I was also able to meet another slc tri blogger a couple of weeks ago up in cache valley. I am loving meeting and connecting with people that are dedicated to active living. so no, elizabeth, you are not a blog-stalker. you are a workout friend that lives five hours away.

becoming

the cold is still lingering a little, but overall I am feeling much better. the swim was pretty good tonight and I even had the joy of leading the lane. my left shoulder has been bugging me a little bit lately when I swim. maybe I need to stretch it out more. maybe my stroke is a little wacky. who knows.

all I know is that I love being in the pool. I had the thought as I was doing my warmup today, that just being there is making me a better swimmer. a better athlete. even if I'm not becoming faster or even feeling good for that particular workout, I am becoming better. I am putting in the work. I think we all need a reminder every once in a while. just keep at it, even if you're not seeing significant gains right now. it's making you stronger. it's making you better.


warmup
8 X 50 kick
4 X 150 (3:30)
4 X 100 (2:20)
4 X 50 (1:20)
cooldown

the saturday afternoon swim a la mallory

mal called us up to go swimming today. it's probably a good thing she did, because I would have kept sitting on my butt if she hadn't. I'm still trying to get rid of this cold. I'm breathing better, but it's gotten a hold of my throat. I've been hacking up flem for the past two days. when I swam the backstroke it totally aggravated the throat and I started coughing uncontrollably. not to mention the headache. but despite all that I'm just glad I got out there and did something with myself. it's been far too long. {I think my last workout was tuesday's treadmill run} hopefully next week I can get back into the regular groove. though it's a weird holiday week--crap! anyway, here is what I remember of the worout:

warmup
4 X 75 (kick, drill, swim) (odds free, evens stroke)
300 (3, 5, 7 strokes per breath with each 50)
2 X 150 (each 25 IM order with freestyle thrown in between)
8 X 50 (1-4, 5-8 descending)

pete's swimteam workout

warmup
8 X 100 (50 drill, 50 swim)
3 X 50 (easy, moderate, fast)
100
3 X 50 (easy, moderate, fast)
200
3 X 50 (easy, moderate, fast)
300
cool down

my swim team

I will confess that I did not go to swimteam today. {in fact, it's starting right now and I'm sitting at home in my pj's} I am starting to feel sick. and I'm trying to head it off at the pass. I figure if I take it easy, maybe it will all just go away quickly. plus, it's leaving me low energy. so today instead of a workout I napped. it was a beautiful thing.

but I did give pete a pretty killer swim workout this morning. I was happy to hear via the chat that he did it all and it went well. he is a rockstar swimmer, even if he doesn't think so. he's in anna masters right now, maybe one day he will be brave enough to try real masters. one can dream. anyway, below is the workout.

warm up
4 X 50 kick
4 X 50 drill
100 descending
200 moderate
100 descending
150 (100 slow, 50 fast)
150 (50 slow, 50 fast, 50 slow)
150 (100 fast, 50 slow)
cool down

sans coach

there was no coach tonight. I hate it when that happens. my lane just made up a workout. we didn't do the sets in any real intervals, but just waited a certain amount of time between each one. that was nice because I was leading the lane and hate keeping track of intervals. here is what we came up with:

warm up
100
200
300
300
200
100
5 X 100 (50 fast, 50 easy)
cool down

cache valley tri

I have to be honest, I was a little scared for this triathlon. I didn't really do any specific training for it other than swimming regularly and biking and running not so regularly. I didn't have a training plan, I just made sure I worked out most days of the week.

in the days leading up to the race I started freaking out. I even contemplated switching to the sprint distance. I was fearful of the cold lake water and my first open water swim. and I had seemingly twisted my ankle slightly while running around at work a few days before. was I ready for a 1500 meter swim + 24.8 mile bike + 6.2 mile run? it all sounded overwhelming.

transitional love

triathlon is so much different than pure running races. there's just so much to think about. so much gear. I love just showing up at the starting line with some shorts and my running shoes. and obviously a top. plus a race bib. but in triathlon? you need a wetsuit. you need a bike. you need running crap. not to mention all the other little stuff that goes with each discipline. it's a lot to think about.

me + jer pre swim

the swim | 1500 meters | 26:31:300
the water was surprisingly warmer than expected. my feet and hands didn't go numb. my inner ear didn't hurt and I didn't get all dizzy and disoriented when I exited the water. for my first open water swim, I think it all went quite well. especially since they all say you can train and train in the pool, but the open water swim is completely different. yikes! you can see why I was nervous. but other than having a slight problem sighting the buoys and swimming in a relative straight line, it wasn't hard. the distance was definitely doable. my left shoulder hurt with each stroke for a little while, but I think that had something to do with not warming up. and it was pretty fun negotiating other swimmers without getting kicked in the face. I actually loved the swim. I'm all about the open water now.

T1 | 3:42:200
okay, I can probably work on this a little. wearing what I'll be running and biking in under the wetsuit would help. I had to pull on my shorts + tank, which is a little hard while still mostly wet. but at least I didn't forget my helmet {or put it on backwards like this poor soul}

biking out of T1

the bike | 24.8 miles | 1:25:47:900
what can I say about the bike? man, was this section of the course beautiful! seriously. the olympic distance took two laps. so that was two times up the hills at the beginning. but the rest of the course was pretty flat and slightly downhill. nothing too scary, which was good. I tried to push it while not pushing it too hard that I wouldn't have anything left for the run. I liked getting passed by all the men and thinking how at least I was a faster swimmer. hey, you have to be positive in some way out there!

T2 | 1:36:400
this transition was much better. all I had to do was switch shoes and trade the helmet for the visor. easy cheesy.

the jello legs of the T2 run

the run | 6.2 miles | 56:32:100
man. the run. definitely the worst of the three. I should have probably done a few more brick workouts to get used to that bike to run transition. I had the jelly legs and I had it bad. I don't think they ever fully loosened up. and the heat. oh how I can't run in the heat. my body just shuts down. and not to mention the large hill within the first mile. I could have done without that. this is where I wished I had switched to the sprint distance. when I ran past their turnaround point I almost cried. I wish I could say I didn't walk, but I did. man, I need to toughen up. I feel I've lost some of my edge. it's not like I was hurting. my legs and foot felt fine. I was just not lovin' the heat, I guess. even though my legs felt like dead weight and I felt like I was just chugging along at an extremely slow pace, I had actually averaged a little over a 9 minute mile. which isn't too bad under the circumstances.

more cowbell!

the finish | 2:54:09
it was good enough for a second place finish in my age division. I love the cowbell medals. this was totally a fun race and I would recommend it to anyone. and in the end, I'm glad I stuck with the olympic distance. just think what I could do with a little training!

me + jer + mallory + the gun show

"are you trying out that wetsuit, or is the pool really that cold!?"

I picked up the wetsuit from my friend katie. pete and I then went straight to the pool for a quick practice session. the wetsuit fits and I'm ready to go. I like feeling so buoyant, but we'll see if it affects my arms over the long haul.

I can't wait for that uber cold water! bring it on!

goggle malfunction

I'm worried I may need new goggles. can this be happening the week of my triathlon? they were seriously leaking and it was seriously cramping my swimming style. and not only that, but the pool was super murky. all that equalled up to not being able to see very well. and to top it all off, our lane line was broken. and it curved into the middle of our lane because they couldn't get it tight. and sometimes you would swim right into. and that hurts.



warmup

300 moderate
100 fast

200 moderate
200 fast

100 moderate
300 fast

400 fast

2X150

cooldown