Tri/Half Week #2

Monday - Biked 1 hour

I told Rob before I went to bed I was going to the track workout with the triathletes.  I had planned on it.  The alarm went off and I was wide awake.  I just could not go.  I don't what it was.  I think just anxiety of running with people who are so much faster than me (but don't care and are still really nice and encouraging--I know it doesn't make sense!).  I did get up at 5:30 though and biked to Minto Brown, all around the park, and back home.  It was an amazing bike ride and so cool to see the mist coming off the pond and river...so beautiful out in the morning.  Hardly any traffic to deal with either.  Loved it.  So I guess it's not a total loss.

I have told people one of the main reasons I joined the triathlon club is because I am sick of exercising alone.  But now I think honestly I love exercising alone and would almost prefer it.  It's the only alone time I get in a day.  Being an extrovert I love to be around people and almost NEED to be around people in order to function at my best.  I guess I'm introverted when it comes to exercise.  Although for some reason I love swimming with others.  I might be doing my first open water swim with Matt & Denise later in the week.  I will go to a track workout again soon.  I will get myself there.

Tuesday - Ran 4 miles

Very hard to get up this morning.  Little motivation and mild anxiety.  Thankfully today was a great day and we had a lot of fun.  I am loving the summer mode.  I did run at 7 AM and was back before Rob had to go to the office.  It was a nice run.  My body feels a little tight and I don't feel totally back in the groove yet.  But I am doing OK.  I am slowly increasing my mileage hoping to peak at 13 by early late July/early August.

Wednesday - Swam 1 hour

I did the next personal workout from Swim Plan.  The triathletes informed me they wouldn't be here this week so I wasn't really expecting them.  The gym was like a ghost town because it is the first official day of summer for the public schools so everyone is sleeping in.  She said it will start picking up again.  I so did not want to get up this morning, but I knew I would feel better once I did.  The Swim plan workout was hard, but I wanted to really push myself.  It was a lot of 25 yards and 50's as the warm up and then 1000 yards with the pull buoy.  That was huge and took forever, but I stuck with it.

Thursday - Rest

I decided to skip out of Group Power this morning and sleep in.  I was so tired last night and didn't sleep great.  I figured I worked out three mornings in a row and my body needed the break.  I also just have absolutely no interest in Power right now. I don't know why.  I can't go to Power Friday or Saturday due to a full weekend so I will have to table it to next week and figure out why I don't want to go to it.  :(

Friday - Bike 3 1/2 miles, Group Power, Swim 1/2 hour, Bike 3 1/2 miles

Now I know why I didn't want to go to Group Power.  You skip for several weeks and go back and it's brutal.  This whole workout kicked my butt and I literally felt sick until around 4 PM today.  I started the workout at 8:45 AM.  The weather was fine, but it was really windy biking.  Power was hard.  The triceps, biceps, and core were the hardest--but it was all challenging.  I did another swim on swim plan which had lots of backstroke on it.  My backstroke is really slow and I hit the lady in the lane with me twice with my arm...I hope she wasn't annoyed.  I felt so sluggish swimming.  I showered at the gym and that meant biking home in my jeans.  Which was OK, but I was so exhausted by that point.  I really just wanted to get home.  I was so hungry when I got home, tired, and thirsty.  I probably did not eat enough nor drink enough before the workout.  I am glad I stuck it out.  Years ago if I would have felt like how I did this morning I would have just sat it out and not even tried.

I need to try to go to Power at least once a week.  Twice would be ideal, but I can't make that work with my schedule.  It really does help all the cardio activities I do.  I just wish they offered it on Wednesday and Friday mornings like they used to.  Thursday early morning and Friday mid morning are really the only times I can go most weeks.

Saturday - Rest

I did not run yesterday and not sure if I am going to be able to today.  We will see how the day goes.  I am struggling a little bit with some mood issues.  I often do this time of year.  Last year I had one of the worst anxiety set backs I have had since the 90's.  Some of it was circumstances.  I was dealing with some irrational people (that I know are irrational and everyone else knew...and they all had my back) but their verbal attacks still hurt like crazy.  I daresay it's not totally in the past yet.  I really learned a lot about loving your enemies, having a humble heart, and looking at the plank in your own eye before seeing the sawdust in another person's.  Sometimes it's hard going through life knowing someone out there despises you when you are a people pleaser like myself.  This year thankfully it's been nothing to that degree at all.  Even the cloudy and cooler days mixed with rain we always get in June have not bothered me like they used to.  Warm summery weather does not really begin here until the 4th of July and sometimes even mid July. I was always used to late May/early June when I lived in the Midwest.  The nice thing is it often sticks around until October--last year we still had some warm days even in late October and early November.  We don't have humidity.  I am not used to humidity anymore.  Last year in Philly many of us felt sick at times from all the humidity and the air conditioning aka artificial air as we usually turn on our A/C 1-2 weeks out of the summer.  It cools enough by 8 PM that we shut it off for the night.

Anyway this whole mood downer has really affected my exercise this week.  I did workout Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday, but my heart wasn't in it.  It was so hard to get started and going.  Afterwards I still felt like I was in a lull.  I feel more agitated this morning and frustrated at the kids.  I feel zero motivation.  I am hoping it's just temporary and will turn around soon.

My heart is not into trying to do this half marathon in August.  I like the idea of the triathlon in September, but only if I can get some open water swims in.  Denise is really interested in swimming with me as soon as the weather gets warmer again.  I think a half marathon in the winter is very possible or else holding off until next spring.  I really don't want to push myself to get my mileage so high by August.  I'd rather take my time getting there.