Keepin' it FUN!

Aaahh, the beauty of a 3 day weekend. Saturday morning I got up early and went for a nice long run in the rain. I ran a little over 8 miles feeling great! I love to run in the rain! Have I mentioned that before? I was going to ride my bike to the gym to swim, but since I had a long ride scheduled for Sunday and I didn't want to get my gears all gunked up with crap from the road (basically I was too lazy to clean my bike on Saturday afternoon) I drove to the pool instead and met my honey for a swim. I spent the afternoon with a friend of mine- having lunch, painting pottery, and trading gossip. Also got to visit with another friend who is about to deliver her first baby any day! She looks great! From someone who doesn't plan to have children (ME) she is an inspiration- she has enjoyed her pregnancy and been excited about the baby from the first moment. Every time I talked with her she was in good spirits and had nothing but positive things to say! Amazing. I have no doubt her daughter will inherit her attitude!

Anyway, I tried to go to bed early on Saturday but didn't sleep well. Anticipation for the long ride on Sunday? Doubtful! Sunday, I crawled out of bed just before 5 am. I was on my bike by 5:30 and rode hills for 6 hours and 50 minutes. 108 miles. Thank God it wasn't hot this weekend! I had to keep making bargains with myself to actually get through the ride. You can turn around in Fountain Hills and then just ride a loop of Usery. But I made it through Fountain Hills. Then, Ok you can turn around at the bottom of 9 mile hill and ride some flats around home for a bit. But I made it to the top of 9 mile. And then it was, just keep going, get back to Sheepherder's park and you can stop for water. When I made it there, I did stop for water. I almost called my sister for some motivation. Thankfully, Dan was getting a massage so I couldn't call him to come get me. Seriously, I was ready to totally wimp out! But I didn't, I finished the ride, and actually felt ok. When I started my transition run I told myself I'd turn around at the 2 mile mark. Then I realized that I was running a great pace and so I kept going! I finished the 50 minutes as scheduled. Then into the ice bath and on to Rubio's for my recovery lunch (grilled shrimp burrito)- YUM!

Monday did not go quite as well. I actually started my run with a great attitude. I figured since my transition run went so well on Sunday, I'd probably run my usual pace for the long run (around 9 min per mile). Sorely mistaken. I drove to Tempe to run on the IMAZ course- love it cause there's water (and bathrooms!) on both sides of the lake and a few hills for me to climb. When I hopped out of my car and took off, I knew something was a little off. Someone had filled my legs with lead overnight and didn't warn me! I thought I'd get warmed up after a couple of miles... no such luck. Finally when my shoes were scuffing the ground with every step I decided that I was not doing myself any good by finishing the run. If anything, I'm causing more damage to my already tired muscles. IM CDA is 4 weeks away. I'm trained. Nothing at this point is going to make or break my race. So after 13 miles (averaging a horrific 10:40 pace) I hobbled back to my car and gave up. I left the last 7 miles out on the road for someone else to finish. And I felt like crap the rest of the day. Why is it that we beat ourselves up for having a bad training session? Why should one run determine my self worth for the day? It shouldn't right? This is not who I am, I am not being paid to do this. This is a passion, a hobby, a sport. If it's not fun, I wouldn't be doing it. SO (yelling at myself) LET'S KEEP IT FUN!

The rest of the day was actually very productive. I pounded out 4200 yards in the pool and we cleaned out our storage unit - finally! We've had our house for 2 years now and have paid for a storage unit every month because we were to lazy to take the time to clean it out! Finally done. Then we barbequed some chicken for dinner. And best of all, I got to sleep in today!

So the weekend was good and bad. And long. And way too short. And really hard at times. But best of all... I survived my longest training ride....I ran 38 miles in the last week....I still love to swim.... I am not injured....and I am excited for the next time I can strap on my goggles, my helmet, or my running shoes and get out there and live life to it's fullest!