Thursday, January 24, 2013

Training Day Thursday

Training.  What can I say?  I love it.  I am by no means a world class athlete, nor do I think of myself as such, but triathlon is the sport I love.  Training keeps me out of trouble, and gives me something fun to focus on.  The healthy lifestyle suits me and am passionate about training for a race.  Race day is an adrenaline rush beyond compare!


I will say, however it has been a bit of a drag to train this week and last.  It has been extremely cold in Carmel, IN.  The fun is somewhat stifled when there is no alternative but to train inside.  8 miles on the treadmill or a 2 to 3 hour ride on my bike atop the trainer is not very exciting. It feels good when I'm finished.  I do love to swim in the winter, and I find the long laps in the pool soothing.  Of course I adore my trips to the Cycle Studio with my gal pals or to the gym with my other peeps.  It takes a village.

The first event of the spring is The Bourbon Cycling Tour in April.  It's a 150 mile overnight ride along the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky.  It is rumored to be a blast!  100 miles on Saturday and 50 miles on Sunday.  It even involves camping, which is something I haven't done in years.  Side note: you might be surprised to learn that I actually love camping, and everything that goes along with it.  I'm talking tent pitching, sleeping on the ground, no civilization or other campers around, fishing for dinner kind of camping.   I seem to have developed the reputation of being a "girly girl" in recent years.  On the contrary, I'm not afraid to get dirty.  In fact, one of my favorite memories is spending time in Sun Valley, Idaho one summer with a good friend (a boy of course).  1990 maybe?  We spent a weekend hiking into the mountains, making our own campsite in the middle of grizzly country.  Of course he was armed, and fortunately we never encountered a bear.  The excitement of a possible grizzly run-in was enough to make the trip worthwhile, however.  True story.

The second event is in May, and is a one day 100 mile ride across 3 states and 3 mountains starting in Tennessee.  Not hills...mountains.  To say we will be climbing is a bit of an understatement.  Bring it on.

The third event of the spring, and the first triathlon of the year is Ironman Kansas 70.3 triathlon. It is rumored to be a difficult race, but also a favorite among the athletes I know who have raced it.  I love a good challenge!

It will be a fun spring season!  And then, training continues for the summertime races.  There is always something on the horizon to anticipate.

Today's training was pretty awesome, despite the fact that I was indoors. 17 degree temps made the warmth of the gym feel quite welcoming.  I made it fun.  4000 meters in the pool followed by 2 hours on the bike.  It's amazing what great music can do, and it's always a great time to think.  I workout in the morning if I can swing it, and it always sets my mood to happy.  It's a great way to start the day.  Tomorrow....more training.  Of course work takes up the bulk of my day, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't make worthy blogging material (blogging about my blogging... ha ha ha).  Yawn.



So that's where I am today.  Happy and focused.  It's about 6:00pm and time for me to move on to my second job; being a Mommy and cooking dinner for the kiddos.  Y'all take it easy now, see you soon!

Peace out,
M    xoxo



4 comments:

  1. Phew, I need to wipe the sweat from my forehead as I read this post. I can see why you look like that in the picture, muscles included. Nothing better than the kids having a fit healthy mum who is full of beans. I can just imagine you challenging all their mates when they get older (fun). How will the kids/friends cope with a mother who out-runs them at every sporting activity? ha ha ha.

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  2. Seems you had a great time. Its good to see that insipte of having a husband and kids you are able to find time for your self! :)

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  3. There's nothing quite like pushing yourself for events, especially when you are passionate about it. I used to live in the mountains of NC, which are the same mountains of TN. Beautiful up there. I know I couldn't handle a bike ride through that, but man, it would be beautiful....

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  4. The Bourbon Cycling Tour sounds like a blast! I feel for ya, training in that kind of weather. There is NO way I could spend 2-3 hours on an indoor bike. I love working out, too, and am fortunate to live in Georgia where you can be outside all year round. Good luck on your upcoming events, Michelle!

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