Part of my goal during this Ironman training was/is to get more mentally tough on the run when fatigued from swimming and biking. This week has gone a long way in improving my mental toughness and confidence. On top of training, it has been a really stressful week for two of us on this team, for different reasons. In spite of the chaos and emotional burdens, we hammered out some great workouts. It is really nice to have the team all back together and on the same page…. thanks Mike 🙂
Tuesday’s are crazy for me. This Tuesday called for a 1.75 hour bike in the am (we start at 4:30 am) and a 45-60 minute run in the afternoon. So… after waking at 4:15, biking, and teaching all day I got myself out there for that run. Although it was a lot warmer, the wind was wicked!! About 20mph. In the past, knowing I was running by myself (without the group) I would have been very tempted to blow off this run. Even as I waited for my GPS to lock into a satellite outside school, I had thoughts of that creeping into my head. I pushed them away, hit start on my watch and had a great run all by myself. Got back to school with just enough time to shower off and head to Viterbo University for my night gig teaching Human Biology. I am using these experiences to do some mental checks when it comes to racing this summer and ultimately at IM. I am pretty sure that teaching all day in a high school could be equivalent to a swim and bike at least in an Olympic distance in terms of fatigue. So to do a 50 minute run with strong winds in a really respectable time is providing me with a mental note to myself when I am racing this year. “Girl, you ran pretty fast after ………., so put on your big girl panties and pick up that pace.”
Yesterday’s long workout proved to be another mental victory not only for me, but for the entire team. 2 hour bike with 2 sets of intervals at z3/z4. We actually were late on one of the intervals because we were all enthralled with the show we were watching, “Men of a Certain Age.” Too funny. Then a quick transition off to an hour run at Z2. I felt GREAT!! Paul ran with me and we were chatting the whole way, running a steady 9:08 per mile pace. Rob kept Pam and Mike running together and they averaged 9:24 pace. Wow…. what an impressive group. Each step I took put more confidence into my mental capability to realize my physical abilities. Paul was thrilled to run with me and feel so good. Rob (let’s be real, could have put us all to shame as he is a much faster runner and has proven his mental toughness over and over) said he needed a run in which he felt great as well. Keeping the group together added to his satisfying feeling on that run. Pam overcame a week’s worth of stress and strife, and a pretty quick run the evening before, to log in an impressive brick. And Mike…… is getting his cup more filled with confidence. We will continue to push him to realize his talents and win his mental battles along the way.
And….. the icing on the cake is that after all of these physical victories, we celebrated our successes as only our team can do. Eating a lot of food and laughing until our sides split! This is the true joy of this experience. Watching your friend giggle from her toes after a week of nastiness and negativeness. Seeing your friend glow with a new found confidence in his abilities. Gathering at a friend’s house and feeling as comfortable as you would in your own home. Thank you team, for these great memories and the support to win my mental battles.