"Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done whether you like it or not." Thomas Huxley
Well, as of Friday night about 10:00, I still didn't know if the ride would be cancelled or not, so I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. and went to bed. When the alarm went off I headed in to the computer to see what was going on. At that point the storm had still not passed and the ride was still on but the website said to stay posted for an update at 5:30.
I made my breakfast and sat in front of the computer for the next half hour waiting. The 5:30 posting said they still weren't sure - stay tuned for the next update at 6:30. What to do? If I waited until 6:30 and the ride WAS on, I wouldn't make it on time. So, I got dressed, loaded the car and stared that way, checking for updates at stop signs and stoplights. And around 6:20 the update came that the ride was being cancelled.
I headed back home, took the bike off the car so I could close the garage door, and climbed back in bed. And I stayed in bed until almost 10:00. Wow! Haven't done that in a long time.
Once I got up I knew what I had to do. It was a cold, rainy day and it would have been nice to cuddle up on the couch and watch basketball all day, but I headed to the trainer where I would be for the next two hours. I got off, ate lunch and then headed to the pool. I wasn't sure what my workout would be, but when I got there I decided to just swim straight through. 3,000 yards later I was done.
I thought I was done for the day but had told my daughter I would help clean out her closet. I spent a couple of hours helping her clean. Can I log that in my training log????
Since it had been a pretty full day, we decided Saturday night to sleep in Sunday morning and go to late service. That was nice. But as soon as we got home from church I knew I needed to get in a long run. The sun was out today, but the wind was still gusting at 20+ mph. I wimped out and hit the treadmill. But thanks to March Madness, my mind wasn't on running. Ninety minutes later it was time to stop.
So despite the disappointment of not getting in a nice, long, outdoor ride, I did get a lot of training in this weekend.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Day by Day - Lots Going On
"It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the chain of destiny can be handled at a time." Winston Churchill
This quote is true in life as it is in training, and it hit me last weekend as Madison and I were traveling to Houston for her volleyball tournament.
For this tournament, it was just Madison and I. I've got relatives in Houston and have driven there many times, so I know how to get there. But once there, well that's a different story. Our hotel was in downtown Houston and there are just too many roads. So before we left, I set the Tom Tom to lead me where I needed to go.
After getting gas and a quick bite to eat, we were off. My plan was to take 290. As soon as I made the turn to 290 I saw bumper-to-bumper traffic for as far as I could see. I knew it would take over half an hour just to go a few miles. Madison was suppose to be in Houston by a certain time for a team meeting and we were already pushing it timewise, so I made a quick decision to take the toll road to 71 and head into Houston that way. It's not a way I'm familiar with, but I had the Tom Tom. I just had to trust it.
Luckily Highway 71 takes you pretty much all the way to Houston so I didn't have to turn for a couple of hours. But as we got closer to Houston the Tom Tom would tell me which road to take next and which way to turn. It wouldn't tell me anything other than the next step I needed to take.
And that's when it hit me that my trip with the Tom Tom was kind of like my trip to Ironman. In both cases I know my starting point and the end point. But the journey in between is a journey I'm unfamiliar with. I have a plan (the directions from the Tom Tom and the training plan for Ironman) and as long as I follow the next step, I should arrive at my destination as planned. So for Ironman training, as long as I look at each days training schedule and follow the plan, I should be ok. I can't worry about what I have 2 months down the road. I have to accomplish TODAY's plan.
Accomplishing "today's" plan is not always as easy as it sounds, however. Driving to the tournament Friday night right after work and arriving at 9pm, then having a parent meeting, then upacking and putting drinks on ice meant it was late and I was not getting in a workout.
Despite wanting desparately to sleep in Saturday morning, I set my alarm clock for 6:30 am and got up and headed to the treadmill for an hour run. It was hard to do, but I'm glad that I did. After that it was breakfast, getting the girls to stay active, lunch and then off to the convention center for their afternoon bracket. The girls played well, but played some good teams and ended up ranked 3rd for that pool. We didn't get finished until 9:30. Then the girls still had to shower and eat dinner before getting into bed. Add to that the time change, and there was no way I was setting an early alarm for a Sunday morning workout. I told myself if I woke up on my own I would head down.
Needless to say, I sleep until that last minute alarm Sunday morning. It was up to shower, eat and load the car before heading to the convention center for todays games. The girls won one and lost one and were done. As I mentioned earlier, I have relatives in Houston. My Aunt and Uncle had come Saturday night and my other Aunt and Grandma came today. After we were done we went out to eat with them. By the time we were done and on the road it was a little after 4:00.
We got home just after 7:00. I unloaded the car and then settled in my recliner to relax for a bit before heading to bed at 9:00.
Monday morning it was VERY difficult to get up. I had a tough time staying awake at work and even went to take a nap in my car at lunch. My body would have been perfectly happy going home from work and napping again before going to bed early. I was exhausted. But my training schedule had something different on it. I wasn't sure how my workouts would go since I was so exhausted, but I did them anyway. And I felt better. And I wasn't as tired.
It's taken all week to feel like I've gotten caught up on rest, but I have managed to get in all my workouts so far. I'm hoping to get in my long bike ride tomorrow, but after a beautiful week with temps in the 70s, the forecast shows temps in the 50s with possible thunder showers and wind gust from 14-24mph. It's an organized pay ride, so it may be officially called off. In that case, I'll likely spend a few hours on the trainer. Oh joy. This time, I'm hoping the weatherman is wrong.
This quote is true in life as it is in training, and it hit me last weekend as Madison and I were traveling to Houston for her volleyball tournament.
For this tournament, it was just Madison and I. I've got relatives in Houston and have driven there many times, so I know how to get there. But once there, well that's a different story. Our hotel was in downtown Houston and there are just too many roads. So before we left, I set the Tom Tom to lead me where I needed to go.
After getting gas and a quick bite to eat, we were off. My plan was to take 290. As soon as I made the turn to 290 I saw bumper-to-bumper traffic for as far as I could see. I knew it would take over half an hour just to go a few miles. Madison was suppose to be in Houston by a certain time for a team meeting and we were already pushing it timewise, so I made a quick decision to take the toll road to 71 and head into Houston that way. It's not a way I'm familiar with, but I had the Tom Tom. I just had to trust it.
Luckily Highway 71 takes you pretty much all the way to Houston so I didn't have to turn for a couple of hours. But as we got closer to Houston the Tom Tom would tell me which road to take next and which way to turn. It wouldn't tell me anything other than the next step I needed to take.
And that's when it hit me that my trip with the Tom Tom was kind of like my trip to Ironman. In both cases I know my starting point and the end point. But the journey in between is a journey I'm unfamiliar with. I have a plan (the directions from the Tom Tom and the training plan for Ironman) and as long as I follow the next step, I should arrive at my destination as planned. So for Ironman training, as long as I look at each days training schedule and follow the plan, I should be ok. I can't worry about what I have 2 months down the road. I have to accomplish TODAY's plan.
Accomplishing "today's" plan is not always as easy as it sounds, however. Driving to the tournament Friday night right after work and arriving at 9pm, then having a parent meeting, then upacking and putting drinks on ice meant it was late and I was not getting in a workout.
Despite wanting desparately to sleep in Saturday morning, I set my alarm clock for 6:30 am and got up and headed to the treadmill for an hour run. It was hard to do, but I'm glad that I did. After that it was breakfast, getting the girls to stay active, lunch and then off to the convention center for their afternoon bracket. The girls played well, but played some good teams and ended up ranked 3rd for that pool. We didn't get finished until 9:30. Then the girls still had to shower and eat dinner before getting into bed. Add to that the time change, and there was no way I was setting an early alarm for a Sunday morning workout. I told myself if I woke up on my own I would head down.
Needless to say, I sleep until that last minute alarm Sunday morning. It was up to shower, eat and load the car before heading to the convention center for todays games. The girls won one and lost one and were done. As I mentioned earlier, I have relatives in Houston. My Aunt and Uncle had come Saturday night and my other Aunt and Grandma came today. After we were done we went out to eat with them. By the time we were done and on the road it was a little after 4:00.
We got home just after 7:00. I unloaded the car and then settled in my recliner to relax for a bit before heading to bed at 9:00.
Monday morning it was VERY difficult to get up. I had a tough time staying awake at work and even went to take a nap in my car at lunch. My body would have been perfectly happy going home from work and napping again before going to bed early. I was exhausted. But my training schedule had something different on it. I wasn't sure how my workouts would go since I was so exhausted, but I did them anyway. And I felt better. And I wasn't as tired.
It's taken all week to feel like I've gotten caught up on rest, but I have managed to get in all my workouts so far. I'm hoping to get in my long bike ride tomorrow, but after a beautiful week with temps in the 70s, the forecast shows temps in the 50s with possible thunder showers and wind gust from 14-24mph. It's an organized pay ride, so it may be officially called off. In that case, I'll likely spend a few hours on the trainer. Oh joy. This time, I'm hoping the weatherman is wrong.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Getting It Done
"Champions in any field have made a habit of doing what others find boring or uncomfortable." Anonymous
For whatever reasons (weather, kid's activities, etc.) a lot of my workouts lately have been inside on the treadmill or trainer. And honestly, I find both of those somewhat boring. And today, on my 2 hour trainer ride, it was even a little uncomfortable. But, I'm getting the workouts in somehow. I may have to rearrange them, but they are getting done. And I'm happy with that. I would like to get more long rides on the bike outside since I have a century ride next month, but I'll do what I can to get ready.
And while the kid's activities definitely alter my training schedule, I love watching my kids play their sports. We've had a lot of volleyball lately. Since I played volleyball in middle school and high school, I really enjoy watching volleyball. The girls have had a tough season (several injuries leading to changes in the lineup), but are definitely getting better and coming together as a team. They took third in the tournament this morning and played really well. They also had fun doing it, which I think is key. Today's 3rd place was a positive as they get ready for a big tournament coming up. Madison also had her first track meet last week and did really well running the 2400m. I think she might even beat me in a head-to-head race.
Soccer for my son will hopefully start this coming weekend. It's the start of spring break, so we need to make sure we'll have enough players (as will the other team). If not, that will be rescheduled. The boys got first place in a tournament a couple of weekends ago, so they should be ready and should have a good season. My son is also gearing up for his People to People trip to Australia this summer. And YES, I'm VERY jealous.
In order to fit it all in and let them have fun in the meantime, I'll do boring and uncomfortable if I have to.
For whatever reasons (weather, kid's activities, etc.) a lot of my workouts lately have been inside on the treadmill or trainer. And honestly, I find both of those somewhat boring. And today, on my 2 hour trainer ride, it was even a little uncomfortable. But, I'm getting the workouts in somehow. I may have to rearrange them, but they are getting done. And I'm happy with that. I would like to get more long rides on the bike outside since I have a century ride next month, but I'll do what I can to get ready.
And while the kid's activities definitely alter my training schedule, I love watching my kids play their sports. We've had a lot of volleyball lately. Since I played volleyball in middle school and high school, I really enjoy watching volleyball. The girls have had a tough season (several injuries leading to changes in the lineup), but are definitely getting better and coming together as a team. They took third in the tournament this morning and played really well. They also had fun doing it, which I think is key. Today's 3rd place was a positive as they get ready for a big tournament coming up. Madison also had her first track meet last week and did really well running the 2400m. I think she might even beat me in a head-to-head race.
Soccer for my son will hopefully start this coming weekend. It's the start of spring break, so we need to make sure we'll have enough players (as will the other team). If not, that will be rescheduled. The boys got first place in a tournament a couple of weekends ago, so they should be ready and should have a good season. My son is also gearing up for his People to People trip to Australia this summer. And YES, I'm VERY jealous.
In order to fit it all in and let them have fun in the meantime, I'll do boring and uncomfortable if I have to.
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