The Devil May Leave Now

OMG! I am sorry fellas, but I gotta say this...being a girl sucks sometimes! Hormones all over the place, moods up and down like a roller coaster!! Suddenly you feel 10 pounds bigger and everything feels tight. I am pretty sure that I have been possessed by the devil for the last five days!! I feel sorry for anyone who crosses me when I get like this.

Needless to say, this has been an interesting few days.

Training-wise, I felt run-down on Monday and Tuesday, so Tuesday I skipped my swim because I felt like I was fighting something. I went to bed early Tuesday night and felt great Wednesday morning! Glad I listened to my body.
Wednesday was a great sweat fest for an hour on the bike trainer, and Thursday swim practice. Thursday is about when the devil came and took Jennifer away, so by the time I got to swim practice I was a cranky, miserable you-know-what!! I was standing there waiting for practice to start...friggin' and fraggin' to myself all the while, when I looked up and saw my Mom and Papa (step dad) walking toward me!! What the heck were they doing here? They said they came to watch me practice. I thought this was awfully cute since I am 38 years old!! :) So, they headed over to the bleachers and proceeded to watch my swim practice almost in it's entirety. The cutest and best part was that every time I looked up, Mom was giving me the thumb's up. Mom is always a mom even when I am all grown up!! After practice I asked how I looked (did I look clumsy, smooth, etc?) and Mom convincingly said that I looked great and "better than the two I was swimming next to." How cute...I will always be her little girl! I feel very lucky to have her and Papa.

By the time swim practice was over, I had turned that frown upside-down and had a smile from ear to ear! I learned bilateral breathing. It actually felt more natural to me than unilateral breathing. I have been having issues developing a breathing pattern for myself and coach says I go 4-5 strokes without taking a breath at times. I feel like because on every third stroke, I am not always on the right side to take my breath, so I don't take one...but with breathing on both sides, it works out every time. Of course, I need to practice this, but I think I am going to like it.

Friday brought an amazing run!! The humidity was less than usual here in Tampa and I could feel my run was improving. It's not as difficult as it used to be. I am getting stronger.

Saturday, I rode a beautiful 25 miles along a paved trail through a wooded area here in Tampa. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful morning! I saw a deer...she was so pretty. We very rarely see deer here so this was an extra special treat for me. For the entire 90 minutes, the devil had left and I was feeling like me again. But, that didn't last long and the hormones were raging again soon enough. The devil was back.

This morning he never left...I woke up with him on my back and headed out for my run. I got to the end of the driveway and turned around, vowing to "do it later." Then I said to myself, "no Jen, do it now...you will be happy you did." So, off I went. My 60 minute workout was NOT pretty. BUT, my 60 minute workout got DONE!!! Yes!!!

I was reminded that not every workout will be pretty. Coach says that "the ones that excel are the ones that do it when it is HARD...."!! It was hard and I DID IT!

The devil may leave now...

PS - does anyone know why I can never add a link via Blogger? It just never works. Does it work for you all?

In a Happy Place

The sunrise on my bike ride

I rode up on this! Hilarious!! I actually laughed out loud! Lone baby enjoying a pleasant morning on the water.


So peaceful and so beautiful.

Who knew that training for my first ever triathlon would bring me such joy? Truly. I have been happier with myself since I started training than I have been in a very long time. Maybe ever. I am realizing that every time I do something physical that I doubted I had in me, I make huge gains mentally. I always knew this to be the case, but it feels damn good to see and feel it happening.

The training is bringing me outdoors and any reason to be outdoors is a very good thing. I love nature. I marvel in the beauty around me on my rides and runs. The other night at swim practice, there was a beautiful double rainbow in the sky. I think about how lucky I am to be physically able to do this. It makes me want to push harder.

There will be difficult workouts and days ahead, but as difficult as they might be, I will remember how fortunate I am to be doing this. To be healthy and happy enough to chase a dream and to have some of the most wonderful friends and family in the world to support my dreams.

My Inner Nemo

Today started with a 70 minute bike, followed by a 20 minute run. This ended up taking place on the trainer and treadmill because of thunderstorms. I wasn't thrilled about that, but I was grateful to have a bike trainer and a treadmill so that I could still complete what was on my schedule. All went well and felt very gooooooood.

Then, I went to an indoor pool at a really cool sporting goods store for a one hour private lesson with a really cool swim coach!
I learned so much about my stroke and what I was doing wrong in one hour. I am excited to practice what I learned. I will be swimming with a group on Tuesday and Thursday evenings regularly, which will be a great opportunity to meet like minded people and gain confidence in the water.

In other news...I think my little Puggy has ANOTHER ear infection!! Poor thing. She suffers from allergies and that makes her prone to infections. Every time she finishes antibiotics, it's only a short period of time before she is suffering again. :(

More to come...