Life, Run

Sorry Charming, it will always be Dopey!

It was time for the annual Spooktacular 5k!  Last year, the boys and I dressed as pirates.  This year, D2 didn’t want to go to the run, so he hung out with his cousin.  Darin and I took some time to figure out what we were gonna be about a month ago.  We were trying to think of a couples costume where the guy was bald, because running in a wig just didn’t seem appealing to either of us.  We had narrowed it down to Gru from Despicable Me and the lipstick tazer lady (can’t remember her name) and Snow White and Dopey.  Why not prince Charming?  Well, he’s kinda lame and nothing beats that moment when Snow kisses Dopey on his bald head.  In the end, we decided on Snow White and Dopey.

I’m not the girliest of girls and was a little unsure I could pull off a run in a dress, let alone a tutu, but hey, it’s a Halloween run.  Don’t get me wrong, I see lots of ladies running in tutus and I think they are adorable, it has just never been me.  I decided that for Snow White, it was going to be a tutu.  I’ve done a few costume runs and for me, the costume has to start with a running outfit as a base.  I can’t stand that “costume” fabric used in most commercial costumes against my skin in general and definitely not in a run.  For my costume, I ordered an under armour tank that was moisture wicking and wore running shorts as my base.  I made all the elements like the shoulders and cape easily detachable should they feel like they were chafing or annoying me in any way.  Much to my surprise, I didn’t have to remove anything on the run.  For Darin’s costume, I ordered a brooks long sleeve tech shirt in a larger size than he needed to give that Dopey look.  He work a base layer of shorts and some large fisherman pants on top, which were also easily removable if they got in the way.  We added some accessories (also removable) and I sewed together a quick dwarf style hat.  Other than taking the hat off for a bit, he didn’t have to remove any parts of the costume either thankfully.

It was a rainy morning, but we took it all in stride.  It was a huge relief for me not to be worried about making a specific time or pace.  I just wanted to have a great time and enjoy all the costumes and a great run.  I told Darin we could just take it easy or run at whatever pace he wanted to run.  He said he wanted to try to run the entire thing, with no walk breaks.  He’s done great times with the walk/run method, but hadn’t really done one in which he never took a walk break, not even at the water station.  So, that became the goal of the run, to go at a comfortable enough pace that he could run the entire time without stopping. We set off among all the great costumes and people that always make this event a blast.

The run was great, we took it easy when needed and pushed a little here and there but with no goal in mind other than running and enjoying ourselves.  I pushed out of my comfort zone by shouting “great costume!” whenever I passed someone who really put thought and effort into theirs.  I also commented on the kids costumes, and loved seeing them smile when acknowledged.  It was a great run.  Darin accomplished his goal of running the whole thing in its entirety.  I accomplished my goal of not trying to worry about time and training and just have a good time.  I stopped to reflect on how thankful I am for those moments where the training is not priority, but feeling good, feeling loved and have a great time is.  And while life is no fairy tale, you can work hard to make your dreams come true!  Happy Halloween!!!

Bike, Run, Swim

New Outlook

I decided I am going for it!  I have registered for the Turkey Triathlon.  I’m excited and admittedly a little scared.  I really had no expectations for the first triathlon.  I had no idea what it would be like.  I told myself over and over again that the goal was simply to finish, and I was not worried about how long it took to do it.  Things are different now.  I have numbers swirling through my head and the competitive side of me wants to best those numbers.

The biggest number I want to improve is my swim.  I’m not talking about the time it took, I am talking about the amount of time I spent swimming on my back.  I spent about 80% of my swim on my back the last time.  I don’t expect to take that down to zero this time around, I just haven’t put in enough work for that.  My goal for this swim is to get that down to maybe 50%.  I know it is still a lot of the way on my back, but I want to be realistic.  I’m not working as hard as I should be and I know that, I am just not sure why.

Last Sunday, I took an all day swim seminar.  It was amazing.  For starters, I was out of my comfort zone, which is always good.  There were three students, I was the only female, and two instructors.  It was very weird for me, yet they made us all feel very comfortable.  I am not a big fan of being touched by people I don’t really know, but having someone adjust my position while in the water was extremely helpful in making sure I was getting things right.  The slightest movement of my hand up or down made all the difference in the world.  It was a very enlightening experience and I gained a new perspective on swimming.  They filmed us from several angles at three different points in the day.  To see what a wreck I was in the first video and the progress I made in just a day, was remarkable.  Can I now swim 400 yards with no issue?  No, but I feel a lot more confident that I will get there.

The only negative is that I was completely exhausted not long after we finished up.  I think being in the sun for so many hours and not eating enough really did me in.  I went straight from the class to standing in the fading sun for D2’s last evening kids run.  I was absolutely starving before it even started.  Two hours later we finally went to eat dinner.  I was completely drained after that and crashed hard once I got home and showered.  I woke up with a minor head cold the next morning, which I still feel the remnants of.  I had planned to do drills in my pool Tuesday while the boys were at scouts, but things didn’t work out that way.  I got ready, but while cleaning the pool to get rid of the beetles, I got the chills.  I tried to brush it off and started in to swim, but soon I was covered in goosebumps and my teeth were chattering.  The little voice in my head said I was being an idiot and was going to get more sick if I continued on this path, so I got out and took a hot shower instead.

I still feel like I have this disconnect with swimming that I can’t quite put  my finger on.  I feel like, if I had a lap pool at home, I would be in it all the time.  Part of me knows I cannot do what I want in my own pool so I drill, but part of me also knows that I don’t necessarily want to be at the Sunrise pool either.  I don’t know what it is, but I just have not found that joy for swimming yet.  Sure, I have my days where I don’t look forward to any of this training, but most days, I look forward to a run, bike or weight session.  I even look forward to swimming, but then in that moment where it is time to actually do it, I back out.  Maybe it’s the fear, maybe it’s knowing that it just does not come as easily for me… I don’t know.

One way or another, I am going to have to figure it out, or stop doing triathlons and I think I am too stubborn for that.  I have already set my goals for next year.  After the Turkey Tri, I only have 5ks slated for the rest of the year, mostly fun stuff with the family, but I will still be training because I am going for an Olympic distance tri around March.  That’s double the size of what I have done.  Then, I have some longer run events like the Excalibur 10 mile run and Star Wars half marathon in March and April.  There will be some more sprint triathlons of course, and next October, I plan to hear the words “You are an Ironman” when I cross the finish line after having worked hard and pushing my body 70.3 miles to get there.  I am getting better at positive thinking and visualization.  I know I can do it.  I can see myself crossing that finish line, its just a bit hazy of a vision on the swim part…..maybe it’s that nasty lake water!