training update

So, I figured it was about time to write a little update now that I'm nearly 1 month into Ironman CDA 2010 training! (Didn't want you to think that I wasn't taking the training seriously the second time around...)
I am most definitely taking training seriously. Honestly, out of both respect for this Ironman distance, the race itself, the other athletes out there, and my desire to be as prepared as possible, I'm not sure how I couldn't take it seriously. But the second time around, I am able to not take myself so seriously in it.
I had a different attitude going into this training season and I have slightly different goals (although some of them remain the same as last year).
Some of my pre-season thinking:
1 - I went into it just as excited as last year...well, a different type of excited but still excited. I LOVE TRAINING. I know, I'm a dork. Anyway, the excitement this time was because I remembered how much fun I had last year during training and I was looking forward to experiencing that again. And I was also excited to go into the training with one more year of triathlons under my belt. I'm pretty much 100% an experiential learner so, for me, it's a totally different thing to get out there and know that I can complete "x" number of miles or a certain number of practices in a given week because I've already done it rather than just believing blindly that I can do it - like I did last year! Obviously, a little bit of faith can go a long way, but still, there's something reassuring about doing this a second time around. That being said, this "repeat performance" has its challenges, too...see point #2.
2 - I was curious how it would feel to do be doing these distances again. Did I like last year so much because each weekend brought me a new PR and a new accomplishment since I always seemed to be riding and running distances that were previously unknown to me? Was it going to be a different sort of challenge knowing how difficult some distances/workouts/training weekends are? (In a way...ignorance is bliss when it comes to come things in training!) I wasn't sure what it would all feel like in round 2 of IM training. I figured it would be a good test of whether I really liked this stuff or whether it was the novelty of it that I liked. (This question is answered later...)
3 - I knew I'd be training with a new group of people and that many of them wouldn't be my paces; and, in all honesty, this made me a bit anxious. Some early season injuries set Amy back some and so I wasn't sure who I would run with or bike with. Luckily, Amy's been able to keep up with the biking, but I've been running with some different folks...and some of the same folks...OPRE!!! It's been a good thing for me to learn to run with other people. Otherwise, I get into my little comfort zone, and our group settles into individual roles and we forget to switch it up too much. My training buddies from last year were truly my touchstones and the foundation that I stood on going into each long training weekend and all of the practices in between. I wouldn't have gotten through training without them! Amy and Jim are still around...thankfully... even though they are training for different races. Laura, Blythe, and Liz aren't around like they used to be, and while I miss them, the empty space they left behind when they left has miraculously been filled by new training partners. Mostly Jess for the run...and we're still running with Jim. It really has been a nice surprise for me to be running with Jess and Jim. Makes me feel like there's still a chance of me having a decent run at CDA! They both have more miles of experience so I'm enjoying learning from them. And, well, they are consistent, encouraging, and just darn good company and training buddies. I feel really lucky.
4 - days off and not over-training...I really wanted to work in a day off this time around and thanks to some changes in the T3 schedule, I've been able to do that. I think it's good for me both mentally and physically...and socially as it gives me some flexibility. And I've promised myself not to over-train, to stick to the plan, to be okay with not being at every spin/run/swim that I can possibly be at. This feels good so far although I'm learning that it's in my nature to over-do it. I know, you are shocked!
5 - goals...ahhh...goals.... I feel this desire to set them - and this resistance to setting them all the same. Goals are a double-edged sword for me. If I don't set them, I feel like I haven't really pushed myself and I've just gone through the motions (which is not all together a bad thing either!). But if I do set them, then I risk not reaching them and feeling like I've failed in some way. Especially this second time around. If last time really was about finishing and proving to myself that I could do this Ironman thing, then what would this time be about? I actually spent a lot of time thinking about that before training started. Here's what I came up with:
- I wanted this to continue being fun...meeting this goal so far!
- I wanted to approach each practice and give it 100% (even if that 100% was only whatever 80% I had left in me). Last year I was uncertain of how my body would recover and of how I would handle this sort of training. So while I definitely worked hard at each practice, I usually held back a little knowing that I had another workout in less than 12 hours. This time, I want to give it my all. Note: that does NOT mean killing myself at each practice. It does mean pushing myself a little further than I think I can go at each practice. So far, this feels really good and I think it's making me stronger - if in no other way, stronger in pushing through pain...which I'll need on June 27.
- I wanted to think more about nutrition and how it relates to my performance. An early season meeting with Meredith seems to have been really helpful in my tweaking my diet some...more protein, consistent recovery drinks, thinking about when I eat what, etc... I feel really good, and it's been fun to switch up my diet some. Of course, those Junior Mints at the movie yesterday were not on my nutrition plan but a girl's got to splurge every once in a while! (At least it wasn't a box of Thin Mints!!!)
- Finally, I will eventually set some time goals for CDA. I know one already...beat my time from last year!
So, checking in at week #4, training and life are good. Really good. I'm thankful to be doing this again; I'm thankful for all of the support that my friends, teammates, coaches, and family offer me; and I'm thankful for the resources and the health to pursue IM #2. Onward and upward...hoping to remain injury-free (this time last year I was aqua jogging...currently hoping a "twinge" in my lower leg doesn't lead me back there but know I'll be okay if it does!). Excited to be running a little faster and stronger (except that Jess and I have made a pact not to try to set PRs on each long run...it's more about the miles...) and excited to be perhaps 1 mph faster on the bike than I was this time last year. I know, that doesn't sound like a lot...but it is. At least mentally if not physically.
And Ironman is, if nothing else, a HUGE mental game. That I love to play.