I'm doing it!

Just 27 days now!

Everything is starting to come together. Travel plans are set, I have my new trisuit and wetsuit, and I'm pretty sure I have my race day nutrition plan figured out.

Still the only thing that concerns me is my bike. I took my aero bars off last week because I knew I didn't have enough time to get comfortable with them and it made bike handling trickier with the added weight. But I still didn't feel comfortable with them off. It felt twitchy- I had trouble riding in drops and my wrists and neck hurt during the whole ride. I went back to the bike shop and had my bike readjusted a little bit. It feels so much better, but I think something is still off. My wrists were hurting towards the end of my 3+ hour ride last week. I'm going to give it another ride or two before I go back for more tweaking just to make sure it's the bike and not just me needing to get used to a new position.

I emailed my training advisor last week asking how much of the training plan a typical/healthy athlete actually manages to finish each week. I haven't been able to complete everything and it was starting to mess with my mind. She said that most, including her, are happy with finishing 70% each week. What?! That's how much I manage! I'm normal! That was a huge relief.
I felt confident I was going to finish and I felt strong, but I was getting frustrated with myself just because I felt like I wasn't living up to what other athletes were doing. Skipping training sessions- or cutting them short- every week made me feel like I was failing at this. It was like- on paper- I was just lazy and slacking... even though I knew I was giving it everything I had.
So I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders when she said 70% was realistic.

She looked at what training I have completed each week and said:

You need to stop stressing.
Here are the facts:
1. you are going to finish this race
2. you are going to finish your first 70.3 quicker then I finished my first 70.3
3. when you cross that finish line you are going to be so happy and forget all about this stress you are putting on yourself
From the looks of the sessions you are completing..you are fine! so do not worry your overachieving mind!!!

This makes me feel so much better.

Last week and next week I have Race Rehearsal days. On the Wednesdays I have a 2400 yard continuous swim. Last week I hit the lap button on my watch after each 600 yard portion was complete, and my pace was pretty consistent- and my last 600 was faster than the two middle 600s. I'll do that again next week and time it again. The distance is slightly longer than race distance (2112 yards), so I feel pretty good about my swim time on race day.

Last Thursday and next Thursday I have the bike and run portion of the race rehearsal: 3.5 hours on the bike at race effort followed by a 1 hour race pace run. I struggled with this last week and I couldn't maintain my race pace. But I still hung in there and put in the effort and got to practice my hydration and nutrition plan. And I was okay with not performing up to race day standards. It wasn't race day! Even my training plan said:

Treat this workout exactly like race day. You may be a little fatigued for this workout. On race day you'll be tapered and totally stoked

I can't even believe that the race is less than 4 weeks away. Time is flying! Overall, I'm feeling pretty good about it.

My main hopes and goals for the next 27 days are to ride out on the roads with some friends as much as possible to get more comfortable, and to nail down my bike fit so I'm not sore after each ride, and to hopefully get at least one open water swim in to try out my wetsuit and just get practice.
Open water swimming is nothing like pool swimming! I won't be able to practice in the ocean before the race, so a lake swim here is my only open water option... but this weather needs to cooperate! Last I heard the lake was 41 degrees! That's chilly!

Physically I'm doing okay. I managed to rip half my big toenail off last week while taking my shoe off (seriously, how do I do these things?), but luckily it hasn't interfered with training and doesn't hurt anymore.
My back pain from January never actually went away, but it was more annoying than anything. Yesterday it starting hurting a lot again and I'm not sure what I did to aggravate it, but most of the pain had subsided by the time I woke up this morning, so I hopefully it doesn't give me any trouble in the pool today.
Energy-wise I'm tired. But I'm always tired. But it's okay because I can still manage at least 70% of my training, so I'm staying calm and not letting myself freak out about it. Progress!

Oh, and no big deal, but after this week... I start tapering. WHAT?!

This sums up this whole process.

Fifty-nine

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last couple months have had set backs and gains. Freak outs and boosts of confidence. Worries and excitement.
It's been a couple months of learning and growth.

I suppose I should start at the beginning.

In the beginning... there was Christmas! We went home to Michigan for 10 days and had a really good time. There was a lot of family time but also enough downtime. Nathan and I got some good runs in along the miles of dirt roads surrounding my parent's house, and I managed to get in a couple of key bike rides on my trainer. That was my ultimate goal for our trip; do my key rides and runs and skip the rest. I had no pool access, but I was fine with that. I figured I'd start back fresh in January and not lose too much by taking a couple weeks off.

At the end of our trip I came down with strep throat and an ear infection, then bronchitis a few days later. So much for starting back fresh in January! I had no choice other than to rest. After a week and a half I was able to ease back into things.

Before I was healthy again, my mid back started hurting. I didn't think much of it- my muscles are often sore and knotty. But it started hurting to breathe or sit up straight- and especially to swim. It also felt like my mid-back needed to crack- something was off- so I went to my chiropractor. I had a few ribs out of place and he got them back to where they should be, but after that it still hurt to breathe in. He said it could be two things; a rib stress fracture or an intercostal muscle strain, and it probably wasn't a fracture since I tolerated the adjustment okay. Rest and ibuprofen. More rest? Oh no! But still- no stress fracture- things could have been worse. But all of this was brought on by my violent coughing. Of course I'd get injured from bronchitis!

I went to my massage therapist the next day and she spent the entire hour on just my back. The strain and the rib displacement had sent my entire back into spasm. She said rib injuries are tricky to treat and recover from. That I needed to rest. For a least a week I was not to swim or bike or do anything that involved having my arms in front of me with any amount of weight in them (including washing dishes- thanks, Nathan!) By this point I was freaking out. I couldn't swim! And I had no definite time line of when I could again. Luckily running didn't make it worse- it hurt to breathe in but it didn't aggravate my muscles. I needed a couple more adjustments for my ribs that stubbornly didn't want to stay in place, but after a week I did a test ride and felt good. Another week after that I did a test swim of easy un-timed pace, and again, aside from the painful inhalations I made it through without any issues.

Hurrah!

It still hurts to breathe in, but the pain is isolated and not causing other issues. And my pace isn't slower after all that time off from swimming. No need to freak out, after all!

Last Monday I did my longest bike ride to date (3:05), and last Tuesday I did my longest run to date (13.5 miles!) I'm starting to feel strong.

Some of my early training freak outs involved not having any ideas of my race day hydration and nutrition needs. I was clueless! And my training sessions weren't long enough to figure it out.
But finally my durations and distances are long enough to where I can figure it out and that's getting really exciting!

Towards the end of my ride on Monday my quads started cramping and it felt like they were about to get really bad. I got off my bike and ate salt straight from the salt shaker and managed to finish the ride. But it hurt! After my ride I ate more salt and a banana and walked around and my quads started behaving again. So now I know- I must be a salty sweater and need to replace what I'm losing. Otherwise, my nutrition seemed perfect. Finally, I'm learning things and I'm getting somewhere!

On my long run a couple weeks ago I only brought my nutrition and one bottle of water. Mistake! I need more water. Apparently dehydration affects me just as bad-if not worse- as hitting the Wall of Glycogen Depletion.
I brought along 2 bottles of water last Tuesday and felt so much better by the end of my run. But that still wasn't enough; I kept trying in vain to get every drop out of my water bottles during those last 20 minutes. But my nutrition was perfect, and my hydration was close. So now I know.

This week is a step down recovery week and for some reason my body always takes full advantage of recovery weeks and basically refuses to do much of anything. I went from a few weeks of managing 11-12 hours/ week of training to barely making it to 5 hours. I still have two more days to go, though, so hopefully I can get a couple more hours in. But if not, oh well.

I had already decided not to run this week because I've been dealing with a posterior shin splint and I haven't rested long enough to let it fully heal. I was only schedule for a few easy runs this week so I didn't think missing a week would be detrimental. Look at me! Resting and not freaking out about it! I must be growing up or something. The rest has been helping- my calf barely hurts today- so hopefully by next week I'll be good to go.


Overall I'm feeling good. The swim and the run don't worry me. I'm not fast in the water, but I'm comfortable with the distance. And I'm routinely running 10-13 miles without issues- aside from the cranky shin splint.

My main concern is the bike. What if there is a head wind or a cross wind? Can I ride in aero? How am I going to eat or drink anything when I've never been good at doing that? What if a lot of things. Some I can control and others I can't. Strength and endurance wise- I'm fine with. It basically comes down to bike handling skills and that's where I'm shaky. I just need the weather to warm up so I can get Kally outside and practice!

So that's where I'm at now. I have a good estimate of how long the swim and run will take. The bike is the variable.

But finish times aside- I'm getting really excited to do this! I'm ready to start the countdown:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

St. Jude Half Marathon Recap and a List of Positives

I didn't mean for the tone of my last post to be so negative. Yesterday was rough, and I just had to be honest about it. Ultimately I’m writing this to document my training journey, and I’m not going to lie and say everything is great and easy. No long distance training is easy for anybody- healthy or not. Everyone struggles with something. I might have some different circumstances to work around, but I’m doing just that- trying to work around them (by skipping the zoo event last night). I just need time to figure out a good way to balance everything. It’s possible- it has to be- and so I’m hopeful. And I'm grateful for what I can do. But sometimes it still scares me and I still get doubts.

The positive things about Week One of training: I've ran a total of 20 miles this week so far, spent ~2.5 hours in the pool, and 2.5 hours on my bike. I have another hour on my bike tomorrow morning, and- time permitting- 20 minutes of running before work. So really, I might be struggling against myself, but I’m still doing it. I’m making it work. Week 1 of training won’t be 100% completed but it’s pretty darn close, and that’s all I can really ask for.

This morning I actually got myself out of bed at 6 and ran 7 miles before work! A victory! Honestly, I am not a morning person so that's huge. I’m really tired now, but I’m proud of myself. I probably would have been tired anyway, so at least this way I have a good reason to be.

Yesterday I rode Kally (my bike) outside for the first time since I got my aero bars readjusted. I spent the first 15 minutes with one arm in aero and the other hand still holding onto my handle bar. But I finally mustered up enough courage and let go and had both arms in. Yippee! That was a huge hurdle. I've ridden in the aero position once before the adjustment and it was terrifying. This time I felt more stable and was actually able to stay there for a while (for 5 Hail Mary’s!).

Progress and little victories! 

The St. Jude half marathon!

I love Memphis and St. Jude and this whole community. It seems all of Memphis supports this race and these kids and it's such a great thing to experience. There were 18,000 runners (12,000 were Heroes) and we raised over $8 million for the hospital!!

There were only two times I got choked up during the race- the first was when a St. Jude patient sang the National Anthem, and at mile 7 when a woman on the side cheering us on said “Thank you, Heroes. My daughter is alive because of you!” (So a HUGE thank you to everyone who has donated to St. Jude! It really does make a difference!). Running through the campus is always overwhelming, too. Even though I work there and am on campus all the time, it's a whole different place during the race.
The race support and volunteers were awesome. There were so many Spirit Stations along the route with all sorts of live music and patients and families were lining the whole course.

The taper week was uneventful- almost TOO uneventful as in… I only ran one time! But I was so tired and seemingly everyone in Tennessee was sick with some kind of something and I think my body was worn out trying to fight off all the germs. Whatever it was- it was a relaxing week and I didn't let myself get upset for too much couch time and not enough swim/bike/run time.

The night before the race we went to stay at a friend’s apartment that was about a block from the start. We ate our carb-y dinner and started getting ready to go to sleep and I commented on how weird it was that nothing had gone wrong yet. I wasn't sick or injured, no one was in the hospital, we made it to Nick’s safely... smooth sailing. So I joked around because something has to go wrong in every race- or at least it has up until that point.

We woke up on time- still uninjured and still not sick, the rain from the night before had stopped, there wasn't an ice storm like last year... I ate my 2 bananas and peanut butter and went down to the start line. I found Jess in corral 4 (I started in corral 10 last time... big improvement) and we talked and tried to stay warm until it was our turn to go. We ran the first couple miles together before she took off and ran an awesome marathon.

I'm going to miss my running buddy!

My ultimate ambitious goal was 1:53, but realistically I just wanted a sub-2 finish. I was coming right up to mile 13 and tried to really push because that two hours was getting too close for comfort. Apparently I pushed too hard and tripped myself and landed on my hands and knees. Some runners helped me up, and aside from my bloody knee and bruised hands I was fine. But as I went down I started laughing… there it was! The one thing to go wrong! My one minor freak out! It hid from me until the very end. I’m oddly glad it happened just to keep the streak alive.

My official time was 2:00:51, but my watch read the course as being 13.3 miles. So really, according to my watch, I ran 13.1 in 1:59:07 and made my sub-2 goal! I had a 25 minute PR!!!

After I finished I walked around a bit then stayed next to the finish line to watch Nathan finish his first half marathon! And although he claims he "hates running" (whatever that means) and that he’s a retired half marathoner, he did great and so I don't really believe him. 

Will I do this race again? I hope so!!! This is one event that is worth the drive from Michigan every year. So whether I'll be running or volunteering, I want to come down and be involved. Plus... if I ever decide to do a full marathon (oh, boy), I want it to be the St. Jude marathon.

Woohoo! Cold and sore but happy!
PRs for both of us!

Coming to Terms with My Own Civil War

The half marathon race recap is coming, but first I need to talk about my training freak outs.

Monday was the first day of my 19 week training plan. I successfully completed my swim and ride. Tuesday I successfully completed my long run (10 miles already? Seriously?) and my recovery ride, and Wednesday I completed my swim. Three solid days. It's a good way to start.

But I've been uneasy lately. Anxious. The anxiety from my summer meltdown never fully left me as it is (that alone is aggravating) and so this is magnifying it a bit. My favorite way to describe bipolar is that everything is amplified. Something good happens? Then it's extremely good. If something is sad, then it is extremely sad. If something is a bit stressful, then it is extremely stressful. If anything causes a little bit of anxiety, then it's full blown anxiety and panic and I shut down. Everything is amplified.

I like to pretend I'm healthy. I laugh about my caffeine intake like it's a joke, but really, it's the only way I can function. I like to think I'm fine and healthy. I have a full time job that I love and spend time with friends, I go for some runs. You know, normal things.

I hate to blame triathlon or my training for the anxiety, because it really isn't that. What it's doing is making me face reality. My reality. This training isn't allowing me to pretend I'm healthy. This training is finally forcing me to accept my reality for what it is and learn how to live with it. My body and I are waged in a civil war and I never know who will win. I can't hide from myself. I can't deny it anymore.

I feel like I need to stand up and say, "I'm Andi, and I have a chronic illness", not "I'm Andi, and I'm a triathlete". How do I reconcile the two? How do I do this?

I'm Andi and I'm a triathlete with a chronic illness. Isn't acceptance the first step or something?

I was assuming my half Ironman training would start out easy and gradually build up over the course of the 19 weeks. But my training hours per week are already longer than my longest week of half marathon training and I'm only in week one. I'm not dreading the training itself- I like doing these sports- if I didn't I wouldn't have signed myself up for 70.3 miles.
So it's more of a struggle to figure out how to fit in my training. It's a struggle to come to terms with the fact it's a struggle. It's hard to admit that I'm not healthy, that I have limitations, that I can't do everything, that I need to ask for and accept help. It's a struggle to fit in training and my responsibilities.

So as I said- I already have this underlying current of anxiety from August. Anything can overwhelm me and I just shut down. Simple errands, simple decisions, simple phone calls- anything that the average adult should be able to do can some days become too much and just paralyze me. That's been frustrating as it is- it's stuff I've been able to manage for all of my life and suddenly it becomes too much. It's been hard just to accept that I can't control my anxiety and feel like I'm failing at being an adult. I can't help but think I should be over this by now- that if I just tried harder I'd be fine. But that's now how any of this works.

I only have a certain amount of energy on any given day, so now running errands- grocery shopping, taking my car in for maintenance, simple things- scare me because if I do them before my training I risk wearing myself out to the point I've become too tired to train. Or if things are time sensitive I have to either wake up earlier to squeeze in my workout before I might feel physically ready to do it, or rush to fit it in between certain hours that may or may not be the best time of day for me.
Or I'm nervous that doing things at night will wear me out too much for the next day. It's not always errands- for example- tonight my work is hosting an after hours event at the zoo from 5:30-9. That's potentially 3.5 hours of walking around (well, 2.5 because I could easily sit in the bat exhibit for at least an hour), and I worry how much energy that will take. I know we don't have to stay the whole time (or maybe I could watch the bats for 3 hours...), but it's another limitation I have to accept. It's another limitation I have to impose on others- I have to accept that 3.5 hours (with an hour of bats) might be too much for me and ask for them to accommodate that. But I'd rather pretend that I'm healthy and just do everything.

And today my schedule is even more thrown off because I couldn't fall asleep until 2:30 last night and I didn't wake up until 10 instead of 7:30 like I had planned. So now I have to wait for my body to wake up and try to fit in all of my training for today before the zoo tonight and I'm feeling overwhelmed by that. Because I'm not ready for my bike ride yet but it's already almost noon. And my worry is amplified. And my anxiety is amplified. Logically I know this isn't a big deal, that I have plenty of time, but I can't seem to make my brain chill out.

I've been trying to figure out ways to rest more. To maximize recovery between sessions. To somehow streamline life and eliminate unnecessarily spending energy. And to control what I can because there is a lot that I can't control.

What I can control:

• Nutrition
• Hydration
• Medication
• Rest

What I can't control:

• My body's response to those 4 things
• My energy levels
• My moods and anxiety

So that's where I'm at right now- stubbornly refusing to admit I'm sick but admitting it anyway, and easily being overwhelmed by every threat to my precious energy reserves. 

But I guess all I can do is do what I can, and hope I win the civil war each day.

By the Grace of God, I am What I am.

The half marathon is in 3 days!!! But before I get into that, here are some updates.

A few weeks ago Nathan and I ran the Gateway to the Delta 10 miler. It was a brisk 24 degrees at the start line and not much warmer at the finish. This was only the second year of this race, so it's small, which I like. After about the first mile when everyone was settled into their paces, no one but one old man (around mile 9) passed me for the remainder of the race. It was awesome. I kept passing people the whole time. My legs felt dead, though. I'm capable of a faster pace but my legs weren't responding. I hope it was just the cold weather- that my muscles aren't accustomed to running in those temperatures. I still beat last year's time and came in 6th in my age group, so all in all it was a great race.

Post race.
Nathan did great but he said he had no more smiles left.

This Sunday is 20 weeks away from my 70.3, and I'm starting to freak out a little bit. I've been so tired recently and it's been a struggle to complete all of my training. Some days I can complete the amount of time but am not able to meet the planned intensity. Or if I do the intensity I have to cut back on the duration. It's frustrating. I feel hydrated enough. I'm eating enough. I've rested as much as I can. But my body isn't responding. What else can I even do at that point?

Sometimes I wonder if I made a mistake. I know I haven't- I know I'm capable of this- but if my body is struggling at the end of just half marathon training, how is it going to handle the weeks leading up to the half Ironman?

Maybe training for the half marathon has worn me out more than I realized. Maybe all of my long runs have pushed my body more than I thought. Maybe I need to figure out how to rest more.

On my tired days I start to doubt myself. And recently I've been having a lot of tired days, and therefore a lot of doubt.

But I am not alone. I just thought of 1 Corinthians 15:10

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.

For whatever reason, God decided to give me this body and it's illnesses. He also gave me the love of triathlon and the ability to push through my fatigue and train- to at least some extent. I have no idea how I'll get through half Ironman training, or the race itself, but isn't there some comfort in knowing that I am what I am because of Him?

While that is comforting, skipping training sessions still makes me feel like I'm failing at this. I don't want to skip them- I love all three sports. But being this tired makes it feel like a chore because it's such a struggle. I hate that my fatigue takes the fun out of what I love doing. It's still difficult to accept my limitations, but I'm trying.

I ran across this (pun intended) near the end of my last long run.
Nice little reminder to be happy and grateful. 

Anyway, back to THIS SATURDAY!!! The half marathon! I've been so tired lately that I'm not sure if I am capable of my goal time, but this race is so much more than paces and finishing times. This race is for the kids at St. Jude. We run through the St. Jude campus and past the Target House where many of the families stay during treatment. The kids will be on the side cheering us on, holding signs that say things like "Thank you for running for my life". I honestly tear up just thinking about it. There is nothing like this race. 

So every time I start wondering about the weather (which I've been checking every day), or start worrying about how I'll feel that morning and what pace I'm capable of, I think of the kids and realize none of that really matters.

From St. Jude Heroes Facebook page
A patient making a sign for the race.

Honestly, no other race compares.

Reality Check

I like to pretend I don't have any health issues, and then I overdo it and reality smacks me in the face.

My training has been going pretty well. Tuesday was my long run which, thanks to an unexpected detour, was 11 instead of 10 miles. I felt strong, and was running faster than my scheduled easy pace- even in that last mile. Which means it's time for another running time trial assessment to readjust my paces! I'll do that either Friday or Monday.

I had a phone consultation with a coach through my training system. We talked about paces and goal times for my two races.  I have a projected finish time for the Half Ironman based on my current data, and she thinks I can knock more than 30 minutes off that time by April. She also gave me a predicted half marathon time for December... It's all very exciting but I'm keeping these goal times to myself because I'm putting enough pressure on myself to reach these goals... I don't want external pressure added in! But after the races I'll post the times. All of this is getting me very excited, though!

So back to over doing it.

I've been super congested from allergies and getting the Flu-mist vaccine on Friday (they were out of the injections. boo). I've had a steady intake of Claritin and pseudofed and still can't always breathe out of my nose. Finally today I woke up and could breathe, so I think the worst is over.

Monday morning I had an hour long interval session on my bike with a 20 minute brick run. Then I had an hour in the pool. From there I went straight to work.
Then I ran the 11 miles on Tuesday morning, and then went to the zoo to see the bats, monkeys, and sloths (and other animals) and walked around with Bethany for about 4 hours.
It was a really fun day, but I think it was too much activity and not enough rest for my body to fully recover from the run.

So Wednesday I woke up with my painful exhaustion. The fatigue that no amount of coffee can undo. The reminder that I'm not as healthy as I pretend to be.
I did the dishes and some laundry, but that was all could really manage. So Wednesday's swim was moved back to today.

I felt better when I woke up this morning and made it to the pool. My swim was really good. I finished the whole set and hit every single one of my interval times. But that took most of my energy and I only did half of my bike ride. I'm hoping to do the other half Saturday morning.

It's hard to figure out my priority between the swim, bike, and run... to know which one to do when I have limited energy. They are all priorities but for different reasons. I'm making good progress with swimming and don't want to lose those gains. I'm definitely weakest on the bike so obviously that needs the most work and I guess should be my priority, But the half marathon is only 6 weeks away so I feel like my run needs to be my focus.

I try not to get frustrated when my body responds this way. I'm asking a lot out of it with these crazy goals I've given myself. I try to be gentle with it, giving it the nutrition and hydration and rest that it needs. It's hard to find a balance with my recovery needs and with life.
There were a lot of factors going against me this week, though. I spent Wednesday resting and trying to recover enough to keep training and working and living.

I'm so much better than I was 10 years ago. And I am so thankful for that. Sometimes it takes having a bad day to remember how far you've come. And remembering that gives me hope for the future. 10 years ago I would have needed more than just one day of rest to recover from Tuesday. Am I 100% today? No, not at all. But am I better than yesterday? Yes. So maybe that needs to be my focus.

Perspective.
Reality.

2012 St. Jude Half Marathon

Back to "Normal"

It's been two months? Really? Where did time go?

My training is finally back on track. It took a while after my summer breakdown. The first week I managed 100% of my training was a big deal for me. It almost didn't happen- I had made it all the way to Saturday and then that morning I was so tired and didn't want to ride my bike before work. But there were only 50 minutes standing in my way, so I got up and did it. I needed a week of 100% after weeks of almost nothing.

That didn't happen until my moods finally evened out and the anxiety lessened so I was able to get back to the pool. For a while I couldn't even swim because having my heart rate elevate while I couldn't always breathe felt too much like anxiety and would actually cause anxiety. So my first full swim was a big deal, too. 

Mini celebrations- I'll take them when I can get them.

Nathan and I went home to Michigan in September for his sister’s wedding. I was afraid the trip would alter my moods with the change in my routine. I felt somewhat stable going into the trip, but I didn't trust the stability. I felt like at any moment my level of okay-ness would shatter.

So I brought my bike and my run shoes and managed a few rides and a few runs and that seemed to be enough to keep me on track.

A nice view to have for 8 miles

Road bikes and dirt roads don't mix, so my trainer was packed, too.
Had a nice view from the deck

Since then I've had a couple weeks of 9+ hours. A couple of them weren't 100% finished because of migraines or exhaustion, but for the most part I'm keeping up pretty well.

It’s felt good to finally feel like I've accomplished something. 

A couple weeks ago I got aero bars for my bike! Up until today I've only used them while on the trainer, but today I finally used them outside. Talk about freaking out! I was so scared! But I did it, and I didn't fall! I was going a lot slower than normal- which defeats the purpose- but hopefully I'll get more comfortable with them and with going faster.

The half marathon is only 7 weeks away! That’s practically tomorrow with the way time has been going lately.

And then to think what happens immediately after the half marathon…. Half Ironman training! Crazy.

Physically I'm feeling pretty good. I had a 10 mile run on Tuesday with an hour bike ride afterwards and wasn't even sore the next day. The run felt easy, too. Not that 10 miles is "easy" but I felt like I could have kept going, if that makes sense.  I'll take that as a good sign. I'm feeling good about the half marathon. I'm excited to see if I'm capable of finishing by my goal time. Only 7 weeks!