New Year = New Goals & Resolutions

As I sit at my desk at the end of a long day/partial week of teaching Spanish, I realize that I am - at heart - a procrastinator.  I have contemplated this blog post for a few weeks....I mean, how often should I write and publish on this blog?  Does it matter?  Do I have anything new to write about? And does anyone really read this anyway?  But I realize that the person who probably will get the most out of this blog is me.  It will keep me honest - even when I don't like the way my training is progressing. When I have been slacking off on my running and I tell myself that it's just too cold to run outside. When I skip the pool because I only have 35 minutes free today. When I stop at Casey's on the way home from work and buy a large bag of Lay's Barbeque potato chips and eat half the bag because today sucked and I deserve comfort food. The honest truth isn't very pretty sometimes, but.....it is what it is.

So, putting my goals & resolutions for 2015 out here, for everyone to see (in no particular order of importance):

1. Complete a Sprint Triathlon with my son, Steven: Iowa Games (July)
2. Compete in/complete an Ultra....if I get chosen for the Leadville 100 (put my hat in the lottery for that one) that will be my focus.  If I don't get in with the lottery, possibly Post Oak Challenge (3/7 & 3/8)
3. Run 3 marathons: P.F. Chang's/Phoenix (1/18) Grandma's/Duluth (6/20) & Bank of America/Chicago (10/11); goal is under 3:55 for Boston Qualifying
4. Set aside 15 minutes each evening to track my workouts and nutrition
5. Start eating breakfast every day (I rarely have anything except coffee before 10am) and focus on improving my nutrition
6. Volunteer at Ironman Wisconsin (9/13)
7. One blog post per month
8. Swim at least three hours each week in the pool
9. Schedule my running, biking, and swimming workouts a month at a time, rather than week to week.

About that swimming.....it's progressing.  Slower than I want, but I know that I haven't devoted the time to it that I need to in order to improve the way I intended. But, slow progress is still progress. Below are two videos: the first from my very first lesson with Scott, practicing kicking and turning front to back, and back to front...awkward, to say the least.

Second video below is from my most recent lesson - notice the hesitation and drag on my left arm :(  ...and all the fun equipment I'm using...snorkle, the "clicker" belt (my name for it), in addition to goggles, swim cap, and sometimes fins.  

After watching these videos, I know that I've got a lot of work to do. I'm way further ahead than I was a couple of months ago, but I need to be ready for open water swimming in a few short months. So I'll practice, practice, and practice some more :)

A quote from a fellow teacher's room:

"Be In Love With Your Life, Every Single Minute"

Every Day Is The First Day Of The Best Of Your Life

So.......
I made the decision last night that I would start a blog that chronicles my journey from just a runner to a triathlete.  "Just a runner" is not meant to diminish the sport of running or what running has been for me throughout my life.  Running is....in a word, amazing.  I have been running since I was thirteen years old (with a few years off for work, pregnancy, parenting, life).  I run to stay in shape, to stay healthy, to manage stress, to forget, to be happy, to reach that endorphin high when everything is right in my world - that "high" doesn't always happen, but when it does, I feel like I can run forever.

At 46 years of age, recently celebrating a birthday, and realizing the aches and pains of a middle-aged body are here to stay, I came to the conclusion that if a triathlon is ever going to happen for me, I had better get on it. NOW.  I have been watching several friends and acquaintances accomplish this very goal recently, and to say it is inspiring is an understatement.  I was in Madison, Wisconsin a couple of months ago to cheer on friends as they worked their way through 140.6 miles of  sheer craziness - and that's all you can call it, really.  A 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run - I mean, who does that?  WHY would anyone do that???  Well, I can say that it was one of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed.  Of course, the elite athletes are amazing to watch, and they come across the finish line hours ahead of everyone else.  But the heart and soul of an Ironman competition is the every-man and every-woman who pursues this dream, relentlessly. Who finds the time to train and put the miles in around work, family, life. That is what is truly inspiring.  To put all your heart and soul, desire and determination, in to crossing that finish line in 17 hours.  To battle the mental demons that tell you to stop, to keep pushing on when you have literally nothing left in the tank. That's what makes an Ironman, an Ironman.

First things first, however - I must learn how to swim.

A month ago, I felt comfortable floating on my back.  That was about it - I have always had a little bit of "panic" whenever my face is in the water, and I could not tread water in the deep end of a pool. So I bit the bullet, and just started private swim lessons at the Riverfront Y in Des Moines with an absolutely fabulous swim coach. I can not believe how far I have progressed in just three hour-long lessons. I'm not swimming -yet - but I'm getting there. I would say that the biggest hindrance to my progress is staying relaxed and not tensing - when I can focus on the form and technique, everything falls into place.  Just so much to remember about form and keeping everything moving the proper way at the same time!  "Muscle memory" as my swim coach Scott always says - and it's true.

Now, time to get work done while the day is young.... and I'm looking out at the frozen Iowa tundra, and wondering how to get my run (16 miles) in today.  Maybe I can switch days with a warmer day mid-week?? Otherwise it will be a treadmill run, and I despise treadmills.



"Live Life While You're Alive" -Dr. Deming