The Beginning

So as many of you know, my Ironman training has officially begun.  Barring my current state of sickness which is significantly limiting my ability to complete any/all workouts, I’m glad to finally be on a plan and stick to a schedule. 

While I had been keeping up my run and bike fitness throughout the offseason, the main word I associate with the beginning of training has got to be “humbling.” 

I knew when I decided to set out on this journey that it would be an incredible challenge and there would be plenty of days where I would suffer, but the first 10 days has been one of the most humbling times of my life. 

Originally, I expected this period to be somewhat easy as I just increased my workout hours and length of my run, bike, and swim.  This is not the case.  Partly because it’s winter, partly because it’s a new schedule, and partly because it’s an entirely new lifestyle that I have to get used to, I’m already understanding what they mean by sacrifice and challenge during these six months. 

First let’s start with my bike.  I’ve always enjoyed this part of the race the most, as clichéd as that is to say.  You get to go the fastest and I feel like my years of soccer experience have given me a solid leg strength base to build upon.  Well, that might be the case for shorter distances but not for this one. 

Last weekend I went to my first group training session with the DC Tri Club.  Normally I enjoy training alone and challenging myself that way, but I decided this year to join the club so I can meet more people that are as foolish as me and get firsthand advice as I maneuver my way through the triathlon world.  So in I walk to this cycling training session at 8:00am on Saturday morning and all I knew was that it was going to be “difficult.”  Ha, difficult was an understatement.  Within 30 minutes of the group workout, I was trying to hide how much pain I was in.  The USAT coach leading the workout was pushing most of us harder than ever and I wasn’t used to such long, straining intensity workouts.  At one point, I looked over to my right and saw a woman who was almost 15 years older than me going at least twice my pace AND at a harder level.  I can’t even begin to tell you how humbling it is to compare myself to someone like this.  I couldn’t believe it, I was getting killed by a 40 year old woman and I was sitting there just counting down the minutes until I could get off my bike.  Finally, after almost two hours of the most grueling workout of my life, I hopped off my bicycle and exchanged a few winded pleasantries with some new friends.  Turns out, they all were suffering at least a little and they were way more experienced than me and knew how to fight through it.  Needless to say, I left that bike workout with mixed feelings after two of the most humbling hours of my life. 

Now, if that wasn’t enough, onto the swimming.

5:35 alarm goes off… I’m dead tired.  I look over at that clock every Tuesday and Thursday morning and want to roll back over into bed like I never have before.  Unfortunately, the video montages of Ironman races run through my head, making me realize that I have to get out of bed and hurry up to catch the bus.  If the struggle to get out of bed and lack of motivation isn’t enough to kick me in the stomach each and every morning before a swim workout, I have the morning masters swim class to finish it off for me.  Now let me clarify, by no means am I in this masters swim class each morning.  I just coincidentally swim at the same time they begin their workouts.  And while I like to think my biggest strength in triathlons is my swim, these swimmers put me to shame every day.  Every day I’m there, I try my hardest not to look like an idiot since my technique is way below where I need it to be and I’m sure I look like a buffoon.  I know watching and learning from these swimmers will only make me stronger yet I can’t help but walk away from those morning sessions thinking about how much work I have to do. 

Humbled… that is how my training has started and that is how it will probably continue.  Let’s just hope I can learn how to fight through the pain and race with the best of them by June 27^th.