March Madness

Last week was a great week of training. My swims were decent and my long run (14 miles) was phenomenal. I finally incorporated walk breaks (45 seconds at the start of every mile), which actually made my overall goal pace faster, while still in Zone 2. When I was done, I felt like I still had another 3 miles in me.

I had 70-75 miles planned for Saturday's long ride, but the cold, rainy weather prompted me to ride the trainer instead. I rode for just over 4 hours, taking a 5 minute break every hour to get off the bike, stretch, pee, etc. During the second half of my ride, we watched "Bicycle Dreams," which I thought would inspire me. Instead it TOTALLY FREAKED ME OUT. These people were riding day and night without stopping, and sometimes they were delusional, and getting IVs and all sorts of things. That was NOT good for my psyche.

Also, since I hadn't needed to pee during last weekend's long workout, I thought I should drink more this time. So I did. A total of 5 bike bottles in 4 hours, 3 of which were plain water; the other two were Heed and Perpetuem. I also had Hammer gels with added Endurloytes powder, and a Cliff bar. I think I screwed that up - too much plain water, not enough sodium. I peed after 2 hours (great!) then again an hour later and again an hour later - too much!

Also, my lungs felt like they were filling up with moisture. I used the inhaler an hour into the ride (just half a dose), then again as soon as I was done (the other half of the dose).

After the ride, I ran 20 minutes around the neighborhood. My legs felt surprisingly good - the best they've felt on a brick lately. But my chest felt pretty full, and I started to freak out a bit. I'm pretty sure you need lungs for endurance sports.

I can't really explain what happened next. I just got more and more nervous, and then that lovely feeling of impending doom showed up: my first panic attack in years. Damn.

There was a time about 5 years ago or more when I had anxiety regularly. It was a miserable feeling, always being afraid. When you're going through something like that, you begin to fear that fear more than the things you're afraid of. (Okay, maybe that didn't make sense, but if you've ever experienced it, you understand.) I was scared of everything: physical ailments (some real, some not), dangers like 18-wheelers crossing the center line and running me over, all kinds of things that normally wouldn't bother me. It took a long time and a lot of work but the anxiety finally went away. I have not missed it.

Well, now it's back. I'm worried about Every. Single. Thing. I'm told everyone training for an Ironman goes through times when they don't think they can do it. I've had those moments off and on but have managed them pretty well... until now. The past few days have been extremely difficult. I think the anxiety that's a side effect from the inhaler is feeding into it too. Even though I know these things are in my head, they feel real to my body. I've really, really been wigging out. I even had to stop during my opening 1000 in the pool yesterday to "talk myself down." (I decided I was too embarrassed to get out and have a panic attack in front of everybody, so I kept going.)

I've been avoiding writing this post because I don't want people to know how crazy I feel. But a friend suggested that folks might like to know that I'm going through this, so that if/when they have their own doubts and fears, they'll know it's normal and everybody else (even Tenacious J) goes through it. So, here you go.

If I get the nerve up, maybe I'll talk more about it. I'm sure this, too, will pass. In the meantime, I'm still training and trying to just focus on the moment: this day, this workout, this mile. When the next day/workout/mile comes, then I'll think about that one.

Also, I just want to say that I'm sick and tired of prepping my fuel for long rides. I look forward to normal workouts where I just grab a bottle and a gel and head out the door.

As long as I'm bitching: POLLEN SUCKS, and I'm tired of coughing.

I've made an appointment for a long massage - that will help me relax mentally and physically. Other appointments I've been thinking of making are with a nutritionist (for help with race day fueling), Dr Awesome (haven't seen him in a while; legs feel great but I'm sure I could use a tune-up), and maybe a shrink. I feel like I need one! And there is no shame in seeing one! I wonder, if I spilled my guts to big-head SmackDonald, would he use it against me on the bike leg? Hmmm.... He still wouldn't beat me.

Yeah, there's still a little Tenacious J left in there somewhere. Maybe she's hiding out until all the crazy leaves. It may be a while.

Adaptation

Week 11 is flying by. JC is out of town for a week, so I'm a working single mom in addition to training. In order to fit all my workouts in, I've had to schedule each day down to the minute.

Today was my weekly long run. Normally I do the long run on Wednesday evening, but I had to switch it up and run before work today. It seemed like a good idea when I planned it:

5:30: Alarm goes off; hit the snooze twice
5:50: Start the coffeemaker; crawl in bed with Sophie to cuddle
6:00: Get Sophie up and started in her routine; get dressed; fix breakfast
6:40: Out the door to the bus stop 
6:45: As the bus pulls away, start my run
8:25: Finish run, stretch, eat, hop in shower, get dressed
9:10: Leave for work

However, Sophie's cough woke her up in the middle of the night, which meant I was up with her from 3 to 4am. When that alarm went off at 5:30, I was NOT a happy camper. Unfortunately, I also was not coherent, and I managed to turn off the alarm rather than hit the snooze button. Crikey.

I opened my eyes at 6:08 and uttered some bad words. By some miracle, I got Soph ready and out the door in time to catch the bus, but I hadn't done everything I needed to do before my run (fuel, dress properly for the run, etc). It was about 48 degrees and raining lightly, and it took every ounce of strength I had not to crawl back into bed.

So, at 7:15 (only 30 minute behind schedule!), I started my run. It was only cold for the first few minutes. I kept my jacket sleeve pulled down over C-3P0 so I couldn't see my heartrate or pace. I was supposed to run in Zone 2, so I set my watch to beep at me if my heartrate entered Zone 3. I just ran - no music, no heartrate monitor in my face, no planned route, no timer or pace screen ticking away.

IT. WAS. WONDERFUL.

It felt good. It felt easy. It felt fun. But the best part was, my pace was 45 seconds per mile faster than my previous long runs, and my heartrate was perfect. YIPPEE!!!! All those weeks of base building, all those slooooooooow runs and rides, they're paying off now. My pace is faster, my heartrate is lower (including resting heartrate, down by 7 beats per minute since 4 weeks ago), and I've dropped a little body fat and gained some muscle.

Have I mentioned how much I loved base phase? :)

Oh, one more thing: I did learn something today. Bacon before a 5-mile run is great. Bacon before a 10-mile run is not.