There was really no way that I was going to get into the water and swim. Admittedly it was because I was pretty irritated with one aspect of my life ... being late.
And it's mostly my fault. I didn't get up on time. I have arranged my life to have so much on my plate that coupled with the not getting up on time .... and just life. Life has been a bit much lately. So ... there was zero way that I was getting into the pool. Mostly because I didn't want to mess with my nose being messed up for the majority of the time.
It's a thing with power mostly. We live so much of our lives being told what to do, people influencing how things go ... so much of our lives we con't have a lot of control over. We don't really like being jerked around and our day constantly pulled sideways. Day in and day out. It really has a way of wearing us down. Then when you see that the consistent effort/activity that you KNOW you need to do isn't getting accomplished. Sometimes no fault of your own. You feel powerless. Frustrated. Irritated.
Our internal toddler rebels and tries to exert some power over a situation. To try and restore some "balance". Be it ... eat a whole thing of donuts. Stay up and drink a beer and watch TV. Or not swim. (Or all of the above.) hahahaha #nmf
So I didn't swim. I'm coaching two people to swim. I'm taking a bit of a mental time out. And writing this blog.
AND STRETCHING MY HAMSTRINGS
So ... is it a win? I think so.
Besides, I have the opportunity to swim later today.
And by all means, some days you just need to get your shit done. Get your ass into the pool. For me ... if I don't actually get my swim done tonight ... then next time that toddler shows up we will need to rethink things.
The days when you just don’t want to swim
What is a training block?
A training block is a period of focused training that hones in on a specific discipline. During these blocks, you back off on the volume and intensity of the other two disciplines to allow more time and energy to be spent on the third, which in this case is the bike.
What are the benefits completing a training block?
First, we need to talk briefly about the concept of progressive adaptation. In a nutshell, a stressor is applied in the form of a training session. This taxes the body systems which, in turn, respond by coming back a bit stronger than they were before (achieved with proper recovery!) so that they can better handle these stressors the next time around. Rinse and repeat.
The tricky thing in multisport is that these stressors are spread across three sports and must be carefully balanced, and combined with appropriate bouts of rest and recovery, to avoid overtraining and injury. Throw life’s other demands into the mix and you’re left with a finite amount of stress you are able to apply within a given period.
By scaling back the intensity and volume of two disciplines, you are subsequently able to scale up these factors in your third discipline. When executed in a strategic, smart manner, this can yield incredible fitness gains in a much shorter time than one would see utilizing their traditional approach.
But won’t I lose fitness in other areas?!
Nope! Your aerobic fitness will maintain, if not increase, throughout this training block. By strategically interspersing shorter, technique-based sessions of the other two disciplines each week, you will maintain neuromuscular sharpness in these areas without cutting into your primary focus area.
So what now?
As we wrap up race season and roll into the “off season”, this is the prime opportunity begin addressing our limiters in preparation for next year. Training blocks are an epic tool to doing so.
So give it a shot! Switch things up, focus in and get ready to ROCK.
We have developed a series of training blocks with various foci for the 2017-2018 off-season that are fully customizable to meet your training goals. The 
GET UP! IT IS TIME TO HUNT
So I get up. And I'm glad that I do. I get into the pool. I start swimming. I have this love/hate relationship with circle swimming. Usually I'm the slower one, and always holding people up. Well ... seems that I'm getting faster in the pool and that isn't the case anymore. Which is awesome. It was hard tho ... the new heart meds make you a different athlete, so ... it was like swimming in a stranger's body. Sort of. But ... I adjust and do the best that I can. And log in the back of my head that maybe I need to do better warm ups before I get into the H2O.
Everyone leaves. I'm still swimming. The busy-body voice that is yacking about getting stuff done says to hurry up and get done. But ... something caught my awareness. I'm not quite sure what it was. I've NEVER experienced it in the pool last night. Now thinking about it ... maybe it was the by-product of practicing the Ganesh mantra in my quiet-time bath last night. Or the meditations that other luvies are sending my way. It was so profound tho ....
A bit of back story. I almost drowned when I was little. Ha. It's funny that I've always said that I was raised by wolves, meaning that in a negative context but .... I very closely identify with wolves as ... who I am. Ha. So I was raised by wolves. And coincidently, I have been drawing them a lot lately. Uh. Anyway, my story with swimming has been a complete train wreck sprinkled with many panic attacks, kayak rescues and such. And I'll throw in that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the ocean and for most of my life I have been sooo afraid of the water. Such a big fat lie I've been carrying around forever. I WILL BE SURFING in 2020 after IM New Zealand with my peeps!
So for me to be COMPLETELY CHILL in the water having this .... PROFOUND and GRACE FILLED moment is truly a miracle. During a time that I'm getting ready to roll into heart surgery. Letting someone put me under, control the fact that I'm alive or not and selectively burning my heart ... to fix it.
THIS moment was filled with .... thoughts of complete safety. And lets just say this out loud. I have not felt safe. Completely safe. EVER. Maybe a brief snack here and there. Today tho .... thats the only thought that was really in my head.
back, as always. Hope and Faith. My PEOPLE praying and meditating for me. My coach being there for me. Who's sort of like my big brother. My decision to be faithful and hopeful. And who knows what else the Universe mixed in there for me. I have faith that it's good and true tho. The feedback was most honored, tells me the decisions made yesterday are on a true(er) path. Thought I'd share. I hope that if you need peace and safety, you find how to open yourself up and allow yourself to experience it. ~namaste
#nmf
Side Plank is an excellent way for athletes to build strength
All this STUFF got stored in my body, my mind, my spirit ( my _____ ). Some of this stuff has been locked up for many longs years, now working its way to the surface and doggedly expressing the need for release.
So I swim with my goggles filled with tears. Do my best to scale back and relax. Find rhythm. Honor the process, get my body in sync with the water and let the water do its thing.
Here's the KEY: know when the moment has passed and move on. Leave it in the water. Get out of the pool a little bit different. With new space.
I hope you find where your space it at. That space that rings true for you. Like a beautiful heart stopping chord.
The water was really ROUGH. 2 to 3 foot swells. IT WAS AWESOME. I started out, didn't panic, worked to keep calm, felt fine, just couldn't quite get the the rhythm of the freestyle. Without drinking a ton of water. I got pretty good at getting a nose full of water and snorting it out. So I did a lot of breast stroke. Found a rhythm. Found a way to ride the waves a bit. Stopped drinking so much water. In the back of my mind I was aware that I needed to get around the buoys faster. So I'd go back to the freestyle, where I managed to find this feeling of moving through the water better. Then I'd drink some more water. And move back to breast stroke. I was getting there, slowly. The chic I was keeping up with was pulling away. I was getting a little nervous. Then the guy in the kayak told me I had 12 minutes to get in. I had three more buoys left. I said "F$CK", measured the distance, concluded that I wouldn't make it. And said "F$CK" again. I start to sob a bit. WHAT??? CRYING IN THE LAKE???
It's hard to cry, breathe, swim, sight for the finish and not get drowned by the waves.
At the point, I had resigned to not getting in on time. And I wanted to finish this $250 dollar swim strong. If this was the last of my race, i wanted to do it well. So I pressed on. Hard.
The guy in the kayak said "You got to do your very best." So I start swimming harder. More than what I thought I had. On my weak side. Faster. Breathing becomes more forced and here it comes, the wheezing. The asthma. I had this fleeting thought that one wrong wave and this sharp edge I was forcing myself on could really suck. But the kayak guy was right there with me. Shouting me on. Then I hear the announcer of the race yelling my name. And everyone else. That was pretty cool.
I ran out of steam. Asthma attack. I had nothing left. I'm looking at the last 50 yards thinking "I JUST CAN'T DO IT". I can hardly get to the boat ramp, knowing my time is (has) running out and I just have NOTHING left. I'm pretty sure I didn't make it. Then I hear the announcer say I'm the last swimmer. My first thought "SWEET!!! That swim didn't cost me $250 just 5 bucks". Second thought, you got to breathe. I hardly see anyone, until I see Anna. A friendly face asking me if I'm alright. I say "I don't know". And just keep walking to my bike.
Time in the water: 1:11.
Side note: Chomps before the swim do me good.
Getting on the bike was easy. Getting going was easy. I had my feet under me. I was thrilled. As I crossed the dam I left the swim behind me and started looking up for the next person to pass. It was DIFFICULT to see bikers coming in, but heck...
I kept telling myself, "You're the cut off swimmer. You MADE it." At first I passed a few people. It wasn't as triumphant to pass the ones on the side of the rode with flats and what not. But I took what I could get.
Side note: I can't pee in my wetsuit for some reason. So... after passing a legitimate racer (someone still moving forward), I stopped and did a QUICK pit stop. I did spy for bad plants. Didn't need that kind of drama. QUICK QUICK, I'd be @#)$( if that guy passed me back.
Didn't find the bike ride THAT bad. Not after that brutal Atlanta 70 mile training ride. The tea pot song wasn't helping much. So I changed it..."just keep pedaling, whens this gonna stop, heck if I know..." I'd look up, damn hill wasn't done yet..."apparently not yet, just keep pedaling, whens this gonna stop, heck if I know..." Hahaha.
I got to mile 25 with just 7 F-bombs. I was pretty proud. I was trying to keep it under 10. Though I counted the ones in my head, not just out loud. Maybe that was being to hard on myself.
Every person I passed was AWESOME. I knew that at about mile 36 things were gonna get easier. And the killer wind was gonna be my ally. So when we turned, I hit it hard. AWESOME. I actually enjoyed the bike ride.
Besides the left butt bone. And the wasp.
So flying down a BIG hill, 40 miles an hour (not letting up) something flies into my shirt and I get a sharp sting. The F-bombs just started flying. I look at my hands, at my speedometer, at my boobs and decide to just ride it out. I totally forgot that they can only sting you once. That would have helped. So I'm sort of freaking out that I have a bug in my bra that's gonna keep stinging me. I get my arse but the next hill. Come to this awesome streaking halt and flash the sheriff sitting there directing traffic to release my wasp. DUDE.
That was the only time someone passed me. For about 30 seconds.
Finishing that ride was AWESOME. I felt great. Perpetuum. That nasty drink at the aides stations sucked. I ate 2 salt capsules every hour. A lot of chomps with caffeine and the orange yummy beans.
I almost took a dive into the "BIKE IN" blow up thing. hahaha. Didn't quite get both feet unclipped. Managed to save it and get on with the day.
Bike Time: 4:01
Starting the 13 miles was hard. My legs felt ok. It was just plain HOT. And the run was so incredibly boring. The highlights of the run: Running with Glen for a bit. Seeing Dan a bunch. Seeing Ashlea's rockstar @ss. Kelli on her last bit, getting myself an "another lap to go kiss". The honey badger sign at the aide station. She recited the video to me, so that was cool. "He's so NASTY...He doesn't give a SHIT. He just takes what he wants!" The water hoses. And the seasoned triathlete that said this was a really hard race.
I walked at each station. One cup of water over the head, one down the back. The cup of ice down the cleavage. (Thinking back...I wonder if this helped the wasp bite not get angry.) Two cups of water into the stomach, refill my little hand water thingy and off I went. I only ate two Gu's, which surprised me. The one that I kept in my pants tore me up!!!! I kept up eating the salt capsules. I felt pretty good until I got to the pit of hot hell, down by T1 and the porta potties. NASTY. The water hoses had such a big impact. I would get TOTALLY drench and feel SUPER FABULOUS until dry.
I passed a lot of runners. I tried not to walk. I walked more on loop one. Average pace was 12:20. Loop two got better. ALMOST DONE. Pace quickened to 11:00. Still feeling pretty good.
Knees started hurting the last 1/2 mile. So I slowed down. That last bit SUCKED. I had it in the bag and my legs were saying "hey, missy, we are REALLY tired".
Rounding that corner though, into the shoot was awesome. I saw someone walking and thought to myself "WHAT!!!! This is where YOU DO NOT WALK!" 
