Piece of Cake

I would like a piece of cake right now, but that isn’t what this post is about. “This week is meant to break you” words from my very dear friend trying to calm me down on the phone Thursday. I apparently was alborotada (in an uproar is the Google translation). I had spent most of the week with a half-cold. It’s when you don’t feel 100% but it’s not a full blown cold. I attribute it to lots of training and a germ infestation in the office. This was hard for me to deal with because it was suppose to be a build week. I wasn’t ready to be out of commission recovering. So come Thursday, time for a long run and I had a Mo moment. Called it a day an hour in and left infuriated with myself and running. I couldn’t hit the pace I wanted, my knees hurt, my stomach was bothering me, I was just pissed. After about a 10 minute call, rational words (surprise, surprise, I was being irrational), and some calm words of motivation, I was better. I was still very frustrated, but tomorrow would be another day.

(Thank you Ryan)

The weekend was approaching and we were putting in some hours. I knew it would happen, but it was still kind of daunting that I was almost late for a 3pm appointment from training that I started at 7am and that I was having breakfast at 1:30pm, it’s become tradition, breakfast after training ❤ . So we set off on our 4:30 ride, in a nice little cloudy drizzle. About an hour in we were layered with street gunk and dirt. Kind of made you feel like a bad ass and really gross all at same the time. The last 4+ hour ride I did, the last hour was painful and my speed was a little embarrassing. This time, I felt strong, kept pace above my race goal, and wasn’t desperate to get off the bike. We finished covered in dirt, smelling like wet dog, and feeling pretty good about ourselves. A big breakfast, compression socks, a burger for dinner, and some quality couch time and I was feeling good for Sunday.

Wind, wind, and more wind. It’s the story of living in Miami and that’s exactly what we got on Sunday. The ride is usually easy for me on bricks because my focus on Sundays is getting through the run.  I’d been having trouble reaching 1:30 on the run and I was suppose to run longer than I’ve ran to date in Ironman training, and the longest I’ve ever ran on a brick, 1:45. So I set out with the usual, looking at my pace, focusing on my speed and by the time I hit the Key Biscayne bridge I knew I wasn’t going to make it thru this run focusing on pace. This time I focused on keeping my mind strong and my spirits high. So I stopped looking at my watch and just ran, from water fountain to water fountain. I even started smiling at anyone who made eye contact, some smiled back, and some looked at me like I was a serial killer. I don’t exactly smile when I run…ever. I played some serious jedi mind tricks. High fiving friends I saw along the way (yea we’re cute like that). Checked out all the bikes (ok and maybe some cyclist), designed my own road bike in my head, chit chatted with strangers. If there’s any time to talk to a stranger it’s on a run.  Tried to make friends with the homeless man that guards a water fountain, he wasn’t a fan. Breaking the run down in 30 minute intervals, cause in my head I can run 30 minutes. My feet started to hurt and my muscles started to cramp, but seeing that I had made it comfortably to an hour and half, I was getting those last 15 minutes in.  It hurt but a weekend that was meant to break me, didn’t (that’s what’s up!). I was proud of us. So on the next week. Piece of cake no? ~ Adding Mo Miles

What If

So I got a question the other day, “what if you can’t finish the Ironman?” The first thought in my head was, thanks for the vote of confidence guy.  My second thought, not possible. My third thought, I’ve asked myself that a few times.  My fourth, I sign up for another one and another one and another one until I do. So my inner badass would say it is not an option, not finishing is not possible. I will make it to that finish line crawling if necessary. But I also have to face the reality that it is a possibility. It’s a long, hot race and many things can go wrong.

So hypothetically speaking (cause it won’t happen), what if? There will be tears (a lot), disappointment, and a whole lot of anger. There will also be a new found determination because you could bet your ass I will be researching the next Ironman to sign up for from my hotel that night. But I also look at what preparing for this race has given me, regardless of whether I cross the finish line. It’s given me confidence as an athlete, in my ability to push thru in moments where I would have usually stopped, given up. It’s given me back something I lost for the sport. It came to a point last year where I wanted to sell my bike and I just wasn’t enjoying it. Lately, I’m tracking my workouts, preparing to really start using my power meter, uploading my Garmin info (yes that’s a huge step) and really itching to sign up for a race. Preparing for this race is helping me through other aspects of my life, some difficult moments. So the constant support I receive in my training is a support for other things also. Kind of weird how that works, people don’t really know how far their support goes for an athlete. So if anything, the experience of preparing for this race is something I can look back on fondly. It has been great so far and I know it will continue.  So if the race doesn’t go as planned, I have to look at what I gained to get there…and the fact that I got to eat a lot more without feeling guilty. 🙂

All I can do is prepare and train.  I like to think I’m training smart, building, and getting stronger. Whatever happens on race day happens on race day but I know I am going ready. But I will tell you this, they’ll have to drag me out on a stretcher before I get off that course. I will cross Ironman off my bucket list. ~ Adding Mo Miles

 

 

It’s Simple

In the last two years, actually since I started training for anything 4 years ago, I’ve gotten a lot of whys. Why wake up at 5am on the weekend, why pay for a race, why the hell would you do a two-a-day, and why would you possibly want to race for hours? Who does that? I do. Simple, because it’s fun. I know it sounds completely demented but there is no better feeling than a sick workout. Than sitting there drenched in sweat, your leg muscles pulsing, looking at your watch, and knowing you killed it. Being layed out on the sidewalk because you just left everything you had out on the ride. I can now say my day is complete, because there is a feeling of completeness being completely exhausted.

Something like this…

 

It’s simple, because I can. This was part of a conversation with my girls yesterday; you should take nothing for granted. There are people that never or no longer have the opportunity to go out for a run, squat their own weight, or know the feeling of crossing the finish line of a race. They’ll never be able to feel the energy of the athletes or spectators, read those funny signs. I am blessed enough to do this, so I will and I’m thankful every race. It’s simple, because there’s something about feeling the sun on your skin and sweating it out. I don’t think I can ever understand how people can only workout in the gym. I need to be out, I need my vitamin D.

It’s simple, because I don’t want to be average. I want to look back and know I tested my body’s limits. I want to get old, wrinkled and tell stories about crossing finish lines with the girls in the home. I want to look back Monday mornings and know I did more than just drink, eat, and sleep on the weekend. I want to feel accomplished. I want to make checks on my fitness bucketlist, hell on all of my bucketlists. I want to hear the words “you are an Ironman.” But when they ask why, I’ll stick to its fun, mostly because I like to see their reaction. But seriously, it is fun. ~ Adding Mo Miles

R&R

The meaning for R&R has changed, it use to be rest and relaxation, now its’ rest and recovery.  I have a great support system preparing for this race.  To the person who created Whatsapp, I could kiss you! My life is one big party on Whatsapp. It has become essential for my training and motivation.  Sounds silly huh?  Well, I got all these great group chats with friends that also train, love fitness and nutrition.  It’s where I set up training, talk about nutrition, soreness, exhaustion, stupid people, even my bathroom schedule (oh yea, we’re that close).  So after reading my last post, Khania (one of my people), asked if I’d looked into supplements for recovery and pre-workouts.  I knew at some point what I take post workout for recovery has to modify as my workouts increase, but it didn’t really cross my mind that it could be the reason I was so sore, sluggish, and recovering so slowly. I have 3 Ironmen on a chat to learn from and Khania is like my nutrition handbook.  So we all spoke about possible supplements, what I’m eating, and what I could try. 

It really is a trial and error and everyone is different.  Unfortunately, I got blessed with a sensitive stomach, so I really have to be careful.  I’ve had to start kicking my fear of carbs.  I am use to eating as little as carbs as possible cause it goes straight to my mid section. I get this really pretty pudge (very sexy).  So here I am cautiously adding Ezekiel toast at breakfast, brown rice at lunch, and a little sweet potato at dinner.  Not all in the same day, it all depends on my workout that day and the next day.  “Eat for your goal” I was told last night.  It’s a constant conflict between wanting to get a lean (Miami living requires lots of bikinis) and wanting to be able to get thru all the hours of cardio. 

Supplements, I fear them.  Mostly cause they feel like a chemical shit storm and I’m poisoning my body.  Last year when training for my Half Ironman in my search I found Vega One products, which have Vega Sports.  They are plant based supplements and they worked very well for recovery, on my stomach, and also didn’t feel like I was putting crap in my body just because they say I have to. 

So I’m adding those back into my nutrition plan and go from there.  It never crossed my mind that I would have to really plan out my nutrition this much.  My body is a lot more complicated than most, so we’ll see how it goes ~ Adding Mo Miles.

It Hit Me

This past week it finally hit me, like a freight train, what I got myself into.  I got scared.  Going into only my 4^th week of training with only one day off and at least two two-a-days a week, I am pooped (you’ll read this often until August).  It happened Thursday, very unexpectedly.  I was running and it felt like the bones in my legs were about to fall apart (the leg day at the Jungle the morning before didn’t help), no motivation, and just plain tired.  I cut my run short (and got a face of disapproval).  Saturday morning I couldn’t get myself out of bed early enough to make it to the group ride.  I got myself out for a ride but only half of what I was supposed to do.  What the hell am I going to do two months from now? I hear my training cohort as I type this, “Suck it up buttercup.”

I need to find the mental strength to push through the pain and exhaustion. If it hurts, I still run. I need to put aside other aspects of my personal life and not let them affect my training, push thru regardless of what I have going on.  No more cutting workouts short.  I need to strengthen my mind just like I’m doing to my body because where it’s at now, I know I won’t make it thru training and thru the race.  This race means more to me than I can explain, so there is no doubt that mentally training myself is at the top of my list but probably the most difficult.  So how do you train your mind?  Louisville or bust ~ Adding Mo Miles.