Doing things backwards.

It seems like with my racing I do things a bit backwards.  I did a full Ironman before I did a half Ironman.  I did a marathon and half marathon within triathlons before I ever did the run portion on it's own.  So this Saturday I will be doing a half marathon.  And for the many people who have said to me, "oh a half, that will be so easy for you."  Remember people, this is my first half marathon.  It will be my first experience at how to properly pace myself at this distance.  It may sound odd to you but I actually LOVE running off the bike in triathlons.  My legs are warm, I'm already psyched and in race mode and I know I'm on the last leg of the triathlon.  So, pure running races are very odd for me.  I'd like to keep improving at them though.

I've had a bit of a struggle to figure out how to approach this race.  It's my last race of the season and I'm already kind of in "off season" mode, so it's been harder to get pumped up and eager for this one.  I've wondered if I should just take it easy and not go full out but then I remember that's not really in my nature.  I get a huge thrill out of giving everything I have to give in a race and immense satisfaction when I pace it well and am able to finish really strong.  I love tapping into my deeper emotional and physical reserves in racing.  It's exhilarating.  But right now I just feel like being more gentle with my body (part of that off season mentality.)  Just one more race body....you can do it!!!  Then you get a nice, long break until the spring.

Good news is this race is in my beloved Fish Creek Park.  This is a place of peace and serenity and untouched beauty to me.  It's a place that I've bonded with, after the many training hours I've spent down there.  I imagine that racing down there will feel very natural and familiar and comforting.

Screen time.

If you know me well, you probably know that the past year I've been making efforts to reduce my screen time.  I've done things like putting my laptop in the den, so that I have to go there with more purpose.  (I used to keep it in our great room and I'd sit on my couch when I used it.)  I made a rule for myself that I'm not allowed to be on my computer when Riley comes home from school.  I have a snack and a visit with him and give him my full attention.  I've come to realize that I just don't feel very well after I've been on the computer for a long stretch.  I feel more tired, kind of down and fuzzy-brained, almost as if the computer has sucked out a bit of my zest and happiness.  Weird hey!

So I will continue writing my blog but it might be a little more sparse and sporadic. 

Second day of swim club went really well.  I was literally the slowest person there.  My dad would normally take that blessed title but he couldn't make it to swim club today.  I really don't mind being the slowest.  It means I have the most room for improvement and will probably benefit most from being there.  I love being surrounded by faster swimmers because it's inspiring.  I'm not sure they all love having me there though. I'm kind of like the "difficult" child at school who takes all the teacher's time.  I ask a lot of questions and probably get more of our coach's attention than anyone else.  Oh well.  Too bad for them that they're not as slow as me.

I ran 21 km last Monday and it felt kinda brutal.  Our 10 day holiday really gave my fitness a kick in the pants.  It seems like my hamstrings and IT band tightened up and it's causing me a little knee pain.  Yep, I like to self-diagnose.  So I have 2 weeks to get my butt in gear and ready for the Harvest Half Marathon.  My fitness is not going to be at the same level it was for the Hawaii half Ironman.  At that race I ran the half in 1:55 after swimming 2 km and biking 90 km. Plus it was a tough, hilly course.  At the Harvest Half I think I'll be aiming to go sub 2 hours.  It's the off season for me, so I'm focusing more on swimming and strength training and well, having fun.

Swim Club

I started swim club today with my dad.  He sent me this picture last week, joking that he'd be wearing a pair of "skimpies" like this.  Those stripes are highly unflattering.

As we headed over, I felt grateful to be trying something new.  I had that blessed apprehension that comes when you put yourself outside of your comfort zone. I hope that as an adult, I am continually willing to do this.  I could see how my life could go either way: I could continue doing "comfortable" things that are familiar or I could swallow my pride and head out into the unknown for adventures.  Swim club is one of those unknown adventures to me.

I can already see that my swimming is going to improve by participating.  Our coach made us more aware of the 29 muscles in our core and the importance of firing these muscles to have correct body position.  I feel like that's going to be key for me.  The first Tuesday of every month (starting in October) we are going to do time trials of 500 m, 1000 m and 1500 m.  For the first month, she's having us work more on our kick to strengthen up our legs.  Now, I have never really attempted the dolphin kick previously, except in jest but apparently this is one of our coach's favorites.  I told my dad as we drove home that from now on if I ever need a reason to smile I will picture in my mind him doing the dolphin kick.  He said he noticed a few lifeguards gather on the edge of the pool, possibly to observe his attempts.  He claimed to have a hard time making it fluid.

Joking aside though, I am really grateful to spend this time with my dad and glad that he's up for an adventure with me.  I'm looking forward to spending more time together. I'm also looking forward to seeing my swimming improve.  Look out triathlon world, I'm going to be coming out of the water quicker from now on.

Me and my dad before the chinook tri a few years ago.