I'm ready to get this done

I'm about ready for this triathlon to just go ahead and get here.  It would have been absolutely perfect if this race were timed just about 2 weeks earlier.  Not to say that I'm not excited.  I am.  But I'm ready to be done with training already.  I'm more than ready to put away my swim cap and bike helmet for the season.  They've served me well, but I could do without them until next summer.

It's different with running.  While I certainly have my ups and downs with running, I never just decide I'm "done for the season."  Running is always and will always be here, as long as I have any say in it.  With swimming and cycling, I'm definitely starting to get that feeling.  Yesterday I went for a swim in Green Lake and just didn't have the mental capacity to go longer than 20 minutes (probably a little over a half mile...I forgot my watch).  I just couldn't help but think, I don't want to be doing this right now.

The novelty of tri training has kind of worn off, and I'm realizing that it's really time consuming, tiring, and very mentally tough.  I've definitely enjoyed everything (well, almost everything) up until this point, and I couldn't be happier with the way I spent my summer.  But summer is now over and I'm ready for tri training to be over too.

However, I've only been feeling this way since I started going back to school this week.  It probably has a lot to do with the fact that it is simply time to start putting all my focus into my new job adventure, and trying to experience two separate adventures at once is becoming a little overwhelming.

That said, I've really enjoyed all of the training I've been doing this summer.  I've learned a ton about myself as a cyclist.  Especially in the past couple weeks, as I've been attending a once a week spin class (at Beautiful Bike in Fremont, check it out).  The instructor has been incredibly helpful with advice on form, breathing, and how to climb hills on the bike.  I'm feeling stronger than ever.  In fact, in the last class, he reminded me to just "enjoy how fit you are."  No one's ever really told me to do that before.  I'm strong right now, and instead of stressing about worries for the race, I should be enjoying all this work I've done and the end result.

So, while I sit here snuggling with Lucy and basking in the glory of my fitness, let me tell you about two very enjoyable bike rides I had this week.  They were enjoyable for entirely opposing reasons, but still enjoyable nonetheless.

She's being extra snuggly right now because there's a
mostly packed suitcase in the bedroom.  She dislikes that
very much.

1)  The "Aussie Style" Brick.  I'm not really sure where this name comes from or why, but that's what Ironman Jason called it, so I'm going with it.  Before I explain, let me tell you about Magnolia (if you've followed the blog since the beginning, this is a much different description of Magnolia than was put forth when describing my Boxcar days).  Magnolia is a very hilly, large peninsula on the west side of Seattle.  It is a beautiful neighborhood, parts of which overlook the Sound and include a large, tucked away park that feels like it could be out in the middle of nowhere, not in a large city.  Back when I lived in Magnolia, I had lots of running loops throughout the neighborhood, the longest of which was a 5.5 mile loop that skirted the bluff, was one of my favorite runs, and still is to this day.

There's also a similar bike loop through the neighborhood, which if you follow the path that Ironman Jason and I did, is exactly 7.8 miles and includes 846 feet of elevation gain.  If you go counterclockwise around the loop, you have a couple short, steep climbs, and a good amount of downhill relief.  Clockwise means the opposite: long, slow climbs and short steep downhills.  As Jason put it: counterclockwise is a strengthening ride and clockwise is an endurance ride.  Both good and both challenging in their own rights.

On Monday morning, Ironman Jason and I parked over in Magnolia with bike gear and running shoes in tow, ready to attack the most challenging brick workout I've ever done (really the only one, aside from some 15 minute runs after a bike ride or some post swim runs).  Jason's car was our "transition" area between legs of the workout.

So here's the gist of the "Aussie Style" brick we did:
1)  3 bike loops (counterclockwise) = 23.3 miles, 2,385 feet of elevation gain, in 1 hour 31 mins.
2)  10 min run = 1.14 miles @ 8:36 pace
3)  2 bike loops (clockwise) = 15.9 miles, 1,878 feet of elevation gain, in 1 hour 8 mins
4)  20 min run = 2.02 miles @ 9:03 pace
5)  1 bike loop (counterclockwise) = 7.8 miles, 846 feet elevation gain, 33 mins
6)  30 min run = 3.22 miles @ 8:34 pace

Total time: 4.5 hours
Total bike miles: 47
Total run miles: 6.38

This workout was the most mentally and physically challenging thing I've done since my last marathon (although it doesn't come close to how mentally challenging that marathon was).  The first 3 loops on the bike felt great.  As hilly as Magnolia is, I ride it often and sincerely enjoy it.  After that though, on the first run, my hip kept seizing up from the transition, and I didn't really feel all that good.  It seemed to mostly fade by the end though, and I crossed my finger it wouldn't come back for the next 2 runs.

On the middle bike leg, I got tired of slow hill climbs very quick and decided in the first loop that I like the counterclockwise loop MUCH better than clockwise.  It felt like the hills never ended and I didn't get that much recovery time on the downhills because they were so short.  Plus, I'm still not really comfortable with steep downhills on the bike.  I get visions of tumbling headfirst with a disastrous end.

For the middle, 20 minute run my legs felt a lot better, but for some reason we decided to head off in a direction that took us on a 200 foot climb up for a mile and then we turned around and ran back down.  We ran the second mile a full minute faster than the first.

On the last loop on the bike, I believe there was a point where I told Jason that I was "about ready to kill him" for making me do this, or something to that extent.  My legs were shot and we still had a 30 minute run ahead of us.  But we finished on a downhill, so that was somewhat redeeming.

The last run was tough.  We went 15 minutes out, and both of us were exhausted.  It felt like those were the longest 15 minutes I'd experience in quite a while (although yesterday's swim seemed pretty similar now that I think about it).  On the way back as our legs warmed up and got used to the running though, we started to pick up speed.  Jason kept spouting off how much faster our current mile was than our last, and I think we were both pretty surprised at the paces we kept at the end of this long, tough workout.

4.5 hours in, I'd say an 8:16 final mile with another speedy burst at the
end is something to be proud of.  I'm sure there was an element of
"I just want to be done" that motivated the speed.

At the end of this workout, I felt the ultimate endurance athlete high.  The "holy crap that was hard but now I feel amazing!" high.  I was exhausted and my knees hated me for the rest of the day and the day after, but I felt more reassured than I ever had about this triathlon thing.  It gave me the mental boost I needed to tell myself that maybe I actually can complete this race.

2)  Flat and easy on the Burke.  The next amazing ride that I had was 2 days later.  I wanted to get out and spin my legs as they continued to recover from the brick workout, so I chose to do a flat out and back from my apartment down to the Burke-Gilman trail (there's still a fairly significant climb to get back up the hill home, but everything else is flat).  I wanted to spend a long day at work, so I woke up early enough to give Lucy her morning walk and be on the bike and out the door by 8 am.  

On the Burke at 8 am, the only bikers out there are commuters heading towards the city, which was the opposite direction from where I was going.  The temperature was perfect and the sky was clear.  With all the angst I'd been feeling at my new job, it was just the peaceful, calm, quiet ride that I needed.  I rode 10 miles out to Matthews Beach and decided that I could gift myself a little bit of extra time and venture down to the actual beach.

As I rolled in, there was literally one other person there, an old man reading a newspaper on a bench.  It seemed classically surreal.  Matthews Beach is usually crowded with activity and people, especially on a beautiful summer day.  But here, at 9 am on a Wednesday morning, it was almost deserted.  I found a post to prop my bike, took a picture, and proceeded to sit there, doing nothing but just be there, for about 25 minutes.

Nothing but blue sky and ducks with their feathery butts in the air as they
reached deep in the water for breakfast.  And crows taking baths.  It kind of
made even those black little creepers seem endearing.

For what seemed like the first time in the last couple weeks, I sat there feeling calm, devoid of the inner dialogue that constantly plagues me.  It was exactly what I needed at exactly the right time.  Eventually I had to get up and head home again to face the rest of the day, but I carried the calmness with me for the 10 miles back home and even kept it for a few hours in the classroom as I decided that I would finish up what I could that day, and then not allow myself to go into work the next day--calling it my last "official" day of summer.

While this ride was entirely different from my brick workout on Monday, it excited me and rejuvenated me in almost the same way.  At the end, I felt accomplished and ready to take on whatever came next.

So here's what's next: I have a week of professional development days ahead, Labor Day weekend (including HLM's birthday celebrations!), and then it's back to school for the little ones.  I still have 3 more weeks of training to fit in there somewhere, and it seems like there's all too much on my calendar in the coming weeks.

But tomorrow morning, I'm going to finish packing that mostly-packed suitcase that is turning Lucy into a nervous snuggle-muffin right now, put it in the car, and drive up to Whistler to watch Ironman Canada.  This will be the first Ironman I've ever seen in person, and there are a few people I know doing it.  I'll also be spectating with Ironman Joe and Ironman MacKenzie, so I'm excited for a fun weekend away.  It's the only non-staycation vacation I've taken this summer, and I think it'll do me good to step out of real life, if only for a couple days.

I'm also hoping, that by watching this race, my excitement, motivation, and inspiration for doing my half-Iron will be renewed.  It is timed perfectly just 3 weeks before my race as I'm hitting my "I'm done with training" slump.

And maybe I'll come back with some great stories to tell you.

Happy end of summer.