Positive thoughts

Marco!!!! Polo!!!!! Here I am! Did you miss me? Prolly not 'cause all I ever seem to blog about is my boring training. Which I shall continue to do because it's my blog and I can blog about whatever I want to blog about! If you don't like it you can get your own blog... I'm just kidding. I love that people find it interesting enough to read about.

Wednesday I had lunch with my sister. I don't get to see her enough now. Isn't it funny, when you're kids you can't wait to get away from each other. She used to beat the holy crap out of me, but I did manage to get a few good swings in on her kneecaps. She's about 8 in. taller than me and would put her hand on my head and hold me away from her while I wasted all my energy swinging at the air. Ahhhh, those were the good old days!

Thursday was just kind of came and went. I do remember the workouts though:

Bike:
Warm Up:
15 minutes easy
10 x (20 seconds @ 110+ rpms, 40 seconds @ 90 rpms)
Mainset:
4 x 3 minutes interval (described below), followed by 2 minutes easy spin
Use an easy to moderate gear; increase your cadence every 20 seconds.After 1 minute, drop a gear/add resistance & go back to where you started with cadence & increase back up again
Cool Down:
15 minutes easy

Run:
NOT off the bike; later or earlier in the day. 30 minutes in zone 1 to low 2.

I did both of these inside. I hear the collective gasp of all you who live in central AR. Yes it was in the upper 60's, but windy as all get out. I just kept thinking about that wind gusting up to 25 mph and I just didn't have it in me to battle it. So I hopped on the trainer which is not so bad if you're doing drills. It's really better to do that stuff on the trainer so you can pay attention. I did the run on the treadmill because of time constraints and I needed to stay in Zone 1 and low 2. If you're familiar with where we live than you understand that if I had run outside, I would have ended up in Zone 3 and possibly 4. It is H-I-L-L-Y over here.

Today has been a good day! I was groggy when I woke up, but it was because Chris had gotten home from being out of town and...well....you know... Anyway, I started on my way to work and started what my friend Marianne calls "coffee prayers". A "coffee prayer" is talking to the universe or God or whatever it is that you honor whenever you have a short moment. I do it on my way to work in the car. It's pretty safe seeing that I leave before 6:00 and there is minimal traffic. This morning I prayed for my friend who is battling cancer, was thankful for all the universe has blessed me with and made the decision that I would make an honest conscious effort to stayed positive all day long. If a negative thought entered my head, I would do my best to dismiss it. You know what? I was calm and happy all day. I think when you start your day out looking in the mirror and criticising yourself you are setting the tone for the day. Unfortunately, most of us do this. We honestly think that we are too this or not enough that. In reality we just beat ourselves down with doubt about our abilities and who we are. It is us and us alone that can change that. We don't have control of a lot that goes on in this world, but we do have the control of our view of it and communicating effectively. As John Mayer says, Say What You Need To Say!

Today's training:

Warm Up:
3 x 100 drill 75, swim 25 (R:15)
2 x (3 x 50 done as easy, moderate, fast) (R:15 after each 50)
Mainset:
3 x 600 (rest 1 minute after each 600)
#1 - swim w/good form; maximize time on side, stretch out stroke, drop forearm at elbow to begin pull, keep head low, elbows high, do not overkick
#2 - swim as 6 x 100 (R:05 after each 100) at a fast pace
#3 - 600 negative split, finish strong
Cool Down:
300 pull
TOTAL = 2700

There is this guy who has been swimming at the pool since about the time I started training for the Ironman. When he started swimming, he made a comment that I made it look so easy. I just told him to keep swimming and he would get the hang of it. Well, I've watched him progress and not that I'm the best swimmer, I gave him some advice. He's now at the stage where a little tweeking will not overwhelm him and freak him out. So I just told him how much he's improved, but there was a small adjustment he could make and gave him the name of a website for swimming drill to make him really fast! He just exudes this energy that you know he's taking it all in a positive way. Then another guy in the next lane asked me what I was training for and I just beam when I get to tell people that I'm training for an Ironman. He is getting ready for his first sprint triathlon. It reminded me of how far I've come. Sometimes that's just what you need to help you know that you're good enough, smart enough and, darn it, people like you!!!!