From the House of Turtle

This has been a long week for the turtle.  One of my training buddies gave me a turtle hat and the card said, "Behold the Turtle.  He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."

I have been a bit under the weather this week between running here and there from Sedona with my husband to taking my son up to Flagstaff to snowboard over his spring break (I stayed off the slopes for everyone's safety!) and getting some condensed workouts in a long the way.  I started with a cough which eventually turned into sinus congestion and have been plugging along at a slow pace.  My coach actually had given me an extra day off with my travels and I was able to make it to our group bike ride on Saturday.  We had a pleasant ride on the Ironman course (got a little closer to the turn around, but have not gone all the way yet).

I had my bike retrofiteed with shorter cranks and double rings replaced my triple on the front earlier this week.  They put wider handlebars on and got me fitted and Jeff worked with me on my pedaling technique for an hour or so.  I learned about scooping ice cream out of the bowl to activate my posterior leg muscles.  I also got new pedals which in my opinion makes all the difference as I can unclip without any conscious effort.  Life is good now.  On Saturday for the first time, I was able to use my muscles during the upward phase of the circle.  We discussed the possibility of going with a carbon road bike over the tri bike to give me more versatility, however finding one that will work continues to be a challenge.  Jeff is doing more research and then hopefully in the next few weeks we will make a final decision.  Many folks are still saying that this process does not have to take so long nor be so painful, but I am comfortable with where I am and want to invest my money on the best fit this time around.  The turtle has special needs and the turtle is patient!  The purple chameleon still has a little work as she got a new headset, but that is not quite right, so my new bike shop guy is ordering a better one.

Today I was scheduled for an 8 mile run.  Eventhough I have not had any muscle aches or fever, my body is still shouting out for a break and the run was a struggle.  This was my longest run in a while due to having to step back and get my calves stretched out.  They were giving me some trouble today even with the compression socks.  I try to embrace workouts like this as I tell myself this is preparation for the hard moments or hours on race day.  Our group swim was canceled so I just went to my community pool and swam an easy 1500 trying to focus on my technique.  I was tempted to go try an open water swim with a few teammates, but the voice of reason came over me (and that of a few good friends) since the water temps were in the upper 50s.

Speaking of friends, a racelab teammate is the true meaning of friend.  They are an army of yellow that always show up for workouts with a smile, they tell you good job even when you know you are struggling, they give you tips and they share in your pain.  They are proud of your efforts whether you set a PR or intended to perform better that day.  They always check in on you whether it is a facebook post or quick text.  Sometimes we share a post race meal or a movie.

Then there is family, the ones that have to hear about, see and smell all your efforts during the week.  I am happy that my family is on board because that takes away the stress of not being there as much, not having meals made, not having laundry done, and not being able to stay awake.  It helps that my husband has rediscovered the joy of cycling.  He is riding on the road and mountain bike and reconnecting with a passion from the past.  He is the natural cyclist in the family, so we are trying to make sure he gets his time in and that we make some time for him to do an event or two. 

Looking forward to a restful Monday, recouped health, and a new week of training and making new turtle tales to tell.  Remember the turtle makes progress only when he sticks his neck out!