When in Doubt, Work it Out: Take the Long Road Home

After a rough week of just not feeling strong, I found out my blood work came out a little out of whack.  I went in to the doctors for my annual thyroid check to monitor my medication I take for hypothyroidism.  I told my doctor how great I was feeling and he had complimented me on my weight loss this year.  I smiled and replied, "IRONMAN TRAINING".  Later in the week, my muscles just felt empty.  On Friday, I learned my liver enzymes were elevated along with my white blood cell count and my dose of synthroid needed to be increased.  My son came home not feeling well and was feverish and by Saturday morning I seemed to share his soar throat and achy body. 

He can just chillax, take some allergy and cold medicine and rest for the weekend, but not an IMIT(Ironman in Training)!  There are miles to log and heart rate zones to visit.  And the question of how hard to push without risking ending up sick in bed all week lingered in my mind.  I met a few teammates for a 3.5 hour ride around the McDowell Mountains.  The directions we chose took us up some nice steep hills to warm up and up a famous route called 9 mile hill.  I knew that I was going to probably return to being a turtle, on this day, but I had no idea that once again, my legs  would feel heavy and weak and the open sunshine and higher than usually humidity challenged my mind and body for the entire ride.  I had no choice but to finish because I was already half way around the mountain and the only way back was to complete the other half.  Turning around would be the same distance.  My friends were nice enough to wait for me at the big bike rest stop.  I thought about abandoning the mission on several occasions especially when I rode by a turn off to my house.  I also don't like holding people back, but I just did not have it in me to keep up today.  It quickly went from a "long" ride to a "survival" ride.  I had to fight muscle fatigue, sore throat, burning feet, a little discomfort in my back, and another upset stomach despite following my coach's recommendations to add more water and salt to my nutrition.

I made it to the end, but I was not sure what was going to be left for my Sunday run, so I decided to just wake up without an alarm and see what the morning would bring.  I checked my watch at 3:19 am as that seems to be when my biological alarm clock has been going off and then I hit the snooze button in my mind for an hour and decided I would take motrin to take the edge off the sore throat and see what my legs had in them.

I left at 5am and enjoyed running the first 30 minutes in the dark.  When I passed by a street light and saw a shadow in front of me and one by my side, I realized I was back with me, myself and I and this is exactly where I was supposed to be.  The only person that you can rely on in Ironman is yourself and it was good to have this reunion with my self.  Even though I was alone, I was surrounded by my mind and body.  Would we work together today or would we be battling it out to the finish.  I got away from obsessing with what mile I was on and what my heart rate was and just listened to my body and went a comfortable pace that I knew I could sustain.  I did snack when my Garmin chimed and sipped on my Camelback the entire way.  Today was about running through being under the weather and pushing the wall back.  I texted my husband to give him the thumbs up as I knew I could make the 16 miles today and would not need a rescue.  As long as I was in the shade, my stomach seemed fine.  As soon as the sun came up, my stomach starts acting up.  I really think I am allergic to the sun.  Maybe I should sign up for a night triathlon.  On the other hand, I will likely be running in the night on race day.

My body is now telling me to rest.  I think I have pushed the wall back enough for one day and do not want to end up spending the week in bed, so I will stop while I am ahead and skip the swim.  Hoping to talk to my coach about making some adjustments to my schedule and looking closer at nutrition. 

This week RAISED some serious DOUBT in my mind.  I felt like I was being tested over and over again this week on how I could find a way to move, when I had nothing left to give.  I suppose that the triathlon gods are looking over me trying to prepare me for what is to come.  Training can last forever as long as we are healthy, but there are only 17 hours in an Ironman.  The question is how to get to the start line well trained, well nourished, and well rested so the swim, bike and run will all be in harmony on race day.  Well my friends, there are 85 days left to figure this out.