Week 9 - A funny thing happened on the way to the biathlon |
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| Monday September 22, 2008
A funny thing happened on the way to the biathlon A funny thing happened on the way to the biathlon: I got fit! I’m probably in the best shape I’ve been in, in years. The thing is, I thought I was fit already: I teach several group fitness classes a week, work with private clients training them and lead a very active life. I was the picture of health and fitness; or so I thought. Then I started training for this biathlon and I realize now, 9 ½ weeks into it, how not fit I really was. Before starting this training, I hadn’t been running regularly in a long time. Now, if I don’t get in at least 15 miles a week I feel myself craving it. And my speed has increased dramatically too. Today I was running the second half of my brick workout (3-mile run, 1hr spin class, 3-mile run) and I was starting to get winded. So I slowed down my pace from an 8-minute mile to an 8.5-minute mile. A few weeks ago, anything under 10-minutes per mile would have seemed like sprinting! And, before I would come in and teach my spin class and then leave the gym feeling like I got a great workout. Now, if I “only” teach spin and don’t do a post-ride run or something else I feel like I’m being lazy. I’m drinking a lot more water and making smarter food choices. Granted, I’m not 100% organic or anything like that and chocolate is still a daily requirement, but it’s kind of hard to eat a fist full of French Fries after a great run; it just feels wrong in so many ways. I’m not sure I can keep this level of intensity up forever, but I figure if I keep signing up for races I can’t slack off too much. As my friend Amy says, “throw money at it…then chase it.” Maybe not the most wholesome method of maintaining health, but hey if it works… Sunday September 21, 2008
Why am I not sore? My heel doesn’t hurt. My knees feel great. I’m not even tired. In fact, I feel surprisingly fantastic considering I just finished a 10-mile run. Amy and I got up at 5am and braved the coyotes (there have been several brutal coyote-attack incidents in our neighborhood lately). It was incredible: we both felt strong and felt like if we didn’t have to get back and get our kids to the soccer field we could have gone on for hours. Now, don’t get me wrong, we definitely didn’t beat any land speed records (and to my astonishment I found myself having to slow down for her – that never happens!) but we never stopped and walked. We just kept on running. Well, truthfully, we did stop, once. Without going into the gory details, I had to make a very emergency bathroom break behind a tree. But after the deed was done, I felt great and we kept on running for another three miles or so. So, why endure such a long run when we only have six and half miles to cover in the two running parts of the biathlon? Well, I think (and geez, I hesitate to say this out loud), I am going to run the Denver half-marathon in mid-October. Amy mentioned the idea of doing the race a few weeks ago. At the time I just kind of laughed it off, thinking she was kidding, or at least hoping that she was. But, she was fairly persistent and last week as we were having an exceptionally good run I told her I’d do it with her. Perhaps I was feeling cocky because I have been running so well lately. Or, it could be that I just like the idea of continuing to train with her: we’re having so much fun together. Or, maybe it was just the endorphins clouding my judgement. Regardless, I’ve committed myself. Gulp.
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