This past week was another one which wasn't too exciting. I worked and I trained. No sailing this week because I took over at my buddies house to babysit his three dogs and they left early so I didn't want to leave them for that long. I have continued to lift two days a week and I can definitely feel myself getting stronger in the weight room. For whatever reason when it came to to my bike and run this week though it was very difficult to get myself going. I think taking so much time off last week definitely hurt me. I also did not swim this week, which I don't like but I will be back in the pool this week, I can promise you that.
My buddy who I am house sitting for was a personal trainer and is still into working out and staying fit. One morning when I woke up I found an omron machine in the bathroom. I decided to fire it up and plug in my info and see what it had to say. I could see the little lines blinking across the bottom and the anticipation was building. When the numbers popped up I had to rub my eyes and look at it again. It told me I had 18% body fat. ARE YOU KIDDING ME 18%!! I didn't have one of these machines when I first started so I cannot give you an exact number for where I was, but it had to be somewhere between 25-30%. I couldn't believe it...I was beside myself.
Last week I was talking with a guy Brandon who I work with at my health club. I used to see Brandon when he would come in to swim when I first started working there and I was super inspired. I knew he was a triathlete and I knew that, that's what I wanted to become. He has definitely been an inspiration throughout this whole thing and he has helped me more than I could ever imagine. When I was talking to him, I told him that I wanted to get better and faster on my bike. I am averaging about 15 mph on every ride when I go out but I want to be faster. I also can feel how I am still a little hesitant when it comes to descending hills. This is obviously something I need to work on because there are so many hills where I ride. After talking awhile he said "it will come with time man, don't worry about it!" This is so true....I constantly need to remind myself that I have just entered into this new world of triathlons. I did not run or ride before I started. I am basically starting from square one and he is right, it will come with time and practice.
Today I woke up and grabbed some coffee before I went to church. I knew after church that I needed to do a brick workout. I was just delaying the inevitable. I grabbed my water bottles, my Powerbar gel and I was off. I started my ride and it was hot. Not nearly as hot as a few rides I have done, but the sun was definitely beating down. As I was descending one of the first big hills I went to change gears and my chain totally locked up. I couldn't pedal and I immediately started freaking out on the inside. I knew I just had to make it to the bottom of the hill. When I got there I jumped off and started fooling around with the chain. For whatever reason it had popped off. As I said before I am totally new to this and I had to idea what to do. I was over 6 miles from my car and I have no idea how far I was from home. I wanted to just call it quits, call my friend to come get me who lives right in the town of Oxford and go home. I finally figured it out and jumped back on the bike. I rode some more and as I was descending another hill the same thing happened. Luckily this time it was easy to fix because I knew what to do. I popped the chain back on and finished my ride. It was just over 17 miles.
Strava report from my ride.
When I got back to my car, I popped the wheel off and switched my shoes and started off for my run. I headed over to the park across from where I parked my car and my legs felt like jello. For my first mile it felt like I wasn't even moving. I got through two miles in around 18 minutes and I knew I had to finish....I had to hit my 5K just for myself. I was already over an hour into my workout and my legs were dead. In this moment I wanted to quit so bad. As I was running I thought of a picture that I posted on my instagram last week and it pushed me to keep going. I finished my 5K and although it wasn't my fastest time, I some how managed to go 8 min on my last mile!
Strava from my run with my first negative split!
As I said multiple times in this post, I am entering into an entirely new world here. I am someone who wants things instantaneously. I see something and I want it right then and there. I have become better about this on this journey however. If you go back to previous posts or check out my twitter(ForYourself15) You will see how I have gotten faster since I started running at the end of last year. I know that I am getting better and better with each training sessions. I can see my body changing and adapting to everything I have been doing and I am so happy with how far I have come. I would have never thought when I started that I would be where I am today. 2-3 years ago....HA! I would have never even dreamed of doing what I am doing right now. Still is it selfish of me to want more, to want to be faster? No I don't think so....I have never wanted something quite as bad as this and I can promise you that I will stop at nothing until I get there.
I am not sure how you found this blog but I can tell you that I have found some amazing people through instagram who have been incredibly inspiring. If you are on there or not on there, you should check it out and find me if you want to put a face with the blogger (doing_it_for_yourself). People post their story and their progress and it is awesome, I love it! It is insane how your body responds to the pressure you put on it!
This week is a busy week coming up, yes tomorrow is my birthday but to me it will just be another day. I am going to train, I want to swim and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way. I had a great dinner with family tonight and I am so thankful for them. They have been absolutely amazing through this journey and I would be truly lost without them. Wishing you all a wonderful week and I hope you enjoy what is left of your summer!
All for now
Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself
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