Oh, it's gonna hurt...

This week was a roller coaster - at work, in my personal life and in training. I definitely had some major peaks and valleys in each of these areas. Ultimately though, it's just another week. We all seem to manage to get through it one way or another. The road to success and achievement is not always paved in gold. Quite often it's filled with tears, tough lessons and moments of extreme doubt. And, when you are training for an Ironman, the road is sometimes covered in gravel.

I'm not sure if it's the humidity or the stress, but I couldn't manage to drag myself out of bed this week. Each time the alarm went off, I found some reason to skip or postpone my workout. Usually, I'm pretty good about crawling out of bed to get in a swim or a run knowing the reward may be an evening free to do as I please. This week was different.

Monday
Somehow I motivated myself to get in the pool and swim in the evening. There was no class and no scheduled workout. Swimming can sometimes be a total drag without these motivating factors. Luckily for me, my good friend and training buddy, Ed, was also swimming. Even though you can't talk while swimming, the company is always nice.

Tuesday
I was all set to get out of bed and do my long run before work. The alarm went off and I stayed put. I did do my long run that evening. I ran about 11.5 miles around Lake Monona. Given my recent decrease in running volume, I was surprised to have a strong run. I didn't hate it, my legs felt good and it really released the stress of the day. I followed up my run with an ice cold beer and some chocolate...oh and watching my friends Sean and Jess play Ultimate Frisbee.

Wednesday
I was again lucky enough to be able to train with Ed. We went out for the standard SW Madison bike ride - the Paoli Loop. We had a great ride. We chatted the whole way, smashed the hills and really relished the flats. It was a beautiful evening in Madison. After the ride, I was lucky to spend a few hours with some of my co-workers enjoying food and beverages at the Great Dane in Fitchburg.

Thursday
This was a BAD day. I skipped my morning swim...and fully intended to run in the evening with the Fleet Feet running group. I ended up staying a bit later at work than intended...and just felt like relaxing and not running. So, I didn't run. Wow - I skipped two workouts in one day. This was a tough day all around. Nothing seemed to be going right. Luckily, there's always a new day.

Friday
I went to Masters Swim and had a really strong workout. Afterwards, I met my friend Petra for breakfast. We had some great girl talk and enjoyed some tea and coffee. Petra just completed her first half Ironman. She did a phenomonal job - I'm very proud of her. She's a strong athlete and good friend. After breakfast, I was very fortunate to spend several hours with my Mom and Brother Mike in Milwaukee. We enjoyed lunch and Margaritas at Tumbleweed and followed it up with some good conversation. I headed back to Madison and ended up redecorating my entire room with my friend Dana.

Saturday
I got up at a reasonable hour and set out for another long run. The morning started out cool, but as soon as the sun came out the humidity skyrocketed! Again though, I was pleasantly surprised by my run. I was clocking some fast miles and feeling fairly comfortable doing so. I ended up running just over 11 miles in about 1:30. Following the run, I had a marathon day of attending a baby shower for my friend Jessica and then heading back to Milwaukee for my grandparents 25th anniversary party.

Sunday
The alarm went off at 5:05am...that's right...5:05am on a Sunday. (Yes, I'm crazy!)
I was meeting up with my friends Matt and Steve to ride 2 loops of the Ironman course at 6am in Verona. This was going to be an epic ride - 80 hilly miles and a test of our fitness. The first loop was great - we didn't really stop at all, rode fairly comfortably and enjoyed the cool morning air.

Before beginning the 2nd loop, we stopped back at the cars to refuel and attend to some other necessities. This included a reapplication of Chamois Butter by Steve and Matt. For those of you who don't know, Chamois (pronounced Shammy) Butter is a cream that eases the rubbing of some private parts with the saddle. No one ever said triathlon was glamorous. We set out for the 2nd loop as the humidity and the heat was really starting to bear down on us. This go around definitely felt tougher. We managed to make it into Mt Horeb to refuel. Matt's dad even met us with Lemonade and Cookies.

After refueling, we set out to complete the loop. It wasn't easy. I definitely had moments where I realized how much Ironman Sunday was going to hurt...and how difficult this course really was. How am I going to do this, I thought. I'm not sure how, but you just keep going no matter how tough it gets. The same is true with life. I had a tough week, but somehow you just keep moving forward hoping for the best.

We cruised back into Verona where Matt crashed. Well, crash is a strong word. Matt forgot to unclip his feet from his pedals and experienced the slow motion, oh-so-embarrassing fall in a major intersection in Verona. That was really the most entertaining part of the entire 5 hours we spent riding.

Sunday (Part 2)
The second part of my Sunday was great. I came home, took a quick shower and went to pick-up our new NE Sales Rep - Jon. Jon is training at Saris in Madison for about a month. I thought I would be a good hostess and show him a little of Madison. We grabbed brunch at the infamous Pancake Cafe. This was followed by a trip to Staples (very exciting). Like any good hostess, I put Jon to work and had him carry a case of wine for me. We capped off the afternoon with an icy cold drink from Starbucks. It was a really enjoyable afternoon.

After dropping Jon off, I headed straight over to Ed's for an Ironman BBQ. The whole gang was there - Becca, Jessica, Pete, Steve, Ed, Matt, Katie...plus the families, Jim and Breanne. The BBQ was great - tasty food and fun stories! We watched the Ironman video that Steve is preparing for all of us and it was great! He really has outdone himself! I feel so lucky to be part of such a great group of people.

Watching the video really reminded me of the journey that I am on right now. No matter what is going on in my life, Ironman was a commitment I made nearly 1 year ago and it's something that I have to see through! Afterall, it's now only 6 weeks away.

This week's lesson
This week's lesson didn't come out of training, but out of life. No matter how tough things get, you keep pushing forward because that's all you can really do. Who wants to go backwards?

Next Saturday I head to Michigan for my final race before Ironman. I am racing the Steelhead 70.3 Triathlon. For those of you unfamiliar with triathlon distances, this is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run (a Half Ironman). I am travelling and participating with my friend Amanda. It should be a great race and further help me dial in my nutrition for Ironman.

Stay Tuned for next week's race report..and check out my pictures! I've added some new ones from this weekend!