Wow a month has passed since my last entry. I thought I might have been able to post a few entries on the way to this weekend, but there were a lot of things brewing.
This weekend is FirmMan. FirmMan is a 1/2 IronMan (IM) distance triathlon, which is 1.2 miles swimming, 56 cycling and 13.1 running. It is also the first time I am doing this distance.
Tomorrow, I leave very early, 6 am to be exact, and drive up to Narragansett, Rhode Island with Connie. I think the next time I'll want to go the night before, because tonight is supposed to be your best night's sleep. It's very hard to sleep the night before - due to nerves, excitement and very early wake up.
The last month has been crazy. I reached one point when I thought my body was going to fall apart. Everytime I would do something, a muscle or muscles would start shaking. I'd squat to label something and in seconds my legs would be trembling. I'd finish a swim and my arms would shake. I hit a point where my workload, body and the extreme heat we had for a bit reduced my training to 4 days a week instead of 6.
That did me in mentally. How was I ever going to finish a 1/2 IM if I couldn't do the training? I turned to one of the TNT coaches for advice. The rest was good. It was obviously what my body needed. I was doing the distances needed, but I needed to work on my eating during them.
It's not easy to get 300 calories in per hour while cycling for 5 hours or running for 2. Then came the advice of another TNT coach. I was to add in this stuff called Carbo-Pro to my drinks. It ups the calories and doesn't taste like anything. But now I have to be sure I get enough electrolytes in. Well those come in handy capsules that one person recommended I just add into the calorie enhanced sport drink.
I tried the Carbo-Pro/sport drink brew on my last long bike ride, and it didn't seem to bother my stomach. Check. I tried the electrolyte capsules and higher calorie brew (swallowed the capsules and made my sports drink with more Carbo-Pro) for my first ever 1/2 marathon. No adverse reactions there. Check and Check.
So, now I've done the distances and everything in between, and have figured out how I will get the calories in that I need. Of course it is all an estimate, because I don't really know how long it'll take me to finish.
I'm hoping less than 8, figuring for just over 7, and dreaming of under 7 hours. Yes, hours. The coaches have sent e-mails giving me good suggestions on how to approach and do the race. I've tried not to bother them too much about this race because I'm not training with TNT for it. But they have been a great when I have asked. I'm sorry they won't be there. Their presence always makes me calmer. But that was the point of doing a race that had nothing to do with TNT, and trying this distance on my own. I wanted to move out of my comfort zone (relative term), and see what I could do relying on myself more.
I found that I have many resources that I just need to ask for the help or advice, and it is given. Friends, coaches, acquaintances, people at the various stores I go to, all of them have helped to get me to this race. So I guess even when you do it on your own, you're in very good company and rarely alone.
Must get some sleep.
I'll write again when I'm back in town, and give the low down on how the race went.
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