You are now leaving your comfort zone - Part I

The first thing to say is Meghan is my favorite person EVER for making me sign up for this event! I have been obsessing over each sore muscle (which is due mostly to me not stretching properly after a workout) waiting to see if it leads to new definition in my physique!

The first few weeks have been fantastic, although I have to admit my attendance has been spotty. We have never ending (but always exciting) soccer going on, plus the holidays, and had a few sick children sprinkled in. So far I've run when I can, and dived back into a pool on regular Tuesday Team swim workouts!

As I mentioned before, I haven't been a swimmer in 20+ years. It hurts just to be able to say that and I was FREAKING OUT that my muscle memory would have alzheimer's. I swear I would have backed out of the first swim practice had I not arranged to carpool with Yvonne, a sentimental favorite because she was with me on my first marathon experience. She and I nervously chattered about the whole thing, our whole anticipated training, the event that will come at the end, and when we were pulling into the parking lot, I had a huge weight on my chest that I thought would make me sink to the bottom of the pool.

I decided to opt for the beginner lane at first because again, after 20+ years, I wasn't optimistic (which is so unlike me!). We spent the first day doing drills, working on form, kicking our butts off, and I LOVED being back in the water. Instantly I decided that when this ordeal, I mean event, is over and I've grown up to be an Irongirl, I will retire to being a swimmer who sometimes runs.

I did a few workouts in the beginner lane, then decided to try out Cam's Sunday SCAQ Practice. Cam is the husband of Debby, one of the crazy (but in the best way) full Ironman participants whom I've known since she danced her way into our hearts running her first marathon last year. I love Cam, but his workout was scary to me because well, he's hardcore! I was excited to find that although my arms felt like they were going to fall off, and I thought I'd die after my first 100m non-stop (4 lengths of the pool) I held my own and felt great! (I know, you're asking at this point why I consider this fun?!) So before I pulled my car out of the parking lot that day, I texted to ask Coach Paul if I could try out to move up to the faster lane in Tuesday workouts.

Tuesday came, I moved up into the faster lane - although I still have a little "cheat" that I swim behind a slower swimmer sometimes to allow me a few extra breaths before heading out for the next length of the pool. Turns out I am fast enough for the speedier lane, but I totally have to rework how I stroke, breathe, kick and hold my head to be able to be more aquadynamic for the event. I'm looking forward to the challenge and this week, my goal is to not breathe in any water when holding proper form. :)

I'm SO thankful too that Meghan's mom and dad offered to watch Carson and Lauren during the swim workouts that are so close to their house. The kids have taken to her folks after the initial visit and are looking forward to the next visit.

So far, I am a duathlete (biathlete?), continuing to run and picking up swimming (on that Sunday, I even did both - running 4 miles after the swim workout - and then had such a splitting headache I was convinced that I'd given myself an aneurysm by taking on too much too early but really it was that I hadn't had my normal dose of a Triple Skinny Latte by noon and my head was angry about that.

Speaking of headaches, let's talk bicycles. I'm trying to get a bicycle without spending too much money, but at the same time, it has to be comfortable enough for me and my shortness for 50+ miles - and apparently, I'm shorter than I've been boasting. It's partially finding a financially conservative investment of a bike, but partially it's the sport that scares me the most. I won't be at practice this coming Sat. because I'll be on a Team In Training HIKE! so that gives me 2 weeks to work this out in my head so that next Sat. the 12th, I can show up ready to ride!

Sarah signed up for what?!

It was a Monday like any other Monday. Meghan sweetly called me on the phone and asked if I'd be in the office so she could come in and sign up for an event. I'd been toying with the idea of signing up for Desert Tri - sprint (aka shorter) distance - but Meghan can be awfully sweet and persuasive and by the time she left, I was shaking, but smiling, and filling out the forms myself for Wildflower Triathlon - a half ironman triathlon.

The idea of a triathlon exhilarates me. I have done a couple of marathons, done many more half-marathons, but the idea of the halves just wasn't scaring me enough to train regularly. I needed to step up my game...

Wait, back it up... I'm talking like I'm an elite athlete, I barely call myself a runner, because although I've covered many miles through the last few years, I don't look like a runner, I don't even like running! I have a really loud internal (usually) fight with myself for at least the first 30 minutes of any run. While I do get the sense that if it's been a while since I've been out there pounding the pavement that I might pound something or someone else, we'll just say, running doesn't come naturally.

Now Team In Training is the most well-rounded training program and I highly recommend it on an athletic and philanthropic level. Still, I won't lie, when the training schedule said cross-training day, I'd cross my legs and catch up on facebook updates or episodes of Grey's Anatomy.

People always told me that if you really want to get in shape, try a Tri! So that was the start of my thought process. The rest is a blur, void of all logical thought, but here I am signed up to do 70.3 miles total in the water, on a bike and on my feet and damn, I am excited for the journey, the challenges, the victories, and the finish line!

...and then I remembered that the last thing that Meghan wanted me to sign up and train with her for I wound up running alone because she was busy being a rockstar paddler! Oh Crap, what have I done?!