Sunday, March 27, 2011

More rain...yay.

Has anybody else noticed the change in the weather?  Yeah, me neither! Here in the Willamette Valley, we have been in this perpetual 45-degree gray, rainy, pattern for a very, very long time. I guess this week, the rain is supposed to get a little warmer.  Yay.
We’re all ready for sun, but that’s apparently not in the cards for at least a little while longer.  Besides, we all know that there are folks in other parts of the world whose lives have been turned upside-down by natural and man-made disasters. These folks will need our continued prayers, compassion, and outreach. In the mean time, we can certainly handle some more weeks of Oregon puddles, just fine.
If this had been a drier winter, I’m sure many of us would have ridden more. Instead I’ve gone indoors, trying to get a little lighter and leaner in time for spring. It’s been equal amounts of attention to running, spinning, and swimming in preparation for a triathlon. For this first-ever attempt, it will definitely be a “sprint” event (the shortest of triathlons). Typically that’s a 750 meter swim, 20k cycling, and 5k running.
Training has been a good way to be focused, motivated, and humble. I'm sharing the gym with some folks who appear to be my age and older, whose speed and endurance far exceed mine. The best training sessions have caused me to confront fatigue, pain, and self-doubt. It’s so strange, though; just an hour or so after I’ve been beaten up by a workout, I’m already planning for the next one. Weird!
This is a new and unfamiliar thing for me. Always too busy with work to spend time in the gym, scrambling with family schedules, eating at the drive-thru way too often, I wasn’t paying attention to how fast the pounds were adding up and my health was slipping away. Energy levels, joint pain, stamina, stress, they were all in a downward spiral. Those things have dramatically improved with these regular workouts.
And oddly, I have to thank the rain.

7 comments:

The Hillbilly Banjo Queen: said...

I hear you on the being beat up and planning the next event. Last year, minutes after I crossed the finish line on the 55 mile Reach the Beach ride, I was already planning on the 80 miler for this year. I am now confronting my big, fat mouth and wondering if I am up for 80 miles.

Kelly Carlisle said...

I love this! Have fun getting ready...and who knows what new goal awaits you after the 80-miler?!?! Go get 'em.

Jessica said...

HAHA! I can SO relate to this too! (BTW I love The Banjo Queen's comment! I did the RTB and decided I was NEVER doing that again! I think cycling isn't really my favorite sport.)

I've also been faced with those self-doubting thoughts lately. Tina talked me into doing a triathalon this summer and I guess we're doing the sprint thing too. After spending some time in the pool last week I realized I should probably get some adult swim lessons. I really don't know ANYTHING about swimming other than keeping my head above the water.

Keep at it, you're lookin great!

RCMC467 said...

I guess it's true what they say, eh? All cyclists are masochists.

Geoff said...

Did you ever get signed up for a sprint triathlon? I'm thinking about the WOU Sprint+ Triathlon for my first one.

Kelly Carlisle said...

Jessica--YOU'RE the one that's looking great! Congratulations on the transformation. It's the best gift to yourself. Sounds like you're enjoying running, too. That's awesome. I don't have much swimming wisdom to offer except that it gets better if you keep at it regularly. Which is why I'm not improving very quickly. I need to be in the water a lot more.
Geoff--no, I've not yet committed to a specific race. But I hadn't heard about the WOU event. I'll check into it! Thanks!

Jessica said...

Tina and I are doing the Blue Lake Triathalon. I think it's like $80 for the sprint event and I believe it's the first weekend in June. The biking and runnning courses are flat which is fabulous! There's still time to sign up!