If you didn’t know, I signed up for my first half-Ironman in September in Atlantic City. For a long time, I said I would “never” do a triathlon. Then, when I did my first sprint, I said I would “never” do an Ironman.
And, here we are. My foray into Ironman events.
For the first few weeks after I signed up, I thought I’d train myself. Buy a book or two, put a plan together and I’d be OK.
I quickly realized that was NOT the case. So, I did my homework and hired a coach.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I was nervous that I was going to have spend hours upon hours in the gym, give up my personal life, and install a “pain cave” in my house (since that seems to be the “thing”).
Luckily, I haven’t had to do any of that.
I did need to adjust to working out in the morning…which is a BIG change for me because I really dislike morning workouts. This past month or so has been rough. Putting myself to bed earlier, getting up earlier, adjusting to being active at 5:00 a.m. – they’re not small changes.
It’s similar to dieting in a way. Lots of changes all upfront. It’s confusing and overwhelming, can make you tired and cranky, and gives you a few thoughts of “I should just give up” during the first week.
I didn’t give up. I’ve stuck to it. It’s had its high points and low points. But after the first two weeks, I found my stride. It started getting easier to go to bed earlier, easier to wake up earlier, and I got used to be active in the morning. In fact, I’ve come to look forward to the time I have at night that I didn’t have before because I was in the gym.
Now, we enter an easier training week. I won’t lie, I’m looking forward to a little break. But, I’m more ready to get into the intense stuff.
Onward to September.