Life Gets In The Way

Finding time for a workout is difficult for me right now. I've started back to work and the first few weeks are packed with overtime and a lot of stress. Add to that my son's wedding reception, family visiting from all over the country, and all my other responsibilities and, well, you get the picture.

Some of my girl friends and I decided to do the Tiara Tri in El Dorado. That's about 5 hours from home. It's just one week away and I am so not ready. I haven't done any running for the last 3 and a half weeks and swimming time has been non-existent. I've gotten a few bike rides in but no brick workouts of any kind. To say I'm unprepared is an understatement.

So this weekend I set my alarm early on Saturday and packed my bike bag for a long ride. I also happen to have a century ride coming up in 4 weeks so I need to get in a lot of seat time. The 40 mile ride was good but that's a long way from 100. Thankfully the ride for the upcoming tri is only 9 miles. I can remember when a 9 mile ride sounded so far!

I set my alarm early again this morning and went for a run, the first in 25 days. I would really have loved to sleep in, but I need to do at least a little training. I took it easy and walked up the hills and ran the downhills and flats. Surprisingly my time wasn't too horrible and I felt pretty good afterward.

I know without proper training I can't expect great results at the race. Kate H. and Claudia B. have been doing tri's all summer long and are really ready for this one. Meghan M. and I have not and are going for the fun and experience. That's just the way it's going to be.

But I have one more thing to prove to myself. This will be my first ever open water swim. That was my goal for the year and it looks like I will have my chance to cross that off my bucket list. Without ever swimming in a lake or large body of water before I don't know what to expect. Everyone tells me it will be fine, but I'm still very nervous about this challenge. If I survive the swim I plan to take it easy on the bike and run and enjoy the day.

I'm realizing the truth in the saying "You can't train for two events". Between the triathlon and the century bike ride I don't really know what workout schedule to follow. I want to do them both but long rides don't fit into the tri plan. I guess I'll shift gears so to speak after this coming weekend.

In the mean time I'll keep working with my schedule to try and fit in workouts this week. It's funny how everyone has the same hours in a day but some use them more wisely then other. I'm looking for that wisdom.