How's Training Going?!

I remember several people saying that they were sick of the question above when they were training for their Ironman races. Now I know what they are talking about and it's only the end of Week #3.

It's a legitimate question, I realize, for my friends and family to ask. It's legitimate because training is my life right now. It's like when people asked the question, "so, what are you going to do when you graduate?" It's like that question because at that time, my life was school and school was ending, so they wanted to know what was next for me. What were my plans for life? Just as now people want to know what is going on with the thing that is consuming my life.

"Consuming" is a strong word. I'm not consumed yet, just focused. At the end of Week #3, I'm realizing that for the next 22 weeks, my free time will almost not exist. Monday through Friday look like this: wake up, get ready for work, go to work, work, go to the gym for 2-3 hours, get home, eat dinner, go straight to bed, and then repeat this pattern the next day. My schedule is much regulated, which is something I'm definitely not used to. I like freedom and spontaneity, but those two things won't get me to the finish line of an Ironman.

And I'm tired. Muscles are sore and fatigued; I missed ALL of my swims last week and feel a little guilty. I can't start slacking now! 2.4 miles of swimming is a long way and that is only the beginning of the race.

Yesterday, I went on a 45 minute run with my friend/housemate Molly. I had done a 40 minute strength training video and a 30 minute easy workout on the elliptical machine before we headed out for our run. The schedule called for a 90 minute run, but with some personal issues, 45 minutes was all that I decided to complete. It turned out to be a good idea for reasons that I won't go into publicly. The good thing was that I still felt good and strong at the end of the run and could have gone longer had the other problem not persisted (a problem that won't be back for another few weeks thankfully). Let me just say that it's tough to be a woman sometimes. :-(

All to say, training is going...it's going...I guess it's just going. Truth be told, I don't really know how to answer that question. How is training going? Well, since I have never trained for an Ironman, I don't really know how it's going? Am I doing enough? Will I be ready with what I'm currently doing? Did I pick the right training schedule? I just do not know yet. I guess, as Molly says, I'll know when I know, and then, I'll know.