Only 240 days . . . to Wonder What the Limit Feels Like

Happy February! Only 240 days until IM Choo. Only 240 days until we dip into the dark, murky waters of the Tennessee River. Only 240 days until we pedal into Georgia and back. Only 240 days until we will our legs and feet to move one after the other for 26.2 miles after a 112-mile bike ride and 2.4-mile swim. Only 240 days.

Thankfully, we still have 240 days to prepare.

This week we have nothing new to report other than we continue the challenge of pre-training training, or base building. Our ironman-trainer buddy has informed us we need to build up to a 60-minute swim, 2.5-3 hour bike, and 80-minute run by the time we start scheduled training in May. JT is pretty much there in all areas or could at least muster the toughness to complete them if he had to right now. I'm still building. But I'm hopeful too that if I just keep adding a little more to my long bikes and long runs every weekend, I'll be there by May.

And then the real work will begin.

This week found us with the regular schedule of taking turns swimming and biking. We'll be skipping the long run this week with the focus on spending some time together as a family with family, celebrating Grandpa Troxell's birthday. We definitely feel the flexibility to skip a workout here and there right now.

Come May, there will be no more skipping.

Our bi-weekly rides on Tuesday and Thursday nights have led me to the conclusion that training would be so much harder if our kids were actually older. For those who don't know, we have three little blessings ages 1, 3, and 5. On Tuesdays we have been splitting our time by me spinning early in the morning so I can teach a class on Tuesday evening while the little blessings sleep and JT spinning with the group. On Thursday nights we put the littlest blessing to bed and let the other two stay up a little past their normal bedtime to hang out with the group while we spin.

And they love it.

They regularly bug us on Thursdays, asking when everyone is coming over for a bike over. I am anticipating some serious disappointment once we move the ride outside.

I don't know what life will be like when we have a 13, 11, and 9-year-old, or something like that in their later years. Ignorance is bliss. We can only rely on the observations of friends who do have older kids. I do know this: our little kids make training pretty easy. They play around us as we spin. They ring cowbells when we run. They lift weights with us when we strength train. And when we swim, well, they sleep.

We've found success so far in training either while they're sleeping early in the morning or evening and by taking turns. I often wonder how this will work as our duration and intensity increases.

We'll find out in 240 days.

Schedule Shifting for Real Lives

"I write this post from the comfy recliner in my parents' sun room on an isolated farm in South Dakota while Jason is training his rear off in Duluth with some studly triathlete friends."

This was how I intended  to begin this week's blog. But once again, our wonderfully unpredictable weather has modified our plans.

Our most-proud moments as a couple come when we work together without arguing. We've had many spectacular and not-so-spectacular moments in the last fourteen and a half years of marital bliss. Triathlon training and the potential fatigue-induced stress that comes with it produces such moments. This weekend, we worked together once again (not so perfectly, but still, we got it done) to squeeze in some decent training.

This weekend was supposed to find us both away from home: Jason on a training weekend in Duluth for boys only and me at my parents helping corral all seven of my nieces and nephews along with our three blessings (a whole different kind of workout). Jason ended up staying at home thanks to a Minnesota blizzard (thanks a LOT, Mother Nature).

The Wrench in Jason's plans: Check out the light purple "difficult" roads and the "travel-not-advised" dark purple. Yikes. 

The kids and I still went to my folks. Not only did Minnesota fight a blizzard, but we had our own typical winter weather forecast to consider. I'm so proud of the fact that despite the change of plans along with our own unpredictable weather we both put in some quality training. Here's how:

We usually bike long on Saturday and run long on Sunday. Fridays we usually swim (me early in the morning and Jason at noon). With an ominous winter forecast on the horizon, I opted to run long with a friend on Friday afternoon while the kids either school or daycare kept the kids occupied and Jason spent some quality time with a good friend. Saturday the kids and I still went to my folks for some cousin fun, and Jason took advantage of his flexible schedule by putting in his long run before the snow fell and the wind picked up. Then Sunday afternoon, today, when visibility began to lessen, we tackled the long bike ride (as one little cherub slept and the other two kept themselves occupied with blocks, coloring, and each other).

Hopefully this week will bring even better results. We've learned the weather will not always cooperate with our plans (in fact, it rarely does). When sanity trumps bravery and we know we have to stay inside, we try to marginalize our options and do what we can when we can.

And once again, this week, the circumstances of life remind me of how completely lost I'd be if God hadn't given me Jason. In between sleeping in and running long Saturday, he cleaned the house. Without him, triathlon, and certainly IM Training, would not happen. Of this I'm pretty sure. He doesn't give up his workouts, but he modifies them. He volunteers to take the early morning swim time once a week so I can sleep in a little. He finishes the laundry to the point of putting things away, and then I pick up the slack. He eats my cooking, usually without complaining. And he encourages me even though I'm by far much slower than him and certainly weaker. He's a good man to have around, and I'm grateful we can work on this goal together and can't wait to accomplish it together.