The Ninja Blog (and the mid-week lessons learned)

So, I figure since people are most likely only reading this blog when we post an update on social media, I can write a random mid-week blog for the purpose of just exhaling and recording important lessons learned before I forget them.

And no one will be the wiser.

If the purpose of this blog is simply to somehow have a record of what we've done this year so we can go back on it and remember the highs and lows, then I'm going to throw in a few ninja blogs every once in a while. Just to keep me honest.

I had to shift my workouts around this week. After finally recovering from the bug-of-death last week, I was chomping at the bit to see our plan from Yoda, the oh-so-wise trainer. Mr. T. and I checked our emails regularly, every quarter hour from about noon on Sunday afternoon. It came around 7pm, and we both had a hard time sleeping, ironically, with the thought of what would begin the next day.

Then I went to the dentist.

A little background: Saturday afternoon I lost a chunk of a filling. Fast forward to Monday, and I discovered that I did not just lose a part of any tooth. I lost a part of a bad tooth, one not worth spending a grand on to keep, so the dentist performed impromptu oral surgery, extracted the tooth, and sent me home with instructions to "take it easy." I discovered that dentists frown on physical activity post-oral surgery. Something about a blood clot possibly breaking loose.

So I resumed my "take it easy" stance that I perfected last week and moved my day off from Wednesday to Monday.

Today dawned bright and beautiful, with a spunky four-year-old proclaiming that today was, finally, after counting the days down for as high as he could count, his birthday. So we went through the day like a normal Wednesday with some modifications. We broke some rules and at dinner early--pre-5:00 early. But the four-year-old didn't care. He was getting some of his favorite foods. Let's just say the meal had fruit but no vegetables and then pretty much the type of food that a four-year-old would choose for dinner.

Nary a chicken breast or grain of quinoa hovered near.

You know how your parents warned you to not swim any sooner than an hour after dinner? Well, if you're eating crap, you should make that around 12 hours, not one. The first half of my swim, which took place a strong hour after the birthday feast stunk. It hurt. I considered puking. But then I realized that I was in the pool, and lifeguards frown severely on vomit in the pool.

Lesson learned. Do not gorge on birthday party food before swimming. Never again.

Now, back to the income-earning job.

20 Weeks . . . and so it begins

One last treat this weekend. . . won't be seeing these for a while. 

Up until now we've spent our training time base building. We didn't stress out about missing a workout, and we tried to keep things light and fun while still putting in the time.

That time has now passed.

Today we received the first two weeks of a twenty-week plan from our trainer. (I believe Jason had other words for him last week, but I'll just stick with "experienced" as the best description for him now. I may change my mind in a few weeks.)

We vacillated early on if we should get a training plan or just try to figure out this whole Ironman prep alone. I spent several long runs consulting with my buddies about this. We did not take the decision lightly. And I could go into all of the reasons for why we chose the route we did, but in the end, all that matters is that we have a plan that will help get us to the finish line in September. I'm pretty stoked and hopeful to say the least.

In a few minutes Jason will finish putting the minions to bed, and then we'll have a triathlon committee meeting where we'll compare schedules and workouts and then make a plan for the week. Basically, from this point forward, much of life is about management. Time management. Energy management. Family management. Nutrition management. Thankfully, we both enjoy planning. Knowing what will come for the week will hopefully keep us sane.

Oh, and lest anyone think the "fun" part of training has passed, I certainly hope not. I know some of our training will challenge us physically and mentally to say the least. But I plan on gritting my teeth and eeking out a grin in every workout. Every workout. After all, if we can't find some kind of pleasure in the pain, the pain isn't worth it. There. That's my philosophical moment of the day.

As far as this week went, we had a rough week quite frankly. I'm hoping week one of official training will look vastly different. It has to. I was diagnosed with what the doctor called the early stages of a bronchial infection on Tuesday, and once again, Jason picked up the slack. He's such a good man. A few days later, lots of rest, and several doses of a decongestant and antibiotics, I feel much better. And Jason doesn't look any worse for the wear either. He still managed to find time for his perfunctory long bike and run this weekend. Like I said, he's a good man.

Here's to the next twenty weeks of anticipated fatigue, constant hunger, and aching muscles. . . all covered over with a big grin.