Nothin' Like Starting Training With A Bang!

When people tell you Ironman training is different from anything else you've attempted , they're not kidding! Whether its the volume, the magnitude, or the minimal wiggle room it leaves in the rest of your life schedule, Ironman is a beast all unto itself.

Take my first day of training. I've been wishing for and anticipating that day for SIX months... and then I ended up working from 6:30am-9:30pm. I know, right? Then the choice becomes, do I go to gym at 10pm and get the workout in, or do I postpone one more day? My butt was in the water a little before 10 experiencing my first water run because, really, there is no other choice if you want to be an Ironman. You do the training or you don't cross the finish line - end of story.

For that, I'm proud of myself. Well, I'm also proud that I dragged myself back out of bed the next morning at 5:30 to swim :) Training isn't just about volume, though. It's making myself get off the bike right at 30 minutes, instead of pushing the workout to 45 like I wanted. It's going to yoga tonight when I'd rather go home and nap after a long work week. And it's maintaining a positive attitude when I think about how minimal a 10 minute water run is compared to 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles of monster bike hills, and the 26.2 miles of a marathon I've never run.

Ironman is accomplishment, but getting through the training that comes before the race will be, I think, the biggest accomplisment of all. Bring on the training!