Wondering

I am almost at the end of week 4 of training, one more bike ride to go (30 miles), hopefully tomorrow if the roads are OK after our snowfall. It's been a good week and nice to get back into the groove after a mellow week last week. Today was a 45 minute run...it was the coldest, darkest morning yet. My GPS/heart rate monitor was not charged, so I didn't have the feedback I am used to. Sometimes that is a blessing because I can take a break from constantly checking my heart rate and think about other things.

In my prayertime, before my run, I spent some time wondering what the point of all this is. Don't get me wrong...I feel very "called" to this Ironman thing and I will see it through to the best of my ability, but I have not been feeling it. I've been just going through the motions and getting it done which makes me question how much I don't do in my life because I don't feel inspired or encouraged. What things do I know that I need to do but am lacking inspiration? Does this make sense? I'm not sure if it does to me either. I think part of it is having so many other things on my plate (mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, helper, etc) that this ONE thing of Ironman just can't define me. Maybe it's God's way of keeping me in equilibrium and focused on Him as my source of guidance, inspiration, and encouragement. Instead of relying upon my own strength, I put it out there for Him to provide the wherewithal that keeps me moving forward.

On another subject, I had two Lactate Threshold Tests last week...one for the bike and the other run. For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about, here's the general gist. For my running test they had me run on a treadmill at a very easy intensity (think one step up from walking). Paul (the "tester" for lack of a better word) would take my blood at 4 minute intervals after ramping up the speed of the treadmill, so every 4 minutes I would run faster. As the intensity/speed increased I worked harder (obviously) and the lactate levels in my blood rose with my heart rate. At a given heart rate, different for everyone, the body stops clearing the lactate from the blood effectively and that is the point when we can say that we have a limited amount of exercise left in us. From this information, my 5 training/heart rate zones were then determined. This is very useful for training purposes so that each workout is not wasted (something I cannot afford in my life). Zone 1 is easy/recovery; zone 2 is a little harder, where about 75% of my workouts should be; zone 3 is harder, a marathon could be run here; zone 4 is where I think, "What the Hell am I doing? I paid money for this? I feel like crap"; and zone 5 is survival running, like from a lion. Much of an Ironman is performed in zones 2 and 3, so it's helpful to train appropriately so my body knows how to work most efficiently for what I'm training for. The most interesting thing I learned last week is that I have a 16 beats per minute (bpm) heart rate difference between cycling and running. This is huge for me, because I have felt awful on my bike because I've been using "run" data, which is not accurate. My heart works much harder when I run than when I bike.

It's fascinating information to have and a very useful tool for training more effectively and efficiently. I learned that I have been running too hard recently and need to pay more attention to keeping my effort in zones 1 and 2. It is so easy to think that it all needs to be faster and harder instead of steady and enjoyable. I mean, why do it if it isn't enjoyable? There is a time to be miserable, just doesn't have to be all the time.

Life is good, no complaints...moving forward happily, steadily and focused!