Well, my legs didn't fall off or anything uber-dramatic after my ART therapy last Tuesday. In fact, well, they feel pretty springy.
Not exactly sure that 'springy' and 'Ironman' training should be allowed in the same sentence, let alone the same realm, but there you have it.
Furthermore...(yes, there is more)...the left side - which received significantly more ART than the right - feels a lot better than the right. Woa. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak. And during today's transition run, I was pleasantly surprised at how eventually the legs came around.
I say eventually, because as of late, it takes longer and longer (and longer) for my body to really get warmed up and acclimated to the task at hand. Running takes the longest. Something about carrying all of your own body weight sans pool or two-wheeled self-propelled vehicle, I guess...Once I've actually reached that desired warmed-up state, then I feel as though I could go forever. Um, another product of Ironman-training, I'm told.
So in the mean time, I'll stick with the ART, thanks. Even if I blurt out mid calf-flush that, "I'd rather be giving birth RIGHT NOW!" Suffice to say, I wouldn't last long under torture. But when it gives this Ironperson-in-training 'springy' legs six weeks out from the Big Race, well, I'm sold.
Not that I'm counting or anything.
In other news, I'm doing a local sprint race this Sunday and couldn't be more excited! Cue: me jumping up and down! I get to race (knock on wood!). My last sprint triathlon was in May 2007, out in Panama City Beach, Florida. Wow. 2 years... I realize that my warm-up will singlehandedly be longer than the actual race itself. It takes me oodles of time to get warmed up at this point....
So a 30 minute run + 30 minute bike + 20 minute swim. Well...that will feel like forever. Then again, swimming for 20 minutes requires that I physically get into the ocean. And we all know how I feel about the Critters in there. Especially the Unmentionables with Really Big Teeth. They are there. And They are waiting.
One of my good friends out here - Dr. Shannon (CONGRATULATIONS ON EARNING YOUR PhD, I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!) - joked that by doing the race I would HAVE to get in the ocean to swim. She's been trying to get me to do a La Jolla Cove or Shores swim with her. But there's just something about the Open Ocean and the Things In It that completely freak me out.
I blame my overly-active imagination. Cultivated, I might add, by a morbid curiosity as a child. Nope, curiosity didn't kill this cat (yet - again, knock on wood), but it sure as hell scared it.
I'm fine with lakes. I love lakes. Even the alligator-infested on that I did an open-water swim in last year (I didn't find that tidbit out until AFTER I had finished my solo cool-down swim. Only then did the race director joke about the resident population.) - was at the time (before I found out about the buggers) great.
So what is it about the Ocean?
Well, it's not really the Ocean itself. I LOVE the ocean, have always been drawn to the waves, the smells, the sound. Nope - its just the Unmentionables with Really Big Teeth. Damn, I knew that I shouldn't have watched Jaws countless times as a kid. When I was three I complained about taking a bath, claiming that, "sharks will come through the drain!"
It's true. They do.
Drain Sharks.
And every pool and mega-sized bath tub has them.
So, there you have it.
Come Sunday, I'll be the girl doing the ridiculously long warm-up, probably still sporting a few bruises on my legs from an especially deep ART massage, and standing along the shore's edge swearing that each ripple is...well.... you know.
But once that horn sounds and I run full-stop into the water? Well - that's a different story all together. Game on! Because I've been waiting for this moment - chomping at the bit, ready to suffer, and excited about pushing myself harder than I though possible in a sprint triathlon - for a really really long time.
Let's just hope that the legs can catch up to where the heart and the head want to be. I have a feeling that, while it may be ugly and pretty painful, they'll do just fine.
Cheers to everyone racing this weekend! Good vibes, good luck, and GO GET 'EM!
23 hours ago
13 comments:
Good luck Marit!! Have fun...especially in the ocean. ;) By the way, I always thought things would come up out of drains and get me too. Not sharks...but other scary things. Weird!! :)
Ah Beth, you mentioned them!!! :)))) Good luck and have a great race. It will seem so short won't it. So have fun.
kick some butt this weekend! you can totally out-swim any sea creature!
I am laughing hard at Drain Sharks because that is EXACTLY the kind of thing I would have imagined as a child (or last week, for that matter).
Good luck on your race!!! Sprints are sooo fun, you will kick butt:-)
I am so scared of fish you won't believe it. Ocean is a big no, only knee deep and even then I keep looking around me. My friend tried to get me to swim at La Jolla once too, because of the pretty fish-NO WAY!!! I even freak out in Lakes!!!
But I believe our fear will help us in races, because your adrenaline levels are way higher compared to someone not scare of the things in the water, so in the end we are able to swim faster:-)
Hahahaha, good luck!!!
Good Luck Marit! You have me wanting to go to ART now too. Its funny how long our warm-ups have to be for a "little" race :-) And when I asked Jen for her advice she just reiterated exactly what I thought... "Go till you puke!" HEE HEE! Have fun out there and I can't wait to read your race report!!!
Dude, I cannot believe you wrote this post at 2:14 am...and then wrote me a FB message somewhere in the 3am realm...go take a nap!! :)
You're going to rock this race! Can't wait to hear all about it! I would be happy to at least do some post-race celebrating with you at Hi-Thai in Hillcrest :).
xoxo,
"Dr"
I'm SO with you on the long warmup as a consequence of IM training. Took me 5 miles of a 16 mile run the other day before I felt like I could actually move.
Good luck at your sprint!
As soon as I read the word 'springy' I thought to myself, "Nope, my legs are not springy right now..." So enjoy tat feeling while it lasts! Guess that's a good way to go into a sprint triathlon though, eh? ;) Goos luck this weekend! And DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE OCEAN! Nothing in there is going to get you, I promise. You need to come here and swim in the ocean b/c it's much better when you can see all the way to the bottom. ;)
Good luck this weekend! Try not to worry too much about those critters!
My best friend is trying to convice me into having some ART therapy done on my calves. She's been having treatments twice a week for a while now for a piriformis and hamstring problem and they have been working wonders for her! Amazing stuff!
Drain sharks, too funny!
Go get 'em diesel!
Have fun and race hard! I know you'll do great.
I'm going to send you a book--about swimming with live, wild things in the ocean. Maybe it'll change your mind... Look for it late next week (since I don't get home till Weds).
have fun, good luck and enjoy it!
i too, cannot believe that your legs actually feel springy now, especially in the middle of all of this ironman training. perhaps i need to give ART a try!?!?
Post a Comment