2022 week 17: being vs. doing

After racing the Drake 1/2 Marathon in a state of complete discomfort, Vanessa Foerster presented a timely reminder for me last Tuesday. “More is not better. Intentional is better. Stop believing you have to do more to be more. Start believing that your training is working and be more present in it. Results, on and off the race course, first come from who you are being before what you are doing.” Thankfully this reminder came at just the right time. Lately I have gotten sucked into the doing instead of focusing on the being in all areas of my life…personal, relationships, work, training, etc. It has felt pressure-filled and out of alignment with my core values.

Quote of the week:

“Stop believing you have to do more to be more.”
~Vanessa Faye Foerster

Swim highlights: 7400 yards

Tuesday I had the following workout, which is good to see how body position impacts efficiency. My pacing was spot on in both sets! BOOM! 🥳

Warm up:
- 300 easy
- 4×100 descending (20 sec rest between)
- 100 easy
Main Set:
- 4×500 with at least 30 seconds rest between structured as:
  - 500 use pull buoy at half IM effort (what was your time??)
  - 500 NO pull buoy at half IM effort (what was your time??)
    - Which was faster? What can you do to bring up the speed of the slower 500? If pull buoy was faster, work on body position in the water and kick timing. If swimming was faster work on catch and pulling more water…grip it and rip it!
- The second round try to get the times closer together with the same effort level. Don’t work harder…just smarter!
  - 500 use pull buoy at half IM effort (what was your time??)
  - 500 NO pull buoy at half IM effort (what was your time??)
Cool Down:
- 200 any stroke

I must have been tired during Thursday’s swim as I struggled to count correctly. 😬 😜

40x50s was on tap Thursday morning.
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4x(1, 2, 3, 4 hard)✔️ 4x(1, 2, 3 hard)✔️ 4x(1, 2 hard) 😬 lost count & missed a 2 🤦🏻‍♀️ 4×1 hard ✔️
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Apparently counting was a bit too difficult for my tired brain at 5 am. 😜 Oh well…brush it off and move on.

Bike highlights: 186 miles

I will never take for granted any time I GET to ride outside again. This spring has been less than ideal for outdoor rides from a safety standpoint…IMO it is not safe to ride in 30+ mph sustained winds with higher gusts (I’ve been blown off the road before & I’d rather not have it happen again) and/or on open roads in rain where drivers may struggle to see me. As a result, I have spent WAY more time training indoors this spring than any other spring that I can remember.

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With IRONMAN Des Moines less than 6 weeks away, I had 4 hours on the bike indoors Friday and another 4 hours on the bike indoors again Saturday (with a 40 minute run off the bike both days on the treadmill). Here are my thoughts around why indoor training is “perfect” for me and how Mother Nature had me in mind when she threw this weather our way:

All of this indoor training is making me stronger physically and mentally
My indoor training is much more focused work than when I train outside
I am getting more heat acclimation by training indoors since our outdoor temps have generally been below normal this spring
I have more intentional and focused thoughts when training indoors (since I write them out and post them in front of me while I train)
I am creating my next level and am going to be SO prepared for race day

#LFG ⚡️