A Few of my Favorite Things

Megan asked me in my last post about my favorite workouts I did during Ironman training. This is a really hard question for me to answer because the workouts were so different than what I am used to for marathon training. With the past three marathons, those which I worked with a coach, there were very distinct workouts that I remember that made my training unique: deep water swim training, circuit training on an indoor track, etc. With Ironman training, I feel like everything has been long and within low heart rate zones. I'm not sure there is a workout that I can point out that has been unique and especially challenging (except all bike workouts have been hard).

There have been things I've really enjoyed about this training, though:

• I haven't had a training partner since 2008, so it's been great to have Dave around during some of the workouts. We rarely have the same workout schedule but when the stars do align it's been nice to have someone beside me during the tough workouts. Even if he isn't working out with me, it's nice to know there is someone around to understand what I'm going through.
• It's great to have new friends Colleen and Tom. I didn't know there were local people like Dave and me. :) We've hung out, we exchange emails often, and we're looking forward to Louisville together.
• I have really enjoyed being pushed emotionally and mentally in addition to physically by Coach. She understands how important this race is to me and has helped me to focus fully.
• Funny enough, I've really learned to enjoy biking. There I said it. :)
• I am so glad I got picked to be on Team Trakkers. Not only have my sponsors provided me with great stuff, the camaraderie and support from my teammates has meant so much to me. I can't wait to see you guys rock it at Cedar Point.
• Finally, it's been good to step away from marathoning for a while. I have thought for a long time that I'm only good at long distance running. But through this training I've realized that I'm at least okay at triathlon and that I have other options besides just running marathons.