hawkeye

Hawks have always been good supervisors during my training. Some people get squeamish when they see a mouse or a roach, but then there are animals that have the opposite effect on you and give you warm fuzzies when you see them. This for me is the hawk. When I was running in New York surrounded by tall buildings, I would gaze around and up on a street light there would be the hawk, chest feathers pumped up looking down on me with a weary eye as if to say, "you can only aspire to reach the same heights as me." But at the same time encouraging me almost in secret. I'll see hawks playing in thermals while on trail runs, sitting on light posts above the highway, taunting drivers below stuck in traffic, sitting on cliffs, and coasting around the sky like professional surfers. Hawks are my Calgon.

Saturday, Robby and I played bike courier as we rode out to Bee Caves, picked up a package, rode back to my house and then ran the package to Fedex. Robby had to sprint to make the deadline, but mission accomplished. It made the workout that much more interesting. My legs felt tired, but kept in mind long and slow and not trying to race (sometimes it is hard for me) Rode: 45 miles, Ran: ~8 miles.

Sunday wetsuit swim Austin, Texas

train the trainer

Austin, yesterday was rainy and cold which left me riding my trainer. Boy, do I have sympathy for you DCists. The workout was just an hour and I rode 16 miles, but it felt ten times harder than when I road twice as far outside the day before. Riding inside is NOT an easy task, thank goodness we have sunshine and happiness today.

Sometimes when I ...

feel the urge I just like to ride, run, swim hard. As hard as I can as if I'll break through to another time zone. It is sort of the opposite of a tantrum where you bang your fists hard until you feel better. I pound my legs or arms as hard as I can on my gears, the ground, through the water and when I do it leaves me feeling lighter. My cares, worries are far behind me and then I coast along like a hawk that has caught an air current and I look down at thoughts that have plagued me and they seem so insignificant.

Tuesday, I swam a nice 3000 and then went for a run. Before I swam I was tired and not that into it, but when I got out to run there was a renewed energy and it was less like a workout but more like running through a huge field of clover where you can't help but run, it begs for it. Yesterday, I had the same feeling as I rode along a good flat stretch of road where I know I can dig down and ride for a long stretch and hopefully launch myself. The ride totaled 33 miles and was great tonic.

Press On

This weekend was a beautiful weekend for riding and running and I was really looking forward to my "Pedal Thru the Pines" in Bastrop, TX on Saturday. I chose to do the 63 miler as I know I really need to get used to being in the saddle. The ride started out through Bastrop State Park with hills throughout. This gave us (Nathan, KB, and Robby) the challenge of weaving in and out of cyclists as a good amount got off their bikes to rest at the top of hills and such. Once out of the park, the cyclists doing shorter routes were out of the picture and we zipped along. The weather couldn't have been better, the scenery perfect, and company fabulous. All in all it was a great riding day. I felt strong and comfortable the whole way and felt like I had a good pace going, thanks to my riding buddies. I was a bit nervous at the 45 mile mark as that has been my standard as of late, but no worries on this ride.

Sunday, I knew I wanted to do the long run and my legs actually felt pretty good so I decided to take on the 10-mile Lady Bird Lake Loop. Robby joined me and again the weather was warm with a cool breeze and overcast, a perfect day for running. It was pretty fun to run the trail going from crowded festival goer sections to parts of the park less popular. I felt energized the whole run and great the rest of the day. Could I be getting stronger?! Oh the joy of training.

During my ride through the pines, I saw a lizard who was doing his regular run across the road when, he ran right into the bike tire of a cyclist in front of me, he shook his head as if to say "What a nuisance. What is that doing here?" and then forged back in the same direction. He was going to complete his mission. This is how I see my training for IM Switzerland, moving forward accomplishing goals and there may be little setbacks that I don't see or anticipate, but I need to shake them off and keep going. I always think of the quote my parents had in their bathroom when I was little (great place for quote placing by the way). It was a quote from Calvin Coolidge and I always think of it when I am struggling.

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.