Okay, I've been trying to find time to post this, but I just haven't had much of that lately. ....you'd think I would since I'm no longer in training... :\
ANYWAY, I'm going to make this brief, but wanted to at least leave an update cuz I'm might be away for awhile... not that I'm going anywhere, but I'm taking a break from training for obvious reasons, so I won't really have much to report.
First, the good news: over the weekend I had my first open water swim - yay! I went to the lake that my parents have their lake house at and swam almost the entire length of the lake - woot!! I'm estimating it was close to a mile, but I'll be sure to take my Garmin next time we go to be sure. AND it only took about 30 minutes!! Waaaay faster than I anticipated! That was a great experience and it's funny that it happened on a holiday weekend cuz as it turns out, TONS of people saw me doing it, LOL. I posted about it on my facebook page and I've gotten several comments from people that saw me - awesome! ;)
Other news: I transferred my tri to the Nations Triathlon in Washington, DC on September 13. I do have to raise about $1500 more, which I'm slightly nervous about. I will also only be on a 3 month training program as opposed to the current 5 month program I'm on. This also makes me nervous. Yes, I know I have built up a good fitness level to go off of....but I'm about to lose that, and you'll find out why in just a sec... But the other good news is that my mom is going to go with me and that excites me to no end!
The "bad" news: okay, it's not really bad, so don't freak out. But I'm going to be having surgery next Friday, the 5th. I have some "woman issues" that need to be addressed and I have been putting it off until after my tri. Since that is all on hold, now is the time so that I can get back in and train for Nations after I recover from the surgery. The thing that really sucks though is that I will be completely unable to work out AT ALL for at least 4 weeks following the surgery. Not just running, but no biking, no swimming, no weight lifting, NOTHING. This is scary to me, folks! We're talking about losing a lot of ground that it took quite awhile to gain... But in the end, while I'm already injured, I might as well use this time wisely and go ahead and have the surgery I've been needing to have.
So, there ya have it - I've been looking forward to summer for MONTHS now, and now that it's here I'm stuck sitting on my ass instead of outside running and biking. :( I'm completely petrified that I'm going to lose my fitness level and not be able to be back in shape in time for Nations. I'm also scared to death that I'm going to GAIN a ton of weight when I should be losing it. I'm having a lot of mixed emotions right now, but I'm trying to maintain focus on the fact that everything happens for a reason and there is a reason that I won't be doing the tri in 4 weeks.
With all that said, I want to extend a HUUUUUGE THANK YOU to everyone for all the wonderful and supportive comments you have left me throughout all of this!! I appreciate everyone being encouraging on my last post, yet also respecting the fact that I wasn't quite up to hearing how everything will be fine just yet. You guys are all such a great group of people and I'm lucky to have all of you around to remind me that injuries are not the end of the world and that I'm strong enough to bounce back from all of this.
I'm sure I'll be around over the next 6 weeks....just with not much exciting to post about. But you can bet your asses I'll be stoked to post about my first RUN next month!!! To the rest of you out there training, racing, or just rocking out by being yourselves this summer - best of luck to you all!! I will be living vicariously through all of you! :)
Saturday, May 23, 2009: 1 hour weight lifting, 1 mile swim
Tuesday, May 26, 2009: toning, crunches
Wednesday, May27, 2009: abs/crunches
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10 comments:
well said, and ditto :D good luck with your surgery, and sending you all the speedy healing vibes I can for your leg and woman-stuff. You've built up the training once, you'll be able to do it again, just remember that, and like others have told me, you'll appreciate it even more when you can get back to running again. take care, keep us posted and feel free to email me anytime. :) hugs.
oh ya, and well done on the swim!
Nice work on the OWS! Way to go!
Good luck with your surgery. We will be here when you get back to blogging. No worries! :) Heal fast!
Nice swimming there Ashley!
Don't fret too much about losing fitness. Look at it this way: you begin to lose fitness (I don't know the exact percentages) after two weeks, so your body will maintain fitness for those first two weeks. You will only be losing 2 weeks worth of fitness, not four.
Now, the good thing about losing the fitness and having to rebuild (yes, there is a good side) is that you will be allowing your body to rest more fully than you do (it's inevitable) during training cycles. Not only that, but after the rest you will be reintroducing your body to exercise which will shock the metabolism and quite possibly speed it up after the inactivity. That's another good thing.
One thing I've learned over the last couple of years is that shocking your system periodically by changing things up is exactly what we need to do in order to avoid hitting plateaus.
Enjoy the rest from training, heal up and come back stronger!
it's good that you can recover from everything all at once.
and that swim sounds fantastic! i think 3 months will be plenty of time to train for the triathlon. your body will remember how to operate athletically quicker than you might think, and a basic aerobic endurance is really all it takes to get through a sprint tri. i think sprint tri's are easier than half marathons anyway, and you've already done a half.
Nice work on the swim! Pretty sure I'd make it about 5 minutes in the open water before I was calling for a life preserver!!
Good luck with your surgery, I hope that all goes well. It does suck that you're completely out for 4 weeks, I hear you on that. I'd be a little freaked out, too. But think of it this way - it's still summer and it's beautiful outside and you'll have tons of extra time to spend with your girls and read and do whatever it is you like to do to relax that you don't get to do because you spend all your free time training. Yeah, I know - small consolation, right? Can you at least walk after a little while? You could go for walks in the evening, that would make you feel a little better.
I think you'll be fine and I think you'll kill that tri and I'm really glad your mom is going with you. If you need anything in the meantime, if you want to vent or freak out or anything at all, you know where to find us!!
First of all, congrats on your swim! That is so awesome!!!! I'm so proud of you!
Secondly, best of luck with your surgery.
Try not to over think things regarding whether or not you're going to lose your fitness level. Whatever happens, is going to happen and once you're given the green light after your surgery, I know it won't take you long to bounce back. You are one determined chicka! :) But don't stress out by thinking of the "what ifs". I know it's definitely easier said then done, but you have a lot of amazing support and love around you and you want to make sure you are in tip top shape after your surgery otherwise you might risk a set back later on.
Best of luck with the surgery. I'm sure you will back and better than ever before you know it.
Dear Ashley - please know that my love and prayers are with you. Sometimes God interrupts our plans for reasons we can't see or understand yet and you are right - it stinks there's no two ways about it. I can totally understand your fears; being a polio and post polio survivor, I know what it feels like to feel as though you cannot trust your body BUT if you can shift your thoughts to visualizing, healing and sending yourself loving, healing messages, it will help. I am living proof. If you would like some inspirational healing poetry to read, you can always order a copy of my book (and be donating to a good cause - 20% to polio fund). Many of my readers have talked about how they have found so much strength, healing and comfort in the words and it also speaks to visualization to help our body heal - it may not be your thing and that's okay too - just thought I would put it out there. Know I am joining forces with the Almighty whose blessings flow especially in darkness for you to heal and to be back at full strength in short order.
God bless
I'm so happy your mom is going to go with you! I bet you will have a great time.
Four weeks off! GAH!!! I would be worried about gaining weight too. BUT - you can plan ahead, now. You can do it! Have a safe surgery tomorrow; I'll be thinking of you.
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