DC Triathlon TEAM

Of the three sports that make up a triathlon I can confidently say I am a “runner”. I am a very mediocre swimmer (trying to get better), not a bad biker (climbing is a killer), but I consider myself a good runner. I grew up running track and cross country and I started doing triathlons for a change of pace. So you can imagine how excited I was when, as a team, we decided we would do weekly track workouts. I don’t love doing long distances around a track (i.e. anything longer than 800m), but I love sprint work. It makes you fast, pushes you past your comfort level, and leaves you feeling energized. When April rolled around I was ready to begin our season long, set in stone, day at the track. Two small issues I soon discovered; 5:45am workouts and I’m not as fast as I used to be.

5:45. That’s pretty early. I like to workout in the morning so I usually try to get up between 5:30-6:00am to get a run in before work. 5:45 workouts however dictate that I wake up at 5:00am to get dressed and out the door by 5:30.  Once I get myself out the door I’m good to go, getting myself to the door is sometimes the challenge. I will myself out of bed every Thursday morning because I know there are at least a dozen other women doing the same thing at the same time. Luna Bars in hand, I navigate myself over to the track and get ready for the workout of the day.

Why won’t my legs go any faster? That’s the question I’ve asked myself since the track workouts began. It’s amazing and inspiring to watch some of the women that come out on Thursday mornings. They can really move. Move much faster than what I seem capable of at 6am in the morning. I used to be fast, but next to this morning group I feel like I’m spinning my wheels..literally. The one thing about track workouts is the more you run and the more you push yourself the faster you eventually become. That’s the theory anyway.

The summer is almost over and I’m not sure about my progress. There are days that I feel absolutely awesome. It’s usually the days the workouts consists of shorter bursts of cardio, but awesome I feel nonetheless. The days I hear “1000 or 1600m” are the days I know I just may be in trouble. I think it has to be a psychological mind game. Why won’t my body push itself beyond 2 times around the track.
Why do I seem out of breath the minute I start that 3rd lap. Where can I go in my head that makes the endless (well not endless..everything has an end) laps a bit more enjoyable. If I can answer that simple question than maybe just maybe the last two months of 5am wakeup calls will be the easiest part of my Thursdays