...and beyond.

I had yesterday off. I enjoyed every minute of it. It acutally went by so fast that I didn't even manage to get in a nap. Instead, I called it a night at 8pm.
I had a few sponsor matters to take care of and then I got lost in Bed, Bath and Beyond for a while. I went there with a few things in mind and ended up purchasing a whole bunch more... of course. There are just so many useful things in that store. I think I honestly walked around for a good hour just taking it all in. Who knew there were so many different kinds of hangers and storage containers and sheets, my word, just trying to find normal cotton sheets was quite the task. All I know about sheets is that the higher the thread count the softer they are, but I had no idea there were so many different variations and then of course, you also have, the silks which come in about 50 different blends as well. No silk on a triathletes budget, I eventually settled for a basic white set that was on sale... haha. No fun, but about all I could afford.

Today, it was back to work. In the pool for a 6am swim session. I was feeling pretty off, especially at the start of the workout. I think maybe with the day off my body just didn't want to get back to its usual sore state. As the set progressed I felt stronger and stronger and ended up having a really solid 6k swim.
The run, however, was another story all together. We were supposed to run at the track, but that fell through, so we relocated to the bluffs along Ocean in Santa Monica. We measured our distance using the first interval and just marked the trail based off of that. Unfortunately, the way the path is, there is a slight downhill as you head south... that means, an uphill as you head north. For the first few repeats, you don't notice it. But, about 20 minutes into the workout that little incline starts to really hurt.
Siri asked me to do the session as hard as I could. I started out really solid, and was really pushing myself. But only about 12 minutes into the set, my body just shut down. The rest of the workout was a struggle, and a mess. I finished it, but was a bit disappointed. It is the first time since I have been training with the group that my body failed me. I know that it is part of the process and I think the important part was picking up my fractured ego and continuing on, but I hate failing myself. I got a good talking to... she was not angry that I was not running well, but simply asked me to get it together, to finish the set and to realize that I was doing fine. Apparently, I'm a bit too hard on myself... who would have though?! Haha.

It is a new thing my being yelled at for trying too hard and for expecting too much from myself. As long as I can learn how to harness it, I think it will allow me to push myself further and harder. I just have to be patient with my running and realize that I will have good days and I will have bad days. The bad days are the character builders and they are the days that I will draw on in races when things get tough.

Last thing on the books for the day is a ride. For now, I'm lying in bed, relishing in the lack of physical activity and trying to prepare myself for another big day tomorrow.