Not even done with one goal...

This past week I added to my crazy.  I signed up for a 200 plus mile bike ride to benefit The Bridge of Life, an organization that provides access to dialysis treatment in undeserved communities around the world.  

I initially signed up because it is a big event sponsored by my new employer, DaVita Health Care Partners.  The Everett Clinic and DHCP merged on March 1, 2016 providing me with new opportunities, like this one to completely hash my buns over the course of 3 days.  

I have to raise some funds so if you have extra cash stashed under your bed or hidden in the attic now would be a super time to give it to a good cause.  If not, just knowing there are people out there who will cheer me on via social media is good enough for me.  

At first glance I thought what does this organization have to do with me and why would I ride 200 miles for them?  Then it clicked - Grandma Darcy.  Derek's grandmother was on dialysis for a long time before eventually passing away in early 2015.  She was a good egg and although Great Falls is not considered an undeserved community, I will ride for Grandma Darcy.

Dialysis provided her additional years of life she may not have had and to have an opportunity to ride for communities where this service is unavailable or hard to obtain is a great way to honor her memory.  

So in the midst of training for Victoria, I now have another goal: to wrap up my 2016 season at the end of September with this ride.  I have time to find a better seat so fingers crossed I can get that done and raise some money for The Bridge of Life.  

Did I mention I have to sleep in a tent for 3 days- well, I do so.... And did I mention it's in Tennessee? Well it is, so...

In all seriousness, if you'd like to make a donation you can do so on my fundraising page found here: Sara's Tour DaVita Page 

Now, back to Victoria.... which by the way is only 82 days away.

I showed up

Ok.  Cat's out of the bag.  I am not a fan of the pool at the Y.  It's just not comfortable like Forest Park or Snohomish Aquatic Center.  

I am pretty sure if Dawson had to swim here this is the face he would make just thinking about it. 

The pool is tiled and reminds me of a middle school locker room for some reason.  

• The ceiling is low.  
• The water is a bit cloudy (but there are FAR fewer hairballs floating around so that's a pretty big plus).  
• It's colder than I am used to.  
• The pool deck is always wet.  
• There are no windows thus no natural light.  
• It makes me feel claustrophobic.  

No offense to the regulars- I am sure  you would say similar things about Forest Park Pool. 

But the win is that I showed up today.  I swam yesterday morning before work and it wasn't a good swim.  It wasn't productive but I got it done.  Today I was avoiding the pool like the plague.  I was even trying to find more work to do to AVOID swimming today.  

But a swift kick in the butt from a co-worker (thanks Kristin) got me out the door and to the pool.  Today, for the first time I got a lane.  The last two times I was left swimming in the big open space indicated by the arrow in my picture.  It feels strange to swim outside the confines of a lane marker - unless I am in a lake.  

But I showed up.  I completed my workout and I am now better off for it.  So I guess when they say triathlon helps you learn to overcome they are right.  Today I overcame and will continue to be challenged by this for the next month- but I will show up.

Oh, and 93 days?!?! What's that all about?!?!?!

In the zone

Have you ever used heart rate training to improve your running?  It is excruciating.  The goal is to run (excuse me - walk for some of us) for a long time at a low heart rate in order to eventually go faster without working hard (as hard).  

http://www.gbiathlon.co.uk/GBiathlon/Training/Pages/Training_Zones.html

Zone 2 is where the magic happens so I have been working to stay in zone 2; but this typically means a combination of very slow running and a lot of walking.  This in turn means I never get a rhythm going and my breathing goes all over the place, resulting in anxiety, resulting in the inability to stay in zone 2, and so on and so forth.  

The pros of zone 2:

• It's incredibly easy to run (I mean walk) 
• I could run (walk) forever 
• No sweating = no need to shower
• You get to walk up every hill - wait I am already walking

The Cons of zone 2:

• I am walking in running form
• I look like a poser with all my fancy running gear moving at the speed of a sloth
• I am sure every car that drives by is thinking "Is she running? Give it up sister!"
• If this is as fast as I am supposed to go I will NEVER cross the finish line in time

I get the reasoning- I can't go all day with my heart pumping at full capacity or I will crash and burn early on.  This is going to be at least 7 hours of constant activity for me (probably closer to 8) and the body cannot sustain an aerobic pace for that long without some concessions.  Thankfully other Zoners tell me it improves quickly so here's hoping, given that I am around 12 weeks out from my half marathon.

So zone 2 here I come.  Yesterday I took Meryl with me on my zone 2 run and she kept me in check. She also logged two miles of running (for her- ruining and walking for me).  I am proud she kept going so I think on my shorter runs she'll be my new running buddy and that is a thumbs up!

(One final fact- if you google "In the Zone" all you get is pictures of Brittney Spears - so just avoid that)

Larger than average fish in a bigger, different pond

Today I had to step out of my element and head to a different pool for my swim work out.  My 'comfort' pool is shut down for 6 weeks form maintenance (and hopefully a few upgrades) so I had to schlepp it over at the Y.  Just kidding- it's a nice facility.

I got there and found my spot in the locker room.  I found it to actually be a bit more comfortable then the one at Forest Park so that was a nice way to start.  Then a quick shower and off to the pool I went.  

All 4 lap lanes were busy but the life guard waved me into the 'big' lane since no one was there.  I put down my stuff (unfortunately next to bandaids YUCK!) and got in the water.

The temp was good and I think it may be a salt water pool.  I took off feeling pretty good.  After the first few laps I was thinking... I wonder if this pool is a meter pool instead of yards.  My breathing was more even but my times were about 2-3 seconds longer per lap than normal. 

Of course I didn't ask until much further into my workout so it was too late to change the info on my fancy watch.  Oh well- next time I'll just ask in advance (but hopefully there will be no next time).  I managed to get in a decent swim and made it back to work in pretty good time.  It's a bit further away than the other pool so I expected it to take longer but overall it was a successful outing.  

Oh- and no one is counting but that countdown clock says 101 days as I write this.  Yikes!