My bike ride with Matt

No, not my brother Matt.  Matt Damon. 

I was supposed to ride 60 miles on Friday morning, but the forecast predicted thunderstorms, wind and freezing temps.  Instead of joyriding through those conditions, I set up my trainer in the man cave and got cozy with the Starzz channel.  Up first was The Bounty Hunter, which wasn't much to write home about, but the second flick, The Bourne Identity, provided plenty of adrenalin-inducing car chases that had my legs spinning fast.  Mr. Damon's acting never disappoints, not to mention the added bonus of great eye candy... or so I thought at the time.  Then we went to see True Grit on Christmas Day, and I noticed a line in the credits for "Mr. Damon's abdominal stand-in."  I take great pleasure in knowing that even he is not screen-worthy from every angle.  Stand-in or no, the Bourne film was a good flick.  Thank you both to Mr. Damon and his substitute for the exciting ride. 

I fear that the next few months will require more of this indoor long riding, but at least it gives me an opportunity to catch up on movies that I haven't seen.  Send any action or comedy film recs my way.  (I'm not anti-drama, but it's difficult to motivate while watching a funeral.)

Core Value

On top of the swimming, biking and running each week, my training group (T3) encourages us to do two core workouts, which consist of at least 30 minutes of exercises to build up the core muscles: sit-ups, plank, and lots of work on those big exercise balls.  Natasha is our kick ass core instructor, and I've been sore for at least 3 days after each of her classes I've attended.  But with the holidays upon us, T3 reduced its workout schedule, so I'm left to do core on my own.  I have completely drunk the kool-aid with regard to the importance of core to stay injury free, so I wrote up a workout for Monday night.  Jody agreed to join me for it.  Having a bad back that he's constantly trying to manage, he is an expert at core exercises. 

We trudged into the office/workout room, turned on my bad-pop-music-that's-good-to-workout-to playlist, and spent 45 minutes holding each other accountable on the exercises that become increasingly painful as the minutes pass.  If I had been doing the workout by myself, the last half surely would have been wasted with lots more rest than exercise.  Instead, anytime I stopped, I'd hear "You're not done yet," "No rest for the weary," "Get your butt down!"  That was intermingled with "Oh, the hurting," "Please tell me we're not listening to Lady Gaga," and "Do you have any clothes that you need to wash out on my ripped abdominal muscles?"  What could have been a real drag of a workout turned into a fun and funny 45 minutes thanks to my husband.  His encouragement, support and humor in this endeavor are phenomenal and things I truly value.  And an added bonus - two days later, and I'm still sore.  Jody may give Natasha a run for her money.

Peace at the Springs

Barton Springs has always been one of my most-treasured spots in Austin.  I have fond memories of "studying" there for the bar exam with my friend Samantha.  At that point, the water was merely a means by which to cool down before promptly returning to the stiff pillows that were our Barbri books.  I never considered swimming one length (1/8 mile) of the pool, much less 20.  That distance - 4000 meters, or 2.4 miles - is, for me, the scariest part of the Ironman. 

I'm incredibly fortunuate to have this amazing Austin gem within walking distance from my house though.  It's even free during the winter and open from 5am-10pm, so no scheduling excuses allowed.  By swimming there once a week, I hope to prove to myself that the 2.4 mile swim is the "warm-up" that the veterans say it is.  I'm not sure I'll ever consider it a warm-up.  Since when did warm-ups take an hour and a half to complete?  But hopefully I can become comfortable enough with the distance to be at peace at the starting line come race day. 

Let the Ironman journey begin!

One of my favorite stories as a child was Aesop's "The Tortoise and the Hare," probably in large part due to the fact that I was much more of a tortoise (slowly plodding along) than a hare (lightening-fast and able to nap while others caught up).  That story gave me some glimmer of hope that one day I might actually win ... something.  I wasn't really an athletic kid.  I spent much more time on the bench than on the volleyball court, and although an okay discus thrower, my short-lived track career abrubtly ended when I hit Mike Stevens in the head with a discus. 

Then I went to Baylor, and early in my freshman year a friend asked if I wanted to go "run the Bear Trail."  Excuse me?  Chineyere was a perfectly-sculpted Nigerian who looked amazing in a sports bra and hot pants.  Why on earth did she think I would want to run anywhere near her or, more importantly, that I could?  Whatever her reasons, one evening she talked me into this Bear Trail business.  Within 100 yards she stopped:  "Jennie, you will never make it around this loop (2.5 miles) running that fast."   So we slowed down, and she insisted that we talk the entire run.  No doubt, we were tortoises, but we ran the whole loop.  Before that day, the longest I'd run was a mile, and that was only because Coach Melton tracked my heels, threatening to make me run another if I walked.  Evening runs around the Bear Trail became an integral part of my life at Baylor, and the running continued when I moved to Austin.

 

In 2004, my friend Michelle convinced me to do the Danskin sprint tri with her.  I did it the next year, improved my time, and started to get caught up in Austin's triathlon scene.  I bought a bike, and my boyfriend (now husband) dragged me out on Hwy 360 and taught me to like cycling - love it!  I tried an olympic distance triathlon, then a half-ironman.   I certainly wasn't competitive in any of these races, but for me, the race was - and is - against myself.  Can I improve on my last time or go a longer distance?  By following the mantra "slow and steady wins the race," I've had a lot of success in those races against myself.  So when the World Triathlon Corporation announced last summer that it would be bringing the Ironman to Texas for the first time in May 2011, I knew it would be the ultimate race opportunity and one I couldn't resist.

 

Make no mistake about it, I will be a tortoise in this race, and the hares won't be stopping for naps.  The fastest women will probably finish in 9 hours, maybe faster.  I will be lucky to finish in 13.   But this race is against myself alone to see if I can break the barriers that my mind has set for my body.  My hope is that with consistent training and mental stamina the tortoise within me can finish, which for me will be a big, fat WIN.   My official six-month training program started this morning.  Let the Ironman journey begin!