Don't Quit.....

So this past week has been tough, the volume in training has gone up, some of the intensities have been tough and mentally with everything going on at the house I really have had to channel my energy and just focus on just getting the workouts in.

Over the last two years if the weather was bad or if it was real windy or if I was just tired I would spin inside, not bother to go out, run on the treadmill instead of enduring the elements outside, making all the excuses in the book about not wanting to get sick, etcc, I got 4 kids, etc... It actually was just plain laziness. This year I have said, no more, your going to ride in the rain, run in the rain, ride in the wind, whatever, no need to make excuses, I need to develop better mental toughness as well as strengthening my body to endure all these elements that could be present on race day. Let me explain why I am writing this:

Monday was a swim 4100 yards, not too tough but the main set was 2 x 1000 yards swims. I was in a short pool that is very hot and has every old man/lady doing water aerobics around me, I just wanted to stop but I didn't, I swam around them, under them, I just kept going. Then it was off to pilates for 1hr of the most humbling of all workouts. Then the day went by and I still had to do my drills/track workout but with all the kids stuff I didn't get to do it until 8:30pm on my treadmill which as you all know is stuck at 3% incline. 6 miles done by 9:20p, tired off to bed.

Tuesday, bike intervals- hard ass workout with a T-run right after. I did the best I could, my watts were off by about 3-5% but coach said that was okay based on the volume- main segment of that workout was ( 4 min at mid range tempo with 1 min recover, 2 min mid range v02 max, 1 min recovery, 4 min of mid range tempo) 3 min between each interval repeat x 4.

Well got the bike finished but my sons school called and he just puked on himself so the T-run suffered and it was off to pick up son #2.

Wednesday- swim, 3500yds, huge kick set, no fins ( total # of yds kicking was 1200) then doing an 8 mile run which when I started I was like, " um, nope, not today, the legs are just too tired", but then I kept going, saying, " suck it up, you can do it, stop your bitching" so I just slowed down the pace a bit and as the sleet/rain, wind and cold bore down on me I kept chugging along, not giving up, not quiting. I hated my time but I did it and with the slower pace I actually recovered quite well from the day.

Today- 4 1/2 ride scheduled, cold to start but sunny but it was mother f-in windy out, headwinds, crosswinds, everything but a tailwind. I was supposed to hit a 12 mile loop and lock into my Steady State pace watts of 190 and hold it for 12 miles and repeat that x 5, with 10 minutes of recovery in between with a warm up and cool down, lets just say I didn't come close to averaging these watts but I did manage to do 83 miles in 4 1/2 hrs at a 18.4mph pace. However, watts sucked and if I had to say, " that mother f'in wind one more time today I was going to shoot myself", but I didn't quit, I didn't call some of my friends whose houses I past on my ride route to drive me home, I just kept on going, I didn't quit.

So even though Coachie told me that I kind of sucked WAD today, I didn't quit, the conditions weren't ideal all week for me but I didn't quit, I kept going, I've finished my workouts to the best of my ability each day and I'm proud of that. I wish that I could PR everyday in practice and every race day but that is not reality. Life is tough, expectations of ourselves is even harder but this week I knew I was in for it and I did it. Its not over yet but I will finish each workout, I wont quit. So with that I close with this poem written by an unknown writer:

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow-
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man:
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup:
And he learned too late
when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar,
So stick to the light when you're hardest hit-
It's when things seem worst that yo mustn't quit.

So in closing, don't quit, keep going. I'm not going to give up and I'm going to work harder. Thanks to everyone who has provided me with their unconditional love and support and thanks to a great coach who listens to me bitch and complain and still coaches me. Thanks.