Training Log No. 1

One of my favorite steps in NA is the 10th. For those who are unfamiliar, this one is an ongoing personal inventory through a few questions to acknowledge where I might have gone wrong (super helpful to see those patterns), what went well, where I felt grateful, and whether my behavior aligned with the way I want to show up in the world.

It dawned on me the other day that it might be cool to do this with my training too, so I’m going to start a weekly recap of sorts every Monday to stay accountable and not fall into a rabbit hole.

Fun fact: when I first worked the steps, my sponsor made me stay on this one until I did a full written inventory for 90 consecutive days from our step working guide – there are 35 questions, and it took me over a year to finish. Grateful today for a softer version of this to use as I see fit, and the foundation that taught me these tools in the first place

What went well?

-It felt like I had a lot of community this week, and coming back from Washington to the heat has been hard. Grateful for friends that make those early a.m alarms bearable as I would’ve skipped half of my runs without them

-A cycling distance PR at a pace that once felt super out of reach! I was definitely working hard and the last 8 miles were an absolute sufferfest. I didn’t feel completely wrecked after, so that gives me a lot of hope and confidence for 70.3 in December. Was dehydrated but beaming for the rest of the day.

-Some upgrades to the bike! Shoutout to Mavi for gifting a new (to me!) saddle. Between that and the tubeless setup, the difference was night and day and I didn’t realize how much I was tolerating discomfort until it was gone (that sounds familiar)

-I started and followed through with this training log even through intrusive imposter syndrome thoughts of being a very mid-level athlete

Was I resentful, fearful, or overly self-critical during training?

-Running has felt like a slog this week and I was in my feelings a lot comparing my volume to last summer and grieving the loss of that fitness. It feels like I’ve made so many improvements in other spheres of training and sport, but running has fallen off. I acknowledge the ebbs and flows of seasons, but we’re in a rough one for sure. Every year, we complain in our running group chats that this is the worst summer it’s ever been and every year, it is the truth.

-I have a goal to complete the 70.3 in under 6 hours and I’m obsessing about it a little. It’s a lofty goal, just like the sub-4 marathon goal that everyone told me not to make for my first one (which I did pull off!) but I am sticking to it. I will continue to ride the waves of confidence and delusion as I always do.

-Less dramatic, but still worth mentioning is I have been beating myself up for ignoring swimming.

Where did I find joy?

-The handful of breezes the universe gifted us at Sober Sundae (and sparing us the rain!)

-In an ice cold can of coke at Vergie’s around mile 30 on Saturday’s ride. This pit stop was in the middle of nowhere and operated on an honor system with coolers full of snacks, drinks, and ice. We got to meet the sweet woman manning the stand (maybe she was Vergie?!?) and the carbonation brought me back to life!

-Sunrise chasing with Perry and Claire on the Cady Way overpass and how effortless it felt to run the downhills

-A long line of beautiful pink blooms peppered with magical early dawn light as soon as we crossed over the St. Johns on our ride and how excited some others in the group were to notice them as well.

-Acknowledging that cycling, first and foremost, feels like an adventure

-Sharing with a friend that walking during your run doesn’t invalidate it and how excited she was to hear it. I love remembering that I have free will in the summer and can take my sweet (elapsed) time and slow down. I have been embracing this season of softness in my running and it’s such a juxtaposition to how I started in the sport.

Happy training y’all! Hope you find some glimmers in (or outside of) your training this week, I’d love to hear what brought you joy, too.