The Long and Snowy Drive Home

Argh.  Today's drive through the Rockies and into Denver was decidedly NOT fun.  The sleet started as soon as I hit Vail and only got worse as I drove east.  By the time I was through the Eisenhower Tunnel, I was in full-on blizzard conditions.  Ice and blowing snow were all I could see; the lines in the road were all but erased by the storm conditions.  Slipping and sliding were inevitable.  I crawled along at a snail's pace, just hoping to stay on the road, unlike the many unfortunate drivers who weren't able to do so.  They littered the shoulder of I-70, making it look like some sort of impromptu used car lot.  It was a miserable drive, which didn't get any better as I reached the lower elevations.  The roads in Denver were just as bad, covered in snow, slush, and ice.  The entire city moved in slow motion, as every driver did their best to tackle the treacherous roads in an overly cautious manner, resulting in a painfully slow drive back my house.  But, I finally made it back, safe and sound.  Home again, home again.  Those words have never sounded so sweet.

Rage in the Sage 2013

Holy headwinds!  That's all I have to say, as that one statement truly sums up the entire race.  I'm not exaggerating; the winds at Lake Mead were ridiculous yesterday.  I might have actually had a good race, if I hadn't been biking into a wind-tunnel the entire time.  The crazy thing is, said winds were coming from every direction, so there was no relief.  I struggled on my way out and struggled just as much on my way back in.  It was ridiculous and exhausting.  Crazy Vegas weather!

All moaning and crying aside, I have to admit, I really did have a decent race.  I'm a little irked at the moment, because I'm convinced I could have done better, but isn't that always the case?  The fact of the matter is, I cranked out my best swim yet, managed a solid ride despite the wind, and held a strong pace on my run.  I came in at 3:06, a little slower than I had hoped, but still a time I can be proud of.  It put me in 7th place (out of 17) in my division, and 19th overall for females (out of 72).  It wasn't my best performance ever, but not bad for my first event of the season.  Now I know what I'm doing right in my training, and what I have to improve upon.  So, I guess I need to stop my whining and get to it...

Raging Jitters

Race day jitters. I always get them. It doesn't matter if it's a big race, or something as insignificant as a little, local 5k; I always get a case of the nerves. So, here I am, in the wee hours of an otherwise normal Saturday morning, stressing about the triathlon in my very near future. Two hours from now, I'll be wetsuit-ed up and plunging into the frigid waters of Lake Mead. It's Rage in the Sage time, the first tri of my season, and it's way too late to back out now. I have no idea how I'll fare, whether I'll be fast or slow; It's all a mystery for now. So, all I can do is put my game face on, psych myself up, and push myself as hard as a can. I'm ready for rubber arms and lactic acid-filled legs. Lake Mead, here I come!

So Over It

My contract is over. My work here is done. It's amazing how quickly the thirteen weeks flew by! Goodbye, SoCal! I've put in my time, and worked my fingers to the bone, so now it's time to play. First, a weekend in Las Vegas, which includes my first triathlon of the season, Rage in the Sage. Then the grueling drive back to Denver, where I'll reside for the summer months. It's been an interesting, chaotic, and exhausting thirteen weeks, so I'm relieved for my life to return to normal, to have dinners with my husband, and to sleep in my own bed. Travel nursing has it's perks and is certainly exciting, but, for now, I'm ready for the mundane.

Exhausted: Training for Ironman Canada, Week 6

Only six weeks in, and I'm already exhausted. It's like I've become a hamster in a massive wheel of triathlon training, continuously spinning myself into a frenzy, in hopes of whipping my body into Ironman shape. Everyday is a new challenge, whether it be running, biking or swimming. It's always something: speed work, hill repeats, strength and distance training. It never seems to end. My shoulders ache. My quads are incessantly fatigued. My appetite is out of control. And this is only the beginning...

All whining aside, I'm actually enjoying myself. With every workout, I feel myself getting leaner and stronger. Thanks to my coach, and the plan she's developed, every workout has a purpose and offers a new challenge. The days of simply going out for a run, a ride, or simple laps at the pool, are long gone. Now I'm forced to think about each and every training session. I focus on form. I concentrate on stride, pace, cadence, and RPMs. It's all become so technical, I almost feel like a real athlete.

Despite this shift in my training style, and my newfound fatigue, I have to admit that the workouts aren't really THAT hard. Yes, I'm pushing myself much further and harder than I have in the past, but it's nothing my body can't handle. The real challenge has been fitting the required sessions into my insane work schedule. Finding time to squeeze in six separate training sessions per week has not been an easy task while I'm working four, twelve-hour, overnight shifts each week. And convincing myself to get up early enough to jam in a short training session between shifts has been next to impossible. But, somehow, I'm making it work. I've made peace with the new reality that every day off from work is a day fully committed to my training. And I've even managed to occasionally peel myself out of bed in time to go for a run before heading into the hospital. It's exhausting, but I know all of this hard work is going to be worth it in the end.

So, that's where I'm at six weeks into my Ironman training. Just plain tired. I don't expect the exhaustion to ease much as the weeks wear on, but my work schedule will lighten significantly soon, which should help immensely. So, for now, I just have to grin and bear it. Preparing for Ironman is a labor of love; I guess I need to learn to love all of the labor it entails.

Perpetual Motion

I know. I know. It's like I fell off the face of the earth without any warning. It's been an entire month since my last post, and I can't really give a good reason as to why. It's not as though I haven't had things to write about. If I think about it, I've actually had a great deal to discuss: work has been crazy, my living situation interesting, and my training schedule insane. I could have written so many posts. I just haven't.

The only way to explain it is that it's as if I've been living my life with blinders on since our Bahamas trip. As soon as I got back to Cali, I put my head down, dug in, and began concentrating on nothing but work and training. My focus has been intense. So, life has become a blur of nights spent in the ICU and days spent running, biking, or swimming. (Some days, a combination of all four.) Everything else has fallen to the wayside. My social life is nonexistent. My personal life has been limited to phone calls and texts. Sad, but true.

In all honesty, I don't mind this current state of perpetual motion. I may be mentally and physically exhausted, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. At least, then, I'm also too spent to feel lonely for my life back in Denver. Instead of falling into any sort of melancholy, I simply fall into bed, too exhausted to feel anything but an overwhelming desire for sleep. I guess that's the overriding reason why I haven't been posting much, I've simply been too tired.

I'm so grateful all of this is almost over. I still have months of training ahead of me; that much won't change. But, at least, in a few short weeks, I'll be doing it from home. This contract will be over in a few weeks, and my time in SoCal, away from my Mouse, will come to an end. It's time for this adventure nurse to take a break and rest her weary bones. (Relatively speaking, that is.)