Week #9 Ironman Training

Week #9 Ironman Training
March 4, 2014 Jess

Not that you want to see a picture of my foot, which surprisingly has very little dog hair on it, but what I’ve captured here are the true layers of my existence these days.  Leg warmers on top, compression socks below, my yogi triathlete life is ever so evident in its pairing as my training grows bigger and Lake Placid gets closer.

When I am in yogi mode, teaching a class or practicing, I can feel the presence of my triathlete self as an under layer.  Whether that is softening the load of the previous day’s workout on my mat or the knowing that anything is possible; a notion that serves as inspiration to encourage my students to find their possibilities, their incredible truth.  When I am in triathlete mode, logging the miles or navigating through a day where I just feel buried, my yogi presence is most evident and thankfully more powerful than anything physical in my world.  I find strength and calm in my breath when I am pushing through a workout I may have not believed possible before starting.  I tap into my inner yogi to stay in each moment, each pedal stroke, foot strike or catch of my swim.  It’s very easy to wake up in the early morning hours and feel overwhelmed before opening my eyes.  The amount that I ‘have’ to do before most people even think about getting up can put even the fittest athlete back under the sheets.  It’s in those moments I head to my meditation pillow and sort everything out.  I rise from my spiritual workout always feeling calm, energized and level headed about the day ahead.

This Ironman journey is not an easy task but it is the one I’ve find myself on today and therefore I trust that it is the exact place I am supposed to be.  My ultimate goal is always to be graceful and I know, because I’ve done this before without it, that if my meditation practice was not so strong my grace would follow in descent.  I’m exhausted, my body aches, I miss doing ‘normal’ things and its only March but I’ve been down this road before and I know the physical is possible and this is all temporary.  For me it’s always the question of grace.  How graceful can I be on my road to Lake Placid?  How graceful can I be when things get really tough and I still have to do the work?  Can I be patient, kind and compassionate to everyone around me regardless of the situation I find myself in?  It’s about finding my authentic self which I know at my core is a truth made of compassion and unconditional love, I just have to keep tearing down the walls and let my grace shine bright.  I believe that Ironman training is a tool the continually steers me in this direction and my yoga practice is one that keeps me on pace.

Week #9

Monday
1300 yd swim
Tuesday
1h 10m BST ride
21 min z3/z2 T run
Wednesday
3000 yd swim
50 min recovery bike
75 min heated vinyasa
Thursday
40 min tabata bike
50 min hill repeat run
Friday
25 min recovery run
60 min heated vinyasa
Saturday
SELF INDUCED REST DAY
Sunday
60 min heated vinyasa
1 hr 18 min Z2/Z3 run
1 hr 10 min recovery bike

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