This week I was on track with my IronMan Florida training. This was due in part because I was swept away with my Wolfpack teammates who were heading to the ITU World Triathlon Championships in London. Don’t quote me, but I believe there are 1.4 million Americans who race in triathlons every year, and only 18 in each age group earn a spot on Team USA. To get there you must place well in a local qualifying race, and then place again on the top 18 of the National qualifying race. So at each level the competition gets tougher until you race against the best amateur triathletes in the world.
Mickey has been a constant cheerleader since I began my triathlon path. I remember her encouraging me; she would yell “looking good” and I knew she was lying as I was at best shuffling. Regardless I would get a spring in my step after hearing her. On Friday Mickey raced in London coming in ninth in her age group and the first American. That makes her the fastest amateur American between ages 30 and 34 in sprint distance triathlon this year.
Joey raced today. He is our Wolfpack leader and someone I look up to a whole lot. He was having an incredible race until his shoelaces broke on the second mile of the run with four more to go. The guy took off his shoes and ran the next four miles barefoot. He ran so fast that even with all this he was the second American in his age group for the Olympic distance and 35th worldwide. But the judges disqualified him as apparently you cannot run barefoot in a triathlon. Had he known that, he could’ve quit … but even then I doubt he would’ve.
Both Mickey and Joey are VIPs in my life. Not just because they are such great athletes but because they take time and energy to help me both inside and outside my triathlon world. More than anything, they show me that hard work pays off. They both have jobs and families outside our little Wolfpack. And yet I’ve seen them train day after day leaving their comfort zone far behind; I’ve watched them run so hard that their faces contort. For the last few months, they both honed into this race and made it their quest.
I want to be like them when I grow up. I want that focus on my own quest and so this week, though I didn’t hit every workout, I was pretty consistent. Here’s how it went:
Monday: SWIM. We had a photo shoot with Mickey for underwater swimming pictures. Check Swim Snap Studio, one of the coolest things I have seen. After the shoot we went into a very choppy, mirky ocean and swam half a mile. That’s it.
Tuesday: STRENGTH: I’m committed to this and had an arm and stability session at Fitness Together Miami Plus a RUN: 60 minute tempo run with 10 x 1 min accelerations.
Wednesday: BIKE. I couldn’t do my long bike this weekend so I rode at Ultrabikex Studio on the hilly Vineman 70.3 course. Didn’t do the 80 on the plan, ended up with about 60.
Thursday: STRENGTH. Hubby was travelling and I was tired, so I focused on having a good session at Fitness Together with a focus on core.
Friday: SWIM. I did a 2.5 mile open water swim. The ocean was flat, and beautiful, but I was surprised at how long the swim took. I can’t keep skipping my swim workouts.
Saturday: RUN. I ran 14 miles with the IRun group in a different course than I usually do. Between the change of scenery and the strength training I felt great and ran better than I have in the past.
Sunday: RUN/WALK. I did a 5k with Joe and the boys – more on that another time.
And that is where I am today. How about you? Who do you want to be like when you grow up?
