Every Day is a Good Day to PR

"Mommy, I can't go on. My feet won't go a step further," the little girl looked up at her mother with her puppy dog eyes, ready to cry.

"Honey," the mother calmly responded. "I know you're tired, but we must go on. It is in your weakness that you become stronger. When you are tired and you push through it, that is how you build strength."

Wow. I kept running by the mother and daughter. It was my ninth mile and I still had three to go. I was becoming weak. I hadn't brought any fuel or water with me. The mother was so right, though; I needed to push through this. Only by pumping my tired legs would I get back to the car. Twelve miles with an 8:44 pace... not too bad. Not as fast as I was hoping, but not horrible. Did I feel stronger? Ehh... my feet didn't, but I was proud of myself. I refueled with a peanut butter smoothie and a visit with my friend Lynn.

I'm in Build 1 of my training. Actually, I think I may even be a week behind somehow. During Base 1, I pushed myself way too hard; with all the classes I teach on top of all my strenuous training, I think I overdid it. Base 2 was a bit better because I allowed myself to go easier. Base 3 was not so pretty. I skipped a lot of swim workouts... Guys, I really hate the pool. So Build 1 was going to make up for Base 3... or, it was supposed to. Then my life started changing; new job opportunities, deciding to give up old jobs, going on dates, taking trips... Build 1 has been worse than Base 3 as far as skipping workouts. In his book, Joe Friel says, "Do not skip a workout in Build 1 or else you will not do well on race day". Well, that stinks. I'm sitting here thinking, "Do I even continue to train? I'm growing so tired of the way it interferes with my life. I don't even enjoy it anymore. When I miss a workout, I'm devastated. My social life is basically nonexistent and my friends are upset that they never see me anymore. I'm tired all the time. I've considered quitting jobs in order to have more time to train. I've already missed three swim workouts and one run... do I just throw in the towel and call it a night?"

Then I remember what the mother said to her daughter: "It is in your weakness that you become stronger." To add to that, 2 Corinthians 12:9 reads: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." "When I fall down, you pick me up. When I am dry, you fill my cup." My favorite verse is Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".

Last Friday, I was in Drea's running strength class. As we were holding one-legged bridges, I glanced up at the wall in front of me. On it was a license plate that read "Go PR". Go PR. Every day is a chance to set a new personal record, whether it be running faster, swimming longer, instructing a better class, cleaning my house... I mean, there are so many opportunities to PR. Since Friday, I have been encouraging myself through my workouts with that thought. "Go PR, Ash. Now is your chance. Show yourself what you are made up. Push through the weakness. Build that strength. Go PR."


Full moon behind the light.

  Last Thursday, I walked into cycle and handed out the students' laminated power zone cards.

"Are you kidding me," David began. "You are way too into this."

"I just want to give you the best workout possible," was my response.

Some people love my new power workouts. Others, not so much. The people that are there just to get a workout and have fun... well, most of them like my classes. My class really is designed for the road cyclist. Mark and I were talking about that this morning after my 6AM class. "I really like your workouts," he began. "It feels like I'm really on the road. They train me for my events better than some of the other cycle classes offered here." See? Some people appreciate the power training. Others don't want to fuss with numbers. They would rather just speed up when I say sprint and climb when I say add gear.

On Thursday, I swam, but I did not run. On Friday, I made up for the run (which you're not supposed to do, but I've screwed up my training so much anyway, why not just screw it up some more) after Pilates then biked later in the day. That night, I trained Richard, but I decided not to do the workout with him since I had a dinner date later. Saturday, I ran twelve miles at an 8:44 pace. I was supposed to swim after, but when I got to the pool, I just couldn't motivate myself to get in. It was pathetic. I walked into the pool area, went to the dressing room, put on my pink suit and stood there. Then I put on my sweatshirt, wrapped my towel around my waist and walked to my car. So much for swimming.

I love Ruben's!

 Sunday was good though. After work and training Richard, I drove out to a town about an hour away. I hadn't been there since the first of January. I rode my bike 30 miles then grabbed a burrito at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant Josh introduced me to and drove straight to church. The ride was great; it is one of my all-time favorite rides. I really wanted some alone time, so it was nice to just reflect as I rode. There is a pretty abandoned area with water storage towers lining the bike path. There was graffiti all over the towers. Call me strange, but I love graffiti. Something about it is just so creative and fun. I enjoyed checking out all of the cool art as I made my way down the path.

Collage of my Sunday



View from my ride

 This week has held lots of adventures; not only did I get to do a long bike ride and a hard tempo run (http://www.runnersworld.com/article/printer/1,7124,s6-238-267--11909-0,00.html), I also was able to try out a lot of fun restaurants this week. On Thursday night, I went to Arch Rock Fish. On Friday, I had filet mignon and grilled artichoke at Lucky's. On Saturday, I had lamb at the Wine Cask. On Sunday, I had a lamb burger at The Brewhouse. Yes, I know how to eat well. All of the restaurants were delicious.

Arch Rock Fish has a youthful atmosphere and amazing guacamole!

Photo courtesy of Google

Lucky's was super fancy. Derek pretended he was Edward Norton and I was Cameron Diaz. Yeah, I wouldn't say we fit the parts, but it was fun anyway. The owner came and made certain we were happy where we were sitting and had everything we needed. Maybe Derek does look like a movie star?

Photo courtesy of Google

 Wine Cask was also very upscale. I wore jeans and the moment I walked in, I regretted my decision. Everyone was dressed up very nicely. The wine was phenomenal and my lamb was perfect.

Photo courtesy of Google

Sunday was girls' night. Rebecca, Sarah, Sophia and I had a laid back dinner at the Brewhouse where we exchanged stories, laughed the night away and made plans for St Patrick's Day.

Photo courtesy of Google