Week 15: Nutrition

Nutrition:

One of the things that scares me the most about “going long” is bonking.  So far the longest distance I have done is an Olympic and I think the harder nutrition issues don’t surface until you hit 70.3 or 140.6.  Having a sensitive stomach doesn’t help one bit nor does being hypoglycemic as I found out this past week.

Apparently my body was burning fuel (food) faster than I was consuming it, and 3 days last week I came dangerously close to blacking out.  After training on Friday, Sat, and Sun, I started seeing spots, getting dizzy and almost passing out.  When you grow up with hypoglycemia (kind of the opposite of hyperglycemia which is diabetes), you learn to manage sugar in your body.  I learned to eat as little sugar as possible and to stick with foods that are low on the sugar scale.  Foods which take longer to burn. White meat chicken, brown rice, sweet potatoes. ETC.   BUT that does NOT work when training.  I have to switch over to high sugar foods when training.  You can see where this is going.  Almost the second I stop training, the sugar drops and I black out.  Drinking REAL coke helps until I can get protein and fat in me.  And fake food doesn’t work very well for me…so eating a protein bar doesn’t stop the drop in sugar.  It needs to be natural food.

I have 3 months to figure this out before my first 70.3 or my Road ID will come in very handy. 

Week 14: The second year

Building on Last Year:

2010 was my first year of triathlons.  It was my first year of competing in running and cycling ever in my life.  And the first time in many, many years of swimming competition.  It was a year of mistakes and a year of growth.  One of the nice things about being new to a sport is you have no idea what you are doing and you will try anything.  So my enthusiasm and curiosity were at an all time high.

That could also be said to be a detriment in that my time was scattered and not clearly focused.  And I pushed too hard in some areas resulting in injury and not hard enough in other areas leading to poor results. 

I am certain I will make more mistakes this year.  There is no way to avoid them.  My goal is not to make the same mistake twice.

Last year, it seemed like I had something to prove.  This year I want to grow.  To absorb it all like a sponge.  Watch, listen, and observe.  Whittle away what doesn’t need to be there.  Become strong and efficient.

I already like this second year.  I like it more than I ever dreamed I would.

Week 13: Learning to swim

When I was a child, I was on a competitive swim team for 4 seasons and swam breaststroke.  It was natural and easy and I never remember coaches telling me how to correct my stroke.  I do remember hating to get up early and swimming so many laps that by the end of the practice, I would actually cheat and walk on the bottom of the pool.

When I began swimming for tris, I was rudely awakened.  Freestyle was very difficult for me and I could not understand what I was doing wrong.  I knew my stroke was not efficient and I was not "pulling" the water.  But how do I fix it?  I read books, did the drills, took a private lesson but nothing helped.  I had considered giving up swimming at one point because I disliked it so much and it caused me so much anxiety and pain.

Finally a friend of mine suggested I go to a coach who would videotape me.  But it was nothing what I expected.  She would have me swim a lap, get out, watch it, discuss how to improve, and do it again.  We did this so many times I was getting dizzy jumping in and out of the pool.  BUT IT WORKED!  One lesson had me see what I was missing.  Just one lesson.  Of course, I will continue to go to her because there is so much to learn.

Now I'm excited about swimming.  I can't wait to go and see how much I can improve, and it's become a fun game to me.  I learned over a year that I can't give up.  I can't stop trying.  That even if I fail over and over again, that victory truly can just be around the next corner.  So get out there, ask questions, leave no stone unturned until you find what brings you joy in life.  It's waiting for you too.  :)