Tri Training Week 9: Herd of Turtles

Weekly Mileage: 50.9 (9 Running, 2 swimming, 39.9 Biking)

Whenever we took family road trips when I was little, my mom would wait until we were all buckled in, back slowly out of the driveway and say, "Aaaaand we're off, like a herd of turtles!"  Well, let me tell you, driving a car (even a woodchuck mini van full of kids) is NOT like a herd of turtles.  Going for a run after you've ridden a bike almost 25 miles, THAT is like a herd of turtles.  But I did it.  I survived my first brick workout.  But not without a struggle.

Let me back up.  Most of working out is a mind game.  I play tricks on myself to make the workouts seem shorter. 

- I have three turns before I'm done running.  (Who cares that between each turn is a mile?)
- As soon as I finish this 400m swim, I'm almost done. (Who cares that I still have to swim a 300, a 200, and a 100?)
- I'm halfway done with half my time, which basically means I'm almost done. (Who cares that I've still got an hour left to ride?)

It's all in my head, and I've gotten really good at getting myself through long bike rides, and long swims, and long, hot, awful runs.  My token sayings still work well.  My routes are familiar, and I know what I need to do to get the job done.

That all changed on Saturday when I did my first brick workout (one sport followed directly with no rest by another) back home in Illinois.  It was to be my longest bike ride ever (90 minutes), followed by a brief 10-minute run.  Before the ride I pumped myself up.  I put a Gatorade in the water cage, strapped on my mom's Camel Back (what?!?!?  I'm thirsty!), borrowed her husband's bike and shoes, and went on my way.  It was wonderful to be on the country roads with no cars and corn high above my head.  As the first five miles flew by, I was feeling great.  But it WAS 95 degrees out.  And I WAS riding a bike that was a bit too big for me.  The discomfort started to take a toll.

"Self," I said, "You're over half way to half way there."

And, for the first time ever, I replied.  And I was kind of a bitch.

"Yeah.  Uh huh.  And then you have to GO FOR A RUN WHEN YOU'RE DONE!"

My mind knew what was coming, and it wasn't going to fall for any of my cheap tricks.  I knew this was going to be the hardest workout I'd probably ever done (well, except for that whole half marathon thing...), and my brain was going to make sure that it savored every painful moment of it.

Eventually I did finish the bike, enjoying the hot breeze and making it 24.5 miles in 94 minutes.  And then I "ran."

I got off the bike, took a quick bathroom break, put on my running shoes, and took off.

Oh.  My.  God.

 I felt like I was running through wet concrete.  And that concrete seemed to by drying up pretty quickly.  Yet I kept going.  For a whole ten minutes.  And I tell you what, I was the last damn turtle in that herd for every second of that run.  But I finished.  Now what the hell am I going to tell my brain next weekend when I try this nonsense again?