Major accomplishments along the way...

Today's post is a little philosophical, actually it's a lot philosophical. I'm going to start by saying, finishing an Ironman is a major accomplishment. For us that train for it, it is definitely the end goal. But what I've come to realize is that on any particular training day, you can achieve and experience great things along the way.

For instance, yesterday was a major accomplishment and a new experience for me. I did a 6:40 / 183.5 km bike ride, in February, in -17 C weather. I had never done that before and some would say it was an epic moment. (I've come to love the word Epic, it's got a great positive ring to it and is a great substitute for the words "crazy thing to do"). It was also a new experience. I've never trained in the winter for an Ironman. I was experiencing a whole host of new sensations.

I distinctly remember riding down a stretch of road that I rode during my Summer Ironman training sessions. Same road, same distance, different time of year, different experience. I remembered how it felt in the Summer and now I know how it feels in the winter. It was something unknown to me the day before, and in one day, unexpectedly, it's something I'll not soon forget.

It doesn't end there. There is those fast or long sessions in the pool, or on the bike, or on the run. Or biking and running through adversity. Maybe it's super windy or raining or snowing or freezing or unbearably hot. Maybe it's riding your longest inside on a trainer or running your longest or fastest on a dread-mill.

Or maybe you set a training PR, the longest distance in a sport, the most distance for a day, week, weekend or month, or the fastest swim, bike or run. Or the most weight lifted. Or you could have achieved your lowest weight or body fat ever. Maybe it's your earliest session, your latest session.

I still remember doing a run at 3 am when I was 19 years old. I guess I could still beat it, if I ran at 3:30 am. (Although I'm not sure where latest ends and earliest begins. I guess it's based on whether you went to bed yet or not). I remember doing many long training sessions after a heavy night of partying and very little sleep and the smell of booze coming out of my pores. Just ask John Barclay. Although, those are not records I intentionally want to beat. (Actually this non drinking and training for an Ironman is much easier and very civilized).

Whatever it is, it's always a moving target and there is so many little or big wins along the way. There is always a mountain to climb and a record to be set or broke. It doesn't have to come down to race day only. As a matter of fact, I think some of the accomplishments you make during training can be near as significant as finishing an Ironman. It could be argued that if you did a full Ironman all by yourself in training, that it is more of an accomplishment than finishing an Ironman with all the support and energy of the event.

As you can see, my point is that you need to stop and "smell the accomplishment and new experience flowers along the way". It's like marriage. The wedding is the big day, but how many great days did you have up until that point. I could have used the "child birth" analogy, that the birth of a child is a big day, and I'm sure we would ALL agree that there was a LOT of fun preparing for that moment. I regress.

For those that have done an Ironman, I'm sure they'll still remember specific moments in training that were breakthrough accomplishments for them. They may even remember something odd like the heat of the Sun that day or the smell of the air during that special training session.

For someone like me, who has very poor long term memory, those moments seem to stay with me and I'd even say are moments that become part of my character. More so than even finishing the Ironman. And the amazing part is those moments come when you least expect them.

Today's picture is of the stretch of road I was referring to and is now emotionally seared in my memory. Heck, I even have the picture to remind me. The strange part about that picture is the only reason I took it was because a family of deer started to cross the road and I pulled out my camera. By the time I pressed the button they were gone, but as chance would have it, I unintentionally got a picture of a special experience in time.

On the training front, I did a 3 hour run today. I did it on a route I've never done before. One big circle. I mapped it out on "Map my Run" before I left. It started windy and cold and then warmed up and the wind died down. It was -14 C with windchill. Before I left the house, I put Vaseline on my face. After yesterday's ride I noticed my eyes looked swollen from the squinting and the cold wind hitting my face. I figured the Vaseline would help protect my skin.

I was expecting to run slow, especially since I was going to walk for 30 seconds after every 10 minutes of running. Which I did, it's easier on the legs. I was shocked when I finished 35 km at a 5:06 pace. If I was able to maintain that pace for another 7 km, I would have run a marathon in 3:35:11. Incredible, especially for a low heart rate effort. It was another small win.

I also ended up dropping 9 lbs of water weight during today's run. When I got home I drank nothing but pints of water and apple juice. I rarely drink apple juice, but on the run started craving apple juice. Apple juice in a tall glass with lots of ice. Boy was it good.

Long run - 3:00:08 / 35.32 km / 21.95 miles / 5:06 kph pace / 2347 ft climbing