Sorry I've been incommunicado recently. I was at a pretty intense training class so I simply haven't had the time to write about my training. I'm still pushing through and getting runs, rides, and swims in, but I'm really hoping to have the time to write more frequently!
My next endurance run is in about three weeks (YIKES!!). It's the Dopey Challenge at Disney World (8-11 Jan, one run per day: 5K, 10K, half marathon, full marathon) and will total out to 48.6 miles in four days. Yup--it really is well named!!
I've been having problems with my IT band lately (the ligament? tendon? that runs from the side of my right hip to my knee. It hasn't been TOO bad yet, but I can tell that it could be an issue in the making, if I'm not careful. So I've upped my swimming and cycling and have just tried to do only the longer runs that I need, rather than short and long runs. It is not an ideal scenario, but what can I do? I'll just press and hope for the best. Really, with this particular run(s), I'm just going to try and survive it, not PR on any of the distances. It's just too much to try and deal with. I'm going with my friend R and I think we'll have a great time, even if we crawl in at the end. :)
Cycling is going okay. I've been kind of hiding on my trainer (the bike I normally ride fits into a contraption that keeps it steady and adds some tension to the back tire) for the last few weeks--it's either too cold or too damp to make riding outside much fun…add in the shortened days and indoor cycling just seems to become a better idea! Trainer work is hard though--there is no break of riding downhill or with the wind to my back. I'm either going or I'm not, no in-between.
Swimming…ah, swimming. I haven't been back into the Gulf since around October but I joined the YMCA so that I could swim in the mornings. I am military and there are two pools on the bases but they're rather difficult to deal with. One is only open from 1100-1300 (getting away for lunch is problematic) and the other opens a bit late--0600--and is not covered. I live in Florida but this part gets colder than people expect; the last time I tried that pool the water was only about 69 degrees. I do have a wetsuit but that's for the ocean, not to get broken down by swimming in chlorine. After weighing my options, I decided my best bet was to join the Y during the winter. I can start swimming at 0500 and it's an indoor pool so it stays at a reasonable temperature. I'm hoping to get back to the beach soon, but that's difficult to schedule. The beaches here have no life guards and I have to find someone to either swim with me or watch me from the shore. Having someone swim with me is a little easier--quite a few swimmers here--but no one wants to stand on a cold beach watching me swim back and forth. B-O-R-I-N-G. Hopefully after the Dopey I'll be back in the salt water, freezing my rearend off. ;)
OKAY, so--back to the Dopey. I'm still trying to raise money for one of my favorite local non-profit organizations: SOCKS. Save Our Cats and Kittens has been having a rough time as of late and desperately need to raise funds. They are a no-kill shelter that houses their cats in rooms that the cats have full range in…unless they're sick but even then they are well-treated and held in large cages in the "sick room" until they get better and can be moved in with the other healthy cats. They spay and neuter prior to adoption and just generally take awesome care of the kitties in their charge. I would really like to help this organization and am willing to "Go Dopey for SOCKS!" I'll run the 48.6 and if it would be possible for you to donate even $1 per mile (or $1 overall, no amount is too small!!!), I'd be eternally grateful! I know this is short-notice but I want to at least try and make this possible.
Here's an article the local paper posted about the shelter: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/local-shelter-faces-lean-times-photos-1.247798?page=0.
Okay, thanks for reading!! :)
