Happy Birthday part 2
Just a quick update on my B-Fit birthday challenge. I wrote last Friday that I was getting ready to finish my challenge. The challenge as a whole was harder than I anticipated in some ways and in others, I felt like, I exceeded my own expectations. I don't for one second regret doing the challenge or attempting to go for the virtual gold in this case.
I would not recommend a 4 mile swim all in one session to just anyone but for me it was very much a personal challenge and needed breakthrough. I had not really "tested" my shoulder since my surgery. Oh I've worked out and I given myself pain and I've worked out through pain but I had not just sucked it up and pushed through the pain, around the pain and with the pain the way I did Thursday during the 4 mile swim. And you know what? I am ok! I survived and my shoulder is still intact with no lasting effects. I am sure my doc or physical therapist would have not really liked the level of pain I pushed through and dealt with but I'm bull headed that way. I needed to feel and experience it so I know when it happens during a race, and it will, that if I block it out I won't be causing further harm. When I wrote my blog entry on Friday morning all was well again. I had some very minor muscle pain in my legs, back and arms. I had no real deep "bad juju" pain in my shoulders and that was a relief. Time to keep pushing.
After my blog update and a few errands I headed out for the grueling 1 mile run. So ok, it wasn't grueling or painful and it hardly felt like even a warm up but hey it was running and it was my required distance for my challenge. Then came the real mental test of the entire challenge. The 41 mile bike ride. 2 hours 45 minutes later I had not just proven to myself I was fit enough to do it, I had proven I still had the mental fortitude for the ride. Long rides on the bike, to me, are more about keeping my mind in the right place than physical effort. I would have quit out of boredom more than physcial pain or fatigue. I didn't set any speed records on this ride but I did it.
The sense of accomplishment when I finished the challenge in less than a 24 hour period was huge. The feeling of fitness when I woke up Saturday morning and was a little tight muscle wise, but not in any major pain anywhere was awesome. The feeling that I have now done some distances and put myself out there far enough in all three disciplines this spring already to KNOW that I can complete my scheduled Half Ironman 70.3 in August is huge. Now that I know the distances aren't an issue I can redouble my training efforts to start working on some semblence of speed at that distance.
My times for the B-Fit Birthday Challenge were;
4 mile swim: 2 hours 38 minutes
1 mile run : 8 minutes 20 seconds
41 mile bike: 2 hours 45 minutes
total : 5 hours 31 minutes 20 seconds
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