The Phoenix

Today's workout:

Run-12.5 miles (140 minutes)

Bike-60 minutes (12 miles maybe?)

Weights-2 x 15

What a weekend! And today officially marks the end of four months of training. Pretty incredible! I can definitely tell that the training has entered the "Ironman Specific Training" as it says in the book. This weekend in particular my legs were tired the entire time, for each different event. (I'm not sure if it was because of the hill workout on Thursday, or if they were just tired.) But I kept powering through. Kristi and I were saying on our run today that we feel like this training is 40% physical and 60% mental. It's as if as long as you follow the training your body can physically do the distances. But it's the mental piece that gets in the way. I think this weekend gave my mental confidence a boost. I can't believe I completed everything when my legs were so darn tired. I've ice bathed for the last three days and that seems to have helped a little. Today the stretching after the weights really helped also. My quads haven't been sore since that stretching. 

So let's see, where to start. The book told us this weekend to do the run first, before the bike. So we did. It was cold today-and overcast. About 62-65 degrees for the run. Brrr. Actually perfect running weather so I can't really complain. But I do like my 90s! The run was pretty good considering my legs. It was funny, today it hurt so much to go downhill! It was easier to go uphill. Each time we'd have a downhill I'd start to grunt and groan. My poor old muscles. But somehow we (my legs and I) made it the 12 miles in one piece. Cheyenne came with us since it was so cool, and she helped us keep a slow pace the whole way. She was so cute. At the 7-11 when I stopped to refill my water bottle, she sat down next to Kristi and leaned up against her leg. She was pooped!  And at about mile ten she pulled over to a patch of grass. I thought she had to pee. Instead she just sat down, looked up at me, and started munching on some grass! As if to say, "I'm done now mama." She is just too adorable. I asked her if she wanted me to carry her the rest of the way, but she decided to get up and run it in with us. Thank goodness, because that would have been a very difficult two miles for me if I had to carry her and run! I think today may have been her last long Sunday run with us until the fall.  :(

Then it was time to bike. Oh, the madness never ends. It was still only about 65 degrees so I put on long pants, arm warmers and a jacket. Brrrr. We went so ridiculously slow, it was wonderful! We decided to cut the 14 mile route to about 11-12 miles since we were going slowly and we only had to do 60 minutes. Thank goodness, because it was hard to get my legs to keep moving in circles. 

Then to Club Macca for weights. This was the last time we have to do the full weight regime. The book says to cut out the leg weights from now on, and to just do lighter quicker reps of 10-12 instead of 15. At first I thought I'd want to continue the weights for injury prevention, but I read the book again and it says that our legs will start to feel better on the weekends with the longer distances once we cut out the leg weights. So I'm down with that. The book hasn't let us astray yet!

While I was stretching after the weights, my legs were still really sore. I had trouble getting into some of the stretching positions because of my sore muscles. So I thought about The Phoenix. The Phoenix was a tv show that I remember from growing up. It was about a man who was like a superhero. He could transport himself to wherever he wanted and he would help people. For example, if he knew, through his telekinetic powers, that there was a car accident somewhere, he would go there and touch the person who was in the accident. He would feel their pain for them until the ambulance arrived. I told Kristi and Wayne that I wish The Phoenix would pay me a visit and take my leg pain away. They had never heard of the show. 

So I looked the show up on my phone. And here's what I found out. It aired for one month in 1982. Only four episodes were ever aired. I have no idea why I remember it, and I'm sure I probably only ever watched one episode.

"The Phoenix, an ancient astronaut, is revived by scientists and escapes from their facility to search for his partner, Mira. She is the only one who knows what their task is while they are on Earth. While searching for Mira, he must avoid being captured by government agents."

Bennu, The Phoenix, is an ancient extraterrestrial who displays superhuman abilities and behaves in a manner meant to represent an enlightened culture (kind, non-violent, environmentally responsible, etc.) It's no wonder I was drawn to the show. He's just like me! Hahahahaha!

But I had to call William just to make sure I'm not loosing it. I simply asked him if he remember a tv show called The Phoenix, and he told me everything about it that I already knew. He couldn't believe that it was only on for a month either! The 90 minute pilot was aired on March 19th, 1982, which was a Friday. We were allowed to watch two hours of tv on Friday nights. And that was the night before William's 9th birthday. I'm going to have to see if I can find the pilot and watch it again just for kicks.  Here's the intro to the show, just in case you're interested.

I discovered two new yummy food items today with Ironman potential. One is to take a Thomas's wheat bagel, the mini kind-they were really fresh today-and put some chocolate almond butter on it. I don't think it'll melt too badly because it's the consistency of peanut butter. I'm going to give it a try on Saturday. The other food is something that I forgot. But I know there were two items. Hmmm. I'll have to remember and blog about it tomorrow.

The ice bath felt wonderful tonight. And now I'm excited to snuggle with the bug on the couch while watching an episode of the office before bed.

G'night!

M :)