February

I am obsessed with this song. It's been on repeat all week.

It's February. I'm sure that means different things for different people. Some people think of this as a romantic month, maybe another month filled with winter (it's been 50-60 degrees in Seattle this month...), maybe just a short month. For me, February means the start of my 6-month Ironman training plan. Back to scheduled workouts with structured distance goals. Back to focus. Back to dedication. Back to the pool, back on my bike, back to tri focused lifting (it's not back to running because I'll actually run far less than I have been running the last few months). Back to fatigue, back to barely being able to move on the weekends, back to needing 10 hours of sleep a night to recover. Back to focusing on fueling, protein intake and hydration.

I haven't been in the pool since before Ironman. I got back on my bike three weeks ago, and it HURT.... I can't wait to feel like a triathlete again. I can't wait to give my bad knee a break from 30-50 runing miles a week. Getting in the pool helps a lot. I can't wait to feel the burn in my legs when I transition from my bike rides to my short transition runs, how much that hurts for the first month before I build into that being normal.

I've loved having the last 6 months to spend time doing what I want when I want, and traveling. As much as I love these adventures, its time to refocus on my goals for August 7th. Ironman Boulder. I remember after Ironman Canada was over last year, I had never felt such depression, sadness, lack of purpose, and overall I felt totally lost. I'm glad I found myself again, but I'm almost looking forward to "losing" myself in this sport again. During training and during Ironman, you have to dig so deep, pushing past limits you never knew you even had, depths you never knew you could reach. You have to push past every boundary that life has set for you, that you set for yourself. When I tell people that I spend up to 8 hours each weekend day swimming, biking and running during the main months of training, they look at me like that's impossible. I know that it isn't. It's not even impossible to workout for twice that amount of time. Even triple, which is what I will have to do to accomplish a 100-mile trail race. We need to stop using the word impossible - stop letting it guide our choices...  If you stop using that word, I think you'd be amazed at what you find truly is possible, no matter what part of your life it applies to.

I know a lot of those of you who are reading this aren't currently endurance athletes. I'm sure I sound insane to you. But 8 years ago, I was just a girl who ran 5 miles a few times a week, did some weight lifting, sometimes did the elliptical machine. I was not born some super endurance athlete. A year and a half ago, when I signed up for my first Ironman, I had not even done a triathlon yet!!! All it takes is carving out some time to build your endurance, form, and courage in the three sports, patience to let yourself grow, and a commitment to your goal. If it's something you really want, you can get there. And if you tell yourself it's something you can do, you WILL. If you want to learn more about all this - just shoot me an email (kaleerw6@gmail.com). I grab coffee every month or so with people from my company who know I did Ironman to answer questions about training and time management. I know it sounds daunting, but I cannot say it enough - IT IS 100% SOMETHING YOU COULD DO! Ironman changed my life and who I am for the better. If you watch the video below and are anything like me, it will give you the chills. 

Anyways, HAPPY IRONMAN TRAINING SEASON to all you other Ironmen out there. Looking forward to seeing you on the trails, in the pool and in the gym. Anything is possible, and this is another year to prove that.