mental toughness vs. a big ugly hill

So, in the last post I did about myself, I mentioned that I still needed to figure out what I was going to do for a workout on Saturday evening. Right after I published that post, Paul got home from doing a brick (a bike ride on his trainer followed by a 2 mile run). He said, "you better get out there if you're going to do a workout today." I agreed and put on my new "tri outfit" to run in it for the first time, with a layer of warmer clothing on top. When I realized it was raining, I asked Paul if it was bad, and he said, "it's just a drizzle."

Just a drizzle, MY ARSE!! This is what I looked like when i got home.

Yeah, my pants, hat, and shirt were SOAKED! I jumped on the scale just to see how much my clothing weighed and it was only 4 lbs, but it felt like a LOT more! I ended up going 5 miles... the longest run I'd ever done and it was in the full-on rain. I won't say "down pour" because that may be a slight exaggeration, but to say the least, I was jumping a TON of puddles! Paul felt bad enough that he sent me out there in the rain that he actually came to pick me up. But at that point, I had already gone 4.25 miles and was determined to get the full 5 miles in. I was proud of myself though, because I hit the 5 mile mark at 49 minutes 39 seconds! I'm excited that I can maintain a 10 minute mile pace for longer than just the 5K distance.

When I got home, Paul congratulated me on accomplishing a solid "mental toughness" workout. But to be honest, for some reason, it wasn't that bad. By the time I hit 2 full miles, everything from my head to feet was drenched, so all I could do was embrace the insanity of what I was doing! On my way back home I passed two girls running the opposite direction and one of them shouted, "we're crazy!" I whole-heartedly agreed! It's so interesting finding yourself in a place you'd never "want" to be, and yet laughing inside that you're doing it and feeling good about that!

I was hoping that mental toughness would help me through this evening as I attempted the bike route for the triathlon for the first time. It's a short 5 mile loop with a buttkicker hill that you have to ride twice. I'm so glad I did a trial run today just so I know how afraid I need to be of this thing. I didn't want to climb it a second time, but after struggling on it the first go round (I didn't start in my easier gears), I needed to give it one more try. On the second climb, I plugged through the last part of that hill not knowing how I was going to finish it. I even started to get scared that I'd completely fatigue and fall over while clipped in the pedals! Once I reached the top again, I was literally gasping for air whilst my legs and lungs burned from the inside out! But I did it, which means I know I can do it on Saturday as well. Now I know just HOW MUCH it's gonna suck! Awesome!

For the rest of the week, I'm going to get a good swim in tomorrow and work on my transitions on Wednesday. I want to know I can handle every aspect of this triathlon this week! I can't believe it's already here! I'm excited that we've got Spring Break this week, even if it means I only get one extra day off than an usual week, but hey, I'll take it! Hope you are all having a great week so far!