9 Weeks To Go! (Not Such a Good Training Week)

Blogs are interesting in the sense that you are never sure if anyone reads them or not. Occasionally, someone will post a comment and you will know that at the very least, that person reads what you decided to write that day. I would be elated to know that someone took an interest in my travels or training, but for now, I'll have faith that a few people do.

This past week was HARD. Between the radio and TV news stations on campus, my two part-time jobs, regular academic classes, an internship AND training for an Ironman, life can get overwhelming at times. In terms of training, my setback this week was swimming... I didn't make it to the pool once. The pools at UNC are closed until 2010, so I've been bouncing back and forth between Chapel Hill community pools and making the trek over to Duke University to use their pool. I also haven't really been doing the "rest and recovery" bit. I probably averaged about 3-4 hours of sleep per night this week.

But enough of the negativity. Yes, this week was definitely hard and yes, it will continue to be difficult. Nonetheless, I'm keeping strong. My running is gettting better. Thursday I ran an 8-mile tempo run and averaged a 6:45 minute mile. Yesterday, Eloise (my friend/neighbor) and I did an easy/moderate 15-mile run and by the end of it, I felt as if I could have easily run another 15 miles. Today I had brick traning. For those unfamiliar with this term, brick training is when you ride on your bike and then switch immediately to a run. The format of a triathlon is swim, bike, run, so brick training prepares you and your muscles for the transition from the bike to the run. Today I rode 85 miles on the bike and then did a 30 minute recovery run afterwards. After about six or seven GU packs, gatorade and water, I was feeling completely sugar-filled.

A bit awkward, but as a side note: I thought that I was allergic to the new UNC Triathlon Club uniform because last time I did a long ride, I got a rash on my legs that was only where the elastic of the shorts sat. I wore different shorts today and guess what? The same swollen rash. This makes me feel worse, but is anyone familiar with the Dr. Doolittle movie with Eddie Murphy (the first one, I believe)? Eddie Murphy gets called into his office to administer a shot in the buttocks of a woman who knew she was allergic to shellfish, but ate some anyway and had an allergic reaction. Well, if you ever saw the rash that she had... Yup, on my leg.

All in all, today was a solid workout. Swimming will definitely be in the plans, this week!

The Final Countdown: 10 Weeks Until Ironman Cozumel!

I realize that I have commitment issues with my blog: it waits around for me and I leave it sitting here online, waiting. I promise it (and those reading my blog) that I will get better.

For a recap: My time in Cuba did come to an end in May, but not before I hopped on a government bus with my cousin, Maria and the two of us set off to Chaparra, the small rural town in eastern Cuba where my Abuela grew up. After a cramped and FREEZING 12-hour bus ride (I was told to dress warmly and didn't take the comment to heart), Maria and I made it to Chaparra, a town which still uses horse and wagon as its primary means of transportation. Up until then, I had never been able to imagine what Abuela's hometown - the town that I had heard stories about throughout my childhood - looked like. Somehow, being there seemed to satisfy so many of my past questions of identity and my cultural "roots." With government permission, I stayed there for a week with Abuela's younger sister, Tia Eva and her two daughters as well as my two cousins, Evelyn and Elisabeth. The bond that Evelyn and I formed in that week was almost unbelievable. We shared views on politics, culture, friends, love and a general passion for life. We both cried when I had to leave, but now we write every so often and I think about her and life there in Chaparra more often than that.

After coming back from Cuba, I worked as an intern at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta, GA with CNN Productions, CNN's documentary unit. It was a fantastic internship (NOTE: I cannot go into great detail about my work) and I had opportunities to meet many interesting people and do work on several documentaries including Black in America 2, Generation Islam, Michael Jackson: Man in the Mirror and Latino in America, set to air next month. I actually did quite a bit of work on LIA including (but not limited to): transribing tapes, translating interviews (from Spanish to English) and even some script-writing. It was phenomenal.

Fast-forward to the present: I have been training for a full Ironman since February and now I'm in the final homestretch. Keep in mind that I am not looking to qualify for the Kona Hawaii World Championship race or anything remotely that grand, but I am training to run a good race and complete the full 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run. I have 10 weeks before I fly to Cozumel, Mexico, where the race is going to be held. It will be my first time in Mexico, I am probably going alone (which is disappointing, but I understand that it isn't cheap to fly and stay in Mexico for four days) and I am running an Ironman. A mixture of excitement, terror and suspense runs through my veins when I think about November. But I am dedicated and have been training hard so I feel confident. However, if anything DOES go wrong or funny mishaps occur then you, my blog readers, will be the first to hear about it. Stay tuned...

Finally, in preparing for the Ironman (aside from daily training), I thought it would be wise to sign up for a few shorter triathlons. I ran my first race this morning since last November (when I completed the Beach2Battleship Half-Ironman). It was a sprint in Waxhaw, NC and it was definitely a "rolling" course. But it was great to get back out and I won a bottle of wine for placing 1st in my age group! Next race: Pinehurst Olympic-distance tri on October 10th.

More to come...