Cardio might not suck that bad after all...

All of my competitive life I have drudged through cardio. 20-30-40 mins at a time on the stepper...or the treadmill...or the stationary bike. Watching the mins go by and patting myself on the back at the number of calories I can burn in a given period of time. Talk about more boring than watching paint dry. On a 'fun' day I would watch TV or read a book while sweating off the inches. Lord help me, I even rigged up a way to set my laptop up on my spinning bike and balance my way through a little e-mail. Not that those sessions ended up being hard core, but it was better than not doing the cardio at all.

Now though, everything has changed. In the past, 30 mins at a time was about all I could take of the monotony. My new triathlon training has truly changed my outlook on cardio. I am LOVING the challenge of seeing how far I can go in the shortest time period. How many laps can I swim before I have to take a break. How far of a bike ride can I fit in before I need to head back and get Tre from school. The swimming is amazing right now. Today I swam for 45 mins and wanted to go longer. I went more than a mile in the pool and it felt great. I know that at this point, I can jump out of the water and hop on a bike for the 30K biking portion of the race. Not as confident about the 5K run that follows the biking, but on Friday I did run the 3 miles outside. That was my first "long" run since my knee surgery.

So, what have I learned about myself? I really think I have been looking at this whole cardio thing wrong. Yes, it is about burning calories and shaping my body, but today, when I passed the aquatic mile mark, I was really excited and proud of myself. Not because I had burned almost 600 calories (which I did), but because I swam further than I ever have in my life. Just a different way of looking at it I suppose. Wow, what a difference perspective can make.

Julie : )