The sound of my alarm clock penetrated my ears, I looked over with blurred vision; the clock read: 4:30 a.m.

It feels like I just fell asleep, but it’s time to get up and get going.

I rushed to put on my swim suit and layered myself with sweats – it’s March, so it’s still chilly in the early mornings.

I arrive at Saint Mary’s Fitness Center just after 5:10 a.m. as it is opening. I enter the locker room and put my bag away. I decided I better check the pool before I undress.

I could not believe my eyes – it was full! I am feeling a little frustrated at this point, so I decide to switch gears.

I worked a full day’s work and ran that afternoon. Day one of training I ran 5 miles wearing a new pair of shoes – Hoka’s. Not the best decision, the shoes didn’t work for me. I ended up with blisters, so I am going back to my Brooks – love those shoes!

It’s been a while since I ran long distance, so of course, I chafed. Such an uncomfortable feeling to have in your armpits, but all part of overcoming a challenge like this.

Tip: Rub Vaseline or Body Glide in area’s you think might rub to prevent creating a painful chafing.

Needless to say day one was a challenge.

Day two I took my BRIK class and it was successful!

Day three, Wednesday – I surprised myself and actually swam the 1.2 miles (2,000 yards), which is the real distance I need to swim on race day. I did it in 45 minutes. However, I learned later that my form and techniques are a little off.

This past Monday I took my first swim lesson Saint Mary’s Olympian swim instructor Nebojša Bikić.

Nebojsa taught me that my breathing was all wrong. All these years I have swum and never knew I was doing it wrong. He taught me new techniques and gave me some things to practice until we can meet again.

I was able to complete all my work outs last week.  I overcame all the obstacles that everyday life threw at me and conquered my first week of training.

I didn’t think it would be easy. All the challenging components of training for something like this unveiled themselves this past week. Fitting it my schedule, finding the right gear, taking care of my body, eating properly and most of all remembering to have fun. As challenging as my first week was, I overcame and conquered a lot of my initial fears.

I know I can swim 1.2 miles the wrong way, so once I apply the new techniques it should be a piece of cake.

Running is painful at first – however, I know if I training properly it turns into one of the best high’s anyone can experience.

Next on my list is to conquer the bike. I am yet to buy clip-ins. A fear I must overcome and will – soon.

When we work through overcoming our fears, we grow. Though the fears I listed above are specific to training for an Ironman, we all have little fears we face every day. Once we start working through them we learn perhaps, that what we are fearful of isn’t as scary as we thought. It’s a matter of overcoming and conquering them one step at a time.

Have you overcome a fear recently? If so, please share in the comments below.