It is amazing how quickly things can fill a schedule. At work, I found myself struggling just to get through all of the "must do" projects that came out of the budgeting process. It can be disheartening to look at a day's work, see how much was accomplished, only to realize that none of it was normal workload.
At the same time, I look back at the past week, see all the physical activity in my life, then realize that virtually none of it was endurance sports related.
I spent over an hour designing an obstacle course for kids, then running them through it. I spent an entire day in the woods cutting wood for my house. That wood had to be loaded, unloaded, split and stacked. Over three days, that represented many hours of wielding a chainsaw and/or axe.
All of that work was good for my body. It just won't help much in the swim/bike/run department.
And then, I stop here to vent only to find that my last post was nearly two weeks ago. Luckily, I don't have enough hair left to pull out.
The good news is that I have been putting time in on the trainer. I'm struggling with a cheap cycling computer trying to get it working on the rear wheel so I can get an indication of "mileage." Unfortunately, the receiver seems to stop receiving when speed gets up over about 8 MPH. So, for now, it's just time (and too little time, at that).
Perhaps I need to sign up for another Ironman to focus the efforts. Which generates an interesting line of thought.
Many people ask why endurance athletes seem to find more and crazier ways to push their bodies. Perhaps part of the answer is that it prevents apathy.
After running several half-marathons, the next one started to be a "given." While I might not set a PR at every race, finishing wasn't really a question. Over time, the same thing happened with marathons. Ask me to run a marathon tomorrow and I can. I might not do it in 3:30, but I'll finish.
But a 50-miler, that's not a given. A great deal of very specific training was required to complete that distance. And I wouldn't be comfortable doing another event without a similar plan. The question is, what happens if I complete five or six 50-milers?
The same is true of triathlons. Anything shorter than half-Ironman wouldn't phase me. The biggest challenge at the half-Iron distance is beating PRs. Barring extreme circumstances, I am confident of my ability to finish.
Ironman is another story. I finished one race at that distance, and will face many of the same fears when I sign up for the next one (whatever that is). Everything went pretty well in Louisville in 2007. Would Beach 2 Battleship in 2009 or Wisconsin in 2010 be the same?
New challenges. Perhaps that explains some of the "why" in what we do. Once something has been done again and again, it becomes a given. The next "impossible" challenge arises from past successes.
I really need to find a way to do another Ironman!
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