Top of the Key

What a tough day. I mean, come on. It’s only week 11 and i just really worked my tail off this week. Today though, was brutal. Going into it, in my head, I was thinking it wasn’t so bad…a 32 mile bike and a 7 mile run. Also, a 1600 yard swim and lower body weights. The bike was fine. After that though, it was a killer. It’s cold here today, so i haven’t been hitting my heart rates when running in cooler weather. The track workout almost killed me. And then I had to run up a steep hill 8 times, that’s where my mind kicked in and overcame the thoughts of bagging it. So all in all, I got my brick in with an effort of 11 on a scale of 1 to 10.

After that, I came back and tried to regroup before hitting the pool and weights. I was sort of out of it. Drank some tea, ate some food, and just got in the car and made it happen. Because the pool was busy, I think it motivated me to swim strong and just get it done. I focused mostly on a long, strong stroke. After looking at some video footage of Ian Thorpe, I decided to mix it up.

And then i had no desire to hit the weights, NONE. I mean, get me back home and put me to sleep. But again, I just kept moving forward…keep moving forward…keep moving forward. It’s in my mind now alot, when I swim, when i run, and when I just don’t want to do it. So I got the workout done today, and now i’m trying recap what went through my mind.

Days like these, asskickers I like to call them, just put you in a state of ‘why am i doing this’. And as Peter Reid said in a recent movie he was in, if you’re asking that question on the run in an Ironman, you’d better have an answer already waiting, or it’s too late. So I’ve been thinking about why I’m doing this…and it’s for multiple reasons, mainly because I CAN. There are people out there that will never know what it’s like to train for an Ironman, or finish an Ironman, or do any one of the sports that all us triathletes do. And because i’m lucky to have the ability to do these activities, I should be doing them. Because one day i won’t be able to. Another reason, I want to see how far I can push my body and mind. How far is too far…How far is not enough? I have not the slightest clue how to answer that. I’m in new territory here. IF you asked me to go play a game of hoops, a 5 on 5 down at the local rec center, I am confident that I could compete with each and every one there…in my mind, that is just a switch I flip on…and it goes…and it goes. I sort of miss that. But it’s a known entity to me. Whereas this Triathlon stuff is all new…each day i get educated.

You only live once.  Make the best of this opportunity.