March 9th – 15th

Total: 17 hours +
Swim: 11,700 meters
Bike: 7 hrs 20 min.
Run: 4 hrs 51 min.
Strength: 1hr 55 min

It was a bit of a crazy week, but gladly I made it through. The illness that I blogged about in the last entry turned pretty nasty over the weekend and I ended up with laryngitis, which is a first for me. I wondered if it would take me out of training or not, but thankfully I felt well enough to finish my work for the week which was 90 minutes on the bike Saturday and a 90 minute run Sunday. Coach had me limit my HR for these sessions to 130 as to not drain my body of the resources it needs to fight this thing off for good. Today I’m feeling much better and have returned to work despite not being 100% (I’m a hypocrite I know).

It was a rainy weekend so all my training was done indoors. We also had my son’s 7th birthday party on Saturday which was a lot of fun. It was a science experiment themed party so the kids got to make exploding, bubbling, and otherwise messy concoctions in my garage. After the experiments were done, the fun and colorful messiness continued when they were able to devise there own color of icing and decorate their cup cakes. This worked out perfectly with the weather and I’ve never seen so many 6 and 7 years maintain their attention like that! The funniest part was probably when it was time for my son to open up his presents, the kids were like bees around a hive … he hardly had room to pull the paper off for all the little people gathered around him. And apparently the recession hasn't hit Lexington as these parents were doling out big money for the boy. I think he walk away with like $100 in cash and gift cards besides all the toys. The party was a lot of fun and we receive many compliments from kids and parents. Jennifer does a great job orchestrating these kinds of things!

Wow, thanks for all the comments regarding my last post … lots of wisdom in there! Some highlights that really stuck with me:

If you are already training to your maximum workload, and you line up on race day and give 100%, then it's up to you to feel fulfilled by that or not. I am at my maximum workload (at least for this time of year) and I will undoubtedly give 100%. I truly believe I’m as well prepared as possible (for the early season) given my current level of athletic experience, fitness, available training and recovery time. Yes, I could probably be a little leaner (2-5 lbs), but I’m sort of saving that for June (first peak) because I know how not enjoyable it is to maintain that level. So I think I’ll be okay with the result whether it’s top 5 or top 20 … but really hoping for a top 8 at these short course races.

What motivates you to keep doing that which you love? A couple of things … I LOVE the sport and have a burning passion for it! Beyond that though I believe the Lord is doing something in me and through me and using triathlon has His artisan’s tool. If you could have only seen me some years ago … had someone told me what I would be doing today I would have dismissed it as nonsense. Given that, I am VERY interested in the outcome of this “work”. I believe it will be beautiful and I hope it has a lasting impact on me, my family, and beyond. It’s an interesting sub plot in the story of my life (and lives of my family) and I am eager for it to unfold, but also very much enjoying the journey.

Do you want to be the big fish in the small pond or the small fish in the big pond? - I like the open water … I just don’t want to get eaten!

The only way for you to get better is to race with people better than you. Agreed! Also, training with those better than you can do wonders to improve your performance. I need a training partner who can take me to the mat every now and then!!!!

Life is too short to go through it wondering what if. Yes, this brings to mind something my coach wrote on ST … (paraphrasing) Better to have remorse than regret.

Really pondering these thoughts has given me peace about racing Open. I’m just not used to the idea of being in the mid-back of the pack. Maybe this won’t be the case, but I have to prepare myself for it because it is a definite possibility. Regardless, as mentioned in the comments above, racing head to head with the best of the best is what I need to push my performance to its potential. And that’s the real goal … to race the fastest ironman I can and qualify for Kona in 2010. This will help me get there.

I should say that looking at Paris Island results, there is still a really high level of local competition in the 35 – 39 division from the likes of James Busby and Turner Boone, finishing 16th and 17th overall. I should have not implied that winning there would have been a given. It certainly would be a challenge!