The Daily Grind

Welcome to the daily grind, get up, go to work, eat, train, shower, sleep....repeat.  Sometimes I feel like a hamster on the wheel but I know it's what I need to do.  I am training for another 70.3 (Sept), another marathon (Oct) and for the World Swimming championship in Montreal (Aug). Luckily they all fit together and I can almost manage.....almost.  I have had 2 good weeks of training and things are coming together, my legs are back for running and my speed with them, my biking is better and my swimming is OK.  I fell a few weeks ago while biking, I still cant bend my knee without pain but it is not stopping me.  My knee does not like me when I swim breaststroke but the rest of the time is just annoying.  I have a knot deep in my calf muscle that does not want to leave, despite rolling and stretching and I can't wait for it to smarten up so I am ignoring it.  

I love being back with the marathon clinic, the 4:15 group is great and it makes running so much fun. Moving up a group from last summer is challenging but it is then that I realize how much I have improved. Last summer the thought of running a 6:05 pace for a tempo run would have been impossible and now I can do it and then some.  Some run feel really good, others are a struggle but I see improvement and I guess that is what keeps me going.  My biking is another matter, I seem to be the same speed week after week and I don't see any real improvement.  I know I am stronger then last year on hills and a bit faster on flats but not by much, it is really frustrating.  I know that I need to really work on this area before next year, not sure what I need to do but I will figure it out.  

I have had a few doubts about doing an Ironman next year, I really don't know if I can survive the training.  I have watched some friends do it this year and I am really scared, I really don't know if I can do it.  I am just telling myself that I said the same before my first 70.3 and my first marathon last summer and I just kept moving forward, one workout at a time and I did it...and then I did it again. I am hoping this works but no guarantees, it might be a crazy year,no it will be a crazy year and now I have to keep my focus this summer and get stronger and finish what I started, time to worry about next year later.  

Starting Over

So I have had a few relaxing few week after the race and it is time to get back to my training, it feels like I am starting over actually.  I was not happy with my training over the last few months, trying to balance working 2 jobs, training, traveling and family were more then I could handle and it showed.  I feel like I lost a lot of my fitness but I have not lost my determination.  The last few weeks have not been easy, I feel like I am not instep with everyone else, everything I do is taken the wrong way, everything I say is wrong and to top it off my dog Loki hurt his leg and may need surgery to repair it.  I had a week off work and I decided to get life organized, organize the house, put breakfasts and dinners in the freezer and get my life organized for a busy training cycle.  While I do not think I am quite where I want to be yet, I am determined to move forward and focus on what is important to me.  Of course I want to focus on my work and training but my family comes first, I have 2 more months before Stephen heads to university, I need to get Loki's leg sorted out, especially if he needs surgery and I need to make time for Neale and I.  July 1st was the mid way point of the year but for me it was like New Years Day, a chance to start again, stronger and determined to make the life I want...wish me luck.