Determination...

I went out for a run tonight after work. Was supposed to be an hour. I made it 10 minutes and turned around. My shins were absolutely killing me. Not sure why, happens from time to time...not very often mind you, but from time to time. This time was pretty bad. Hurt enough I actually had to walk a few times. Got home and quickly changed into my bike shorts, hopped on the trainer and turned on the TV. My quads were fairly sore from a pretty hard trainer effort yesterday so I just kept it easy and got in just under an hour.

It was funny though. I was watching the Biggest Loser, on my dvr, and was thinking: Man if I had a coach that pushed me as hard as the trainers do on this show I could really do some things. If only I had someone that would constantly push me beyond my comfort zone when needed. Someone to get me out the door when it's raining and wake me up at 6am on a Saturday to get in a 5 to 7 hour ride. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. That person is me. I was really tired post work today and just getting out for the run was hard. Then to get turned around and still put in a solid hour on the trainer with some core work after...I was pretty damn happy with myself.

Basically it reaffirmed what I already knew about triathletes. The majority of us don't excel because we have a tough coach that is there to strictly monitor our diet and nutrition and constantly push our limits in workouts. We excel because of our determination. Sometimes that same determination can get us in trouble, but most of the time it is what gets us to the start and finish line. There was a moment at the end of Ironman Arizona where my friend Morgan passed me on the run with a few miles left. I had gutted out the marathon and was counting the minutes until I hit that final mile as I knew it would fly by. Everything hurt, but I was proud of the fact I was running, not walking anymore, to the finish. When my buddy came flying by he leaned in and said, "Finish strong Trevor!" It wasn't that it was a profound statement, it was just so perfect for the moment. We both knew what it had taken to get to that moment, 10 hours and 30 minutes into the race. And we both that with proper determination we would finish strong.

I hope everyone is having a happy and healthy start to the new year. Mine has been mixed. I have had some weird asthma issues that I will be getting checked out in the next few days. Nothing serious, but just some constant issues which, I believe, have left me more tired than normal and have limited my effectiveness in some workouts. Luckily this time of year is all about just getting in miles at low HR for me so it hasn't hindered too much. I'm finally swimming a little bit more. Not much, but a little bit. Pushed out a good 4k workout the other day and will get in another effort this week. A few weeks at 10 to 15k and I'll be feeling right in the pool again :) First race is coming up next month. 8k Shamrock run. Hope to get the legs around in time for it. That and drop some of this post Ironman weight. I made it official yesterday by looking at the scale...11lbs since Arizona. Time to get working I guess! Thanks for reading,

-T