What to think

It's been a while since I've posted. Fact of the matter is, I've been enjoying some down time. No true "training" has really been taking place. After getting back from Hawaii, we've been getting settled into our new place and adjusting to life together :) Let me tell you, kissing my wife goodnight each night sure beats the nightly phone call routine! I did get back to some more standard training starting last week, but keeping it fun and non routine at this point! That being said, I crave routine so I'm trying to stay routine during the week without getting too boring. For instance, Meg gets up super early 2 days a week to spin. Well, it's not like I'm going to stay in bed while she goes to bust her ass, so now I'm at the pool twice per week guaranteed! This has never happened in the off season before and I'm loving it :)

I spent a lot of time laying around in the sun of Hawaii thinking about my race in Canada. Overall, I guess I'm satisfied with what took place considering the conditions. I've never been that cold on the bike, especially in a race. But what really has been bugging me is that everyone else had to deal with those conditions as well. And 400 competitors or so handled the conditions better than I did on the bike (I think my bike split was around 400th place, I was 260th overall for the entire race). Why did I struggle so much on the bike? Heck, I had made this my focus! Well, I was flat, lost mental focus, and had considerable back pain which all led to a very sub par bike. Again, why? I don't know. Just spent 2 weeks on a beach trying to figure it out. I'm happy with my swim split (although I think the course was short) and my run. That being said, I believe in retrospect that I lost focus late in the run because I knew I wasn't going to reach my overall time goals. I pushed for 15 miles or so convinced that I would be happy with a solid run split. When the going got tough, I allowed myself to walk as I reasoned breaking 4 hours was good enough and ruined my chance at going MUCH faster. This was despite the fact my goal going in was sub 3:45, not 4 hours. I was not tired (beyond what you would expect), was not struggling from nutrition issues, and wasn't considerably sore or addressing any other pain/injuries. I simply lost focus and settled for ok instead of great.

On the flight home from Hawaii, I figured it out. And before I continue, let me emphasize one thing: I'm not in anyway diminishing what I did in Canada or what anyone else did. I understand many would love to have a 10:43. I do not take this for granted. However, I gave up a ton this year, as did my loved ones, to get me ready for a sub 10 hour Ironman. I was prepared to do it. So what happened? Well, two things. 1) I was not prepared for such adverse conditions on the bike and I let it get to me. 2) Although I thought I was ready to suffer, which you have to do to pull off what I wanted to pull off, I wasn't. When the going got really tough, I took the safe route and didn't push to that next level. I had such an eventful past few months leading into the race that I struggled to get mentally prepared for what was required of me. When the going got tough, I wasn't prepared to make the move I needed to make.

Maybe that is hard criticism, but it is my analysis of what occurred. I don't mean to ramble and I realize that I just wasted minutes of your life bitching about my inability to suffer through a tough day at Ironman. My apologies :), but I already feel better. So, what's in store for this year? More to come on that soon, but the goal is a Kona slot at IMCDA. This is going to take a one hour drop in my time from Canada. Some might say that is foolish. It's not, trust me. So I have a mantra for this next season. "6 months". It's the amount of time I will need to fully devote (starting in late December, early January) to meticulous preparation in order to peak properly and have a shot at IMCDA. 6 months of our lives where I will ask my new wife to forgive my absenteeism (although I promise to still make time baby!!). 6 months of suffering and dedication so that I can say with 100% confidence come late June, "I gave it everything I possibly had." 6 months. Now, back to relaxing.

-T