MOTIVATION--GET SOME

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small compared to what lies within us." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lunch time run-- feeling great!

Late start this morning-- extra coffee-- 2000yards in pool. Kids football practice tonight!

June-July-Aug-Sept

Wow... Time goes by. After a long and intense training program to reach my goal of my first 1/2 Iron race in May, I have kind of been wondering aimlessly. The summer months saw plenty of travel and training had to fit in when and where possible. August was an intense swimming month, averaging 2000yds/day, 5 days per week for 10,000 yard weeks (too hot to run outside and bored on the bike). Sept and Oct, built back up my running and biking, backed off the swimming. All the while, weight training was a priority at 2-3 days per week-- did build back up muscle/strength (and weight). My soft goal has been to keep a "base level" of fitness and that has indeed been accomplished.

One thing is crystal clear. The importance of specific GOALS and the importance of KEEPING TRACK! Without a race to train for, 50 mile rides turned into 30 mile rides, and 30 mile rides turned into 20 miles. Running got put off in favor of almost anything. Even as I build back up my mileage, I feel a little aimless, just sort of rambling around. Yesterday was typical, I ran 4 miles in the morning—last mile sprints (good), but the regular Tuesday afternoon 30 mile ride ended at just 20 miles again (not good). It's amazing, especially in light of my flawless execution of the 1/2 Iron-- I set a big goal, devised a training strategy with smaller weekly goals, recorded my progress, and was motivated by the progress I made each week. The result was a great race and a new accomplishment. So, once again, lesson learned. Logical next step... pick a race or two (goal), train for it, record my progress! Stay tuned.