Just Like Starting Over

Obviously I haven't posted much recently. More than anything else this has become a journal of my triathlon training and such. Well, there hasn't been much of that going on to write about. Which is crazy seeing how we are signed up for a half iron in June.

A few years ago an international distance race in June had me intimidated enough to force me out the door to train non-stop. I didn't think I'd reach the finish otherwise.

Then last year I had paid for the Mark Allen Plan and wanted to make the most of that. So that kept me on track as it would be a waste of money not to stick with the plan.

This year I'm not sure what I am yet. Other than really looking forward to being in better shape than I am right now. (Just under 190 for the record)
Injury free would be nice too but I'm not sure my right foot is ever going to be normal again. (I really should go to a doctor about that). All my running in November/December would be followed by a very painful right foot later that day and maybe a day or so after. Finally I decided to throw my Sole Inserts back into my running shoes. Wow, what a difference. I can now run without crippling myself for a few days. That is a step in the right direction.

The other good news is that right hamstring/glute issue I had the 2nd half of 2011 seems to have finally healed up. I still worry about it as I run but I don't think at my current effort that it's an issue at all. It's just I spent so many months being concerned about it, it's going to take time to forget about it. I really believe that by not stretching (and not training much) was the key to that finally getting better.

So here I am about 23 weeks out to our first of two half irons for the year. I've got 2 Olympics scheduled about a month before that happens. What's my plan? What are my goals? It's 2012 everyone has already posted all their resolutions, hopes and dreams for their year. What am I waiting for?

2012: I'm going to attempt to get that "just like starting over" feeling and be alright with it. What does that mean exactly? Well, in terms of my training, even tho' I have a schedule, I'm going to try and be more aware of how I'm feeling and allow myself to stray from the schedule.
I can't say for sure but I think that is how rolled going into Mooseman for the first year. I seem to remember I hardly ran at all the 4 weeks leading into that race because I kind of overdid it running the Brooklyn 13.1. When I got to Mooseman, I felt great. I had a blast. Could I have run faster? Maybe? I just remember getting to many of those races feeling fantastic. That's part of what I'm looking for.

I said that part about "being alright with it" because I'm thinking my times at the finish line aren't likely to be Personal Bests. My finish times may very well take a back seat to my bigger goal of just becoming very fit and healthy. Maybe I'll be lucky and the finish times will happen too. That would be amazing considering the lack of "base" I have right now. What I'll write next truly shows why I feel like I'm starting over.

(More for the record info.)
Running is my strongest event at the moment and running 6.5 miles in an hour is about all I've got in the tank.

Swimming: I forget what the pool looks like. Seriously. My last couple workouts have been 1000m and out. My right shoulder (the one I fell on at the Tango) reminds me that I'm old or that it's injured or whatever, at the start of every swim. Within a few 100's it's warmed up and forgotten about. It's just I've got zero endurance. Or speed for that matter. 1:50 100's is "fast".

Biking: Also a complete re-do. I finally got back on the trainer the other day. Doing anything in the large chain ring was too much effort for where I am at physically right now. The HR just climbed right up any time I'd shift up there. (I managed 15 miles in 55 min on the trainer the other day)

I'm sure for someone that is really competitive. This would be completely frustrating. For me, this feels like familiar territory. I seem to weigh 190 every January. I'm just glad I'm still motivated enough to want to do these workouts. And hopeful that I might manage myself a bit better this season than last season. That! Was frustrating.

Work has been taking a lot out of me lately. I find myself working through stuff in my head all the time. I'm even dreaming about it. That makes it sound worse than it really is. Trust me, it's all fine. Often I wake up with an answer to something I've been thinking about. I brought this up because that's one of the reasons I've been so off the grid with Blogs, Facebook, Twitter... I'm just tired of looking at the computer at the end of the day. There is a pretty good chance that will turn back around eventually. (I'm sure you can hardly wait.)