January

It's been quite a while since I've posted. After the duathlon in October, I took a couple weeks off training, then starting in the middle of November, started to get back into it very slowly. My biggest goal for the month of January was to stay healthy and consistent with my prep phase, then beginning my base1.

Mission accomplished. I was able to put in a very solid month...maybe not as much time on the bike as I would have wanted, but my swimming went great, and I also managed to run around 30-40 miles a week, so that'll be a very solid starting ground for the remainder of the year. The past two January's I've managed to hurt myself, so to be able to go into February healthy is priceless. I'm not in the most incredible shape right now, but I'm a heck of a lot better off than the usual!

I have a really big weekend on training, and now I'm just sitting on my bed waiting for it to come. The weather is great, so it won't really be too bad, but to have so many hours looming in front of you is a little intimidating.

I've had the opportunity to think about my involvement in this sport, and I've come to a coupe of conclusions. I wouldn't say that it's specifically the running, cycling and swimming that excite me to no end, but the act of getting out everyday with a goal to achieve. I've become so passionate about accomplishing so much in this sport that I've realized that I'm missing out on a lot of things. Some of my friends just cannot understand why I do what I do, and even the ones who do understand that can't grasp the commitment it takes to be successful. I don't look at it as missing out, however. A lot of the things I'm missing out on are things that I don't miss anyways.

I do want to try to keep things in perspective though. There has to be a balance every once in a while to keep my sanity. I also need balance to compliment my passion. I just don't know how happy I would be if I just hung out with triathletes all the time. I kind of ran across that with the track team at W@M. I needed to get away from that to get in touch with life after my workout(s).

I don't know how long I'm going to stay really serious about this endeavor, but it will be for a while longer, and my friends are just going to have to accept that the choices I make on a daily basis are grounded in accomplishing the goals I have set for myself. Case closed.