reality bites

The past 2.5 months have consisted of 1 week of solid training followed by 2-3 weeks of minimal training coupled with a not so great diet. Well, this pattern has caught up with me. My bike, swim and run fitness are probably at the lowest they've been since I did my first half ironman. Right now, not sure if I could finish an Olympic distance race. The good news is my mind feels refreshed and I don't feel the resentment/burnout that I did when I pulled out of Ironman Florida back in September. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I feel inspired much like I did when I was training for IM Arizona. The IM journey is appealing to me again. Not saying I'm going to sign up for IM anytime soon but it's on my mind an not out of the question.


Today, I drove up to Melissa, Tx to ride the 75 Access Route from Melissa to Howe. It's a 36 mile loop of rolling hills and FULL EXPOSURE to the wind. Today was quite windy and the first 18 miles of the ride were straight into the wind. Mentally the wind is always tough for long stretches but I was really surprised at how physically tough the ride was. I was wiped out when I got to the turnaround point. I think at this point REALITY hit. I've got a long way to go to even attempt a 1/2 ironman. I had a nice tailwind on the way back so I tried to ride hard but the fatigue was there and I never was really able to get in a good groove. When I got back to my truck I was surprisingly upbeat. I was tired, the weather sucked but all I could think about was my rides for this upcoming week and some of the targets I was going to set for each ride. Which is a good sign because if there is anything I have learned about IM & 1/2 IM's it's all about consistency and the fire/desire has to burn strong if you are going to succeed. I really hope my fire is starting to burn and this morning's ride was not a fluke.

So what's next. I'm just trying to get in some level of shape. I'm going to follow a base fitness plan for approximately 8-10 weeks to try and establish some level of cycling/running base and then from there I'll hopefully be able to get on a more aggressive/advanced training plan for some late season races. Right now, my race schedule looks like:

Hotter than Hell - August
Prairieman (Aquabike) - September
Stonebridge Triathlon - September
Lonestar 1/2 Ironman - October ??

Why am I waiting so long to do a race? Honestly I think it will take me that long to get back in some decent level of shape to where I can at least have a decent showing at these races.

While I'm thinking about it, like to congratulate my good friend Pablo and his wife on the birth of their new baby girl. Welcome to parenthood my friend!!

That's it for now, I'll update soon.