2014 plans and decisions

I admit, I'm bringing in the ubiquitous New Year's post a bit late, and I totally failed on the yearly recap, which is fine because 2013 wasn't a year of monumental change.  I can't believe that I'm making that statement since buying a house did take up tons of mental energy, but really, our lives seemed only to shift into different patterns.  We frequent another farmers' market, have discovered a wonderful pizza place, but mainly we just learned new routes to get to our mainstays.  I would say the same thing about work - nothing major there even though there have been changes.  Some of these shifts have been rather difficult, I can't deny that, perhaps the result of growing pains or of a friendship that has grown distant, but with change, there seems to be both gain and loss.

The lack of dramatic ups and downs and crazy changes did have one effect - it pushed me to think about making a long-term, sometime-in-the-future goal more immediate.  For a while, I had been thinking of 2015 as the year that I would try to take on the full iron distance.  But then the summer came around and the Ironman Corporation announced that there would be a full iron distance in Boulder in 2015 and I was tempted.  That announcement came right before Vineman, and I asked Michael that, if I went sub-6, could I register for a full?  Well, I came close to a sub-6 but not close enough, however the idea had certainly taken root.  And, so, in August, after many conversations and much back and forth with myself and with him, I finally registered for Ironman Coeur d'Alene!  My first reaction after receiving my "Congratulations, you've signed up for..." email was to throw up, due both to the amount of money that I had just spent with the click of that button and to the reality that holy crap, I had signed up for an full iron distance tri!

For a few months, I mainly sat with the idea of taking on such a distance and tried to maintain a decent level of fitness but I didn't do too much (great motto - "don't do too much with your life").  Finally, I recommitted to a more 'rigorous' schedule in November, and then in December I started to work with a coach.  The decision to work with someone came hand-in-hand with the decision to register for a longer distance tri.  While I've had good experiences at the shorter and slightly longer distance courses, this is a different beast.  Also, I figured that I would dump way too many anxieties, frustrations and stress on my better half if I attempted this solo.  Finally, it's a long, hard haul even to the start line, let alone the finish line, and I decided that it would be a benefit to have all the help I could.  So, last month was a base month - get back to training.

Now that January has arrived, the reality of lining up for my first ironman is still an idea that's in the future, but the more immediate one, especially after I counted the weeks between now and then (about 26) and realized that June will be here before I know it!  I'm still nervous about this process but also curious to see what the training will be like, how will I deal with it, will I stay healthy, when will I have a major melt-down, and those thoughts don't even include the actual race!

Needless to say, it should be an interesting year for me and I'm looking forward to it!

End of March notes

Yes, it's the ubiquitous "end of the month" post, but considering what a bear the month has been, I'm happy to celebrate that March is over, even though April is kind of frightening, especially considering the fact that we're back at the grind tomorrow after a lovely week off.  Spring Break, I hardly knew ya!  Seriously, it felt like the fastest week that I've had in a very long time and poof!  It is over!  I spent more time than I had all month in the saddle - cheers to getting out and biking a bit.  I'm still slow as molasses and probably look like a total wreck when I'm on the bike, but I swear my confidence and bike handling skills have improved.  I invested in new shoes at the beginning of the month, and in a month of lots of purchases (like appliances), the shoes made me happy when I bought them and I love riding in them, even though they haven't made me speedier.

In the midst of packing and planning to move, Michael and I went to Chicago for a whirlwind trip to visit some of his relatives.  It was cold to us, coming from SoCal, but we couldn't complain (and I tried not to!).  We spent plenty of time being tourists, took in some culture and ate great food.  We also watched lots of basketball with his cousin and cousin's family, and I enjoyed a nice run on Friday morning along the lake.  It was somewhat chilly but once I got going, I warmed up and enjoyed the views.  I know that we have the ocean, nothing to take lightly at all, but the lake right there, right at the city's edge is so great.  We probably most enjoyed just walking around the city, looking at the brownstones and other buildings and watching the light change, especially in the morning and the late afternoon.

We returned yesterday afternoon, greeted by happy dogs and lots of boxes, some full and others just waiting.  I set out on my last ride (probably) from this front door and felt strangely nostalgic. At the same time, I can't wait to explore new routes.  We aren't moving far, by any means, but I am looking at this as a good opportunity to change up some of the patterns into which I've settled.  This applies to running and biking, but also to a wider array of topics.  I think that our life is about to change!