I literally had an Ironman dream last night. I dreamt that I was racing an Ironman, but I hadn't been biking or swimming for the past two months! What would happen? How could I compete? At least, in my dream, I'd been running regularly. That was what was going to get me through, in my dream.
On reality, I haven't biked or swam in the past two months. I have been running. So, in some ways, my dream represented reality, only I don't have an Ironman until May. I've been listening to my body and my mind and trying to be realistic about training and life. Hence, the focus on running. Plus, it's been fun. The last two months of run training started with a hard 20 mile trail run and a week of rest. Over the next 6 six weeks I averaged ~47 miles a week and did a very solid half marathon in 1:44 (just under 8 minute per mile pace). My running legs are as solid as they've ever been and are clearly ready for doing an Ironman. Now it's time to add on the bike and swim! I've been putting it off for a number of reasons. The first is that my mind has been in other places, and I keep trying to decide where it ought to be. I hope that my dream was a subconscious message that it's time for my mind to put some focus on my Ironman training.
As it relates to getting back to Kona, I have concluded that is a long term goal, but is not a life defining goal. I'll be racing as a 63 year old next year and the challenge of competing with 60 year olds for a Kona slot is real. If I put in the training hours, I will acquit myself well, but I can't expect to win my age group. On the other hand, if I keep up my running over the next couple of years and maintain my bike and swim, I could be highly competitive in the 65-69 year old age group. Nevertheless, it's a dream, which is fine.
I find myself spending too much time worrying about others. It's who I am and who I've always been. There's a limit to how healthy it is, however. My Ironman training, on the other hand, is for me. If done right, it can also be quite healthy. But it shouldn't be accompanied by stress or expectations. I always tell people that Ironman is journey that is all about being in the moment. It's not really about race day, in fact, it's not about race day at all. It's about every other day. It's about making my training my meditative time.
I guess it's time to get back on my bike and into the pool. It's raining this week and may be raining on and off (and cold) over the next week or two. That shouldn't stop me from swimming, but will interfere with biking. Looks like I'll need to wear my cold weather bike gear after all, though I will not bike in the rain. And, I'll keep running. The Ironman dream is still alive
No comments:
Post a Comment