Marble Falls Triathlon

I'm preparing for the Marble Falls triathlon.  It should be an interesting race.  It's a 1K swim, 23 mile bike through the hill country, and a 4.4 mile run.  Not sure how/why they came up with this distance. But, I'm looking forward to it.  Looking to build on the momentum I had from the Lake Pflugerville Triathlon.  I just registered and the race is Sunday so I'm thinking it might be a small race.  I keep stepping up the distance to each one is a challenge.  Looking forward to it.

Starting Marathon Training

Marathon training has now started in earnest for the Dallas marathon in December.  Hard to believe I'm starting training now for something that's 5 months away.  Also hard to believe that it should actually be cool when I race.  It's definitely not right now.  Hot, sunny, and humid.  It's great to see a lot of familiar faces again as well as meet some new people.  We've got a big and diverse group.  Should be fun!

Lake Pflugervile Race Report

Well the Lake Pflugerville Triathlon was a success overall.  I had a decent swim, not great but not terrible either.  My bike was pretty good, although I kind of faded at the end.  I'd like to be a little more consistent on the bike.  My run was not as good.  I started strong but faded in the end.  I kind of blew up about 2/3 into it.  Gotta work on that.  Overall I had a pretty good time and it was really exciting and invigorating to be a race environment again.

  

Lake Pflugerville Triathlon

I'm back and refocused, ready for the Lake Pflugerville Triathlon.  This is a sprint distance race at a great location.  It's a small, man-made lake that has a permanent 500 meter swim course for practicing open water, lots of open roads for biking through much of the same route I had on the Rosedale Ride, and 3 mile granite trail around the lake.  I've done some training out there and it will be fun to race there.  I've also got anther race there in August.  I feel good and don't have large expectations going into it.  Just enjoy the day and get comfortable with racing again.  A good bounce back after Kemah.

JFET

I've come up with a new mantra for racing.  I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself to finish with a certain time, maintain a certain pace, be in a certain percentile in results, etc.  All of those are good goals.  However, when I'm focusing just on that and the success or failure of the outcome is based on those criteria, it can be really stressful.  I can easily lose sight of why I'm doing this in the first place how much fun I'm having.  I recently read an article about how to deal with anxiety during a triathlon.  Or, rather it was about how to relax and enjoy the moment.  There were a number of things that resonated with me.  Two of the key points that have stuck with me have been:

1. No one cares about your time but you. - I've been so worried about my overall time that I'm losing sight of the bigger picture.  No one cares what time I finished it.  Did I finish and have fun is all they really care about. I learned that with marathon training pretty early on.  Not sure why I didn't translate that well to triathlon.
2. You deserve this and to do well. - This is a big one.  So often I can easily feel intimidated and feel like I shouldn't be there; that I'm out of my league.  When I see people who are faster than I am, stronger than I, more fit than I, it's hard not to think this.  But, like my high school football coach used to say, "that's 'stinking thinking'".

It reminds of me of a quote I read years ago, from Jimmy Buffett of all people: "If you ever get a chance to run with the ball, count on fumbling and getting the shit knocked out of you.  Just remember how much fun it was to run with the ball."  So, to remind myself of all of this and to relax and enjoy the moment, I have my new mantra: JFET - Just Fucking Enjoy This!

Vacation and Training

I'm off to enjoy our annual vacation on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.  It's giving me a time to level set and regroup for the season to come.  I'm enjoying running on the beach at sunrise and swimming laps in the pool.  I should be in pretty good shape for the upcoming Pflugerville Triathlon, provided I don't over do it on the rich seafood and beer.

Ironman Texas, My Next Goal

I had set a goal for myself that I would do an Ironman before I'm 40.  I figured that Ironman Texas would be the most obvious choice.  Knowing that these events tend to sell out quickly, I wanted to get in on the registration as quickly as I could.  So I did.  I am now registered for Ironman Texas 2014.  I've got a year to get ready.  I feel like there is so much further that I have to go before I'm anywhere near being remotely ready for that.  But it's happening. I've registered, called my shot, and laid down the gauntlet. Bring it!