Last November I wrote about choosing a BHAG - Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal. Something that scares you to consider. Something that at times seems terrifying. The kind where you wake up at two o’clock in the morning asking yourself, “What was I thinking?” By January I had mine. Ironman 70.3 Hawaii in May, and, the big one, Ironman California in October. Honu was a DNS. Why? A couple of reasons. The most immediate was that I crashed my bike two weeks out and was in no shape to race. The rest I’ll explain later.
Naturally, in the days following the crash, I felt depressed. After all, it was a loss, and the mind processes all losses the same way. I wanted to quit the whole crazy thing. Who was I kidding? Why am I wasting my time? You know, all the usual negative self talk.
Two weeks later and the road rash has healed. The deep tissue bruise is almost gone. I rode my bike last Sunday. I have been swimming every morning. I ran at lunchtime today. My body, and my mind, are recovering nicely. It’s time to look ahead to California.
Swimming remains my most challenging activity. I have been stuck at the 3:30/100 pace forever. If this does not improve, nothing else matters. To that end I will emphasise swimming, four days a week, and do most of my running at lunchtime. My training plan has nine weeks of build, and during that time at least one morning swim will switch to a bike workout, and at least one of the morning swims will be longer.
It is important for an age-grouper athlete to keep their priorities straight. Family, work, training. That’s the order, no ifs, ands, or buts. This past winter, as I was working towards Honu, I saw that Pattie was having health issues but failed to be honest - let’s say realistic - about their impact. In April I began to worry, but we both pressed on, determined to make it. The truth is, she was in no shape to travel. Not that it will endanger her health, just that she’ll be miserable. I’ll admit to a selfish interest here, in that to do an Ironman I need to be the one getting support, not the other way around.
We both are making progress. Slow and steady. Will we be ready for IM Cali? Who can say? What I have done is commit to the goal and to train to the best of my ability. Without that BHAG I would just cruise. I have also committed to do better at assessing the impact of my interests on the family. Finding balance isn't easy, and it needs to be checked often.