Looking Ahead

It’s been over a month since I’ve posted anything – mostly due to being super busy at work, taking a week’s long vacation (much needed) to Destin with the family, and honestly just not having much to report. I volunteered for Ironman Louisville when it went off on October 11th, and initially was concerned that this would cause some sad and guilty feelings for me, but for the most part it was a positive and fun time. In fact, it wasn’t until Jen and I got to the finish line to cheer people in and hearing the words “You Are An Ironman,” time and time again that it kind of sank in that this could’ve been me. Still, my decision to pull out two months before the race was a good one, and I am looking forward to some other upcoming races.

My 28th half marathon takes off tomorrow morning with the Urban Bourbon 13.1 miler. Although I haven’t done much long distance running since I stopped training for IMLOU, I have kept up my Orange Theory workouts 5-6 days per week, and did complete a 10k without any problems just a few weeks ago, so there is no concern there. I also signed up for the Polar Bear Grand Prix again this year to keep me motivated throughout the winter, and am planning to complete the Shelbyville Tri Series again – something I haven’t done in years. The Triple Crown is also paid and accounted for, as well as the Derby Half Marathon. And….. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on my second and third half Ironman races – Muncie and Ohio.

I feel like I have some unfinished business in Muncie for a few reasons. One being that my head was in such a stressed out place at the time, consumed with thoughts of IMLOU and my lack of confidence in completing the event. I felt this mind-f*ck seriously hampered part of my race and I want to see what I can do when I don’t have an enormous amount of stress hanging over me. Two, because I hurt my knee 6 miles into the run, I want to be able to redeem that leg of the race on faster, stronger, and more prepared stems this year. The race in Ohio is just a bit of a bonus since it was advertised as having a flat bike course and rolling hills run. This I can do, and being that it’s just 6 weeks past Muncie I’ll already be trained so I thought, “why not.”

I’m not yet sure what other fun races I will add to the calendar for next year. I definitely want to get in another couple of half marathon’s, and am hoping to find a decent team for the Bourbon Chase – I really missed doing it this year, and since I was in Destin it wasn’t even an option.

The depression I struggled with during my IMLOU training has all but subsided and I’m now thinking that it was mostly brought on by me psyching myself out about the race. I was always so down and negative on myself about my abilities, dreading training rides, and comparing myself to others that it started messing with my mind a whole lot more than I should have allowed it. That’s not to say there wasn’t some internal chemical stuff going on with my brain that also contributed, but I definitely see how my thinking didn’t help the situation much.

I still have people asking me if I’ll do an Ironman and I really don’t know. If I do, I’ve already decided it won’t be before 2017 and, even then, only if I’m a lot more physically and mentally prepared going into it. Either way, I do plan on enjoying the half Ironman races I have planned as well as my old reliable half-marathons that I LOVE!