Some ways I’ve accomplished this goal thus far:
- cooking dinner for Ryan once each week,
- teaching P.E….especially to the Guided Early Childhood kids,
- doing yoga once each week.
All of these have actually been fabulous experiences, so when the opportunity presented itself for THIS uncomfortable experience, I jumped on it.
BUT, if I raced, I could possibly try and qualify for 70.3 Worlds and join Megan (and Ryan and a bunch of other friends) in competing…on Megan’s 30th birthday. You might remember that she came with me to compete in Ironman Texas 2016 for my 30th birthday…so how could I NOT repay the favor?
I have been incredibly fortunate that Ryan is now fully coaching me. He has been writing my runs ever since I tore my plantar back in September 2015, but once my shoulder healed in June, he took over my swims as well. I honestly cannot believe the progress I’ve made in both the swim and run since my setbacks and have to give a TON of that credit to Ryan.
I think it’s important to have goals going into any race you sign up for. Whether it’s a local 5k and the goal is to run at controlled Ironman effort pace in the middle of a long run, or an Ironman race to qualify for Kona… goals are important.
- See where I’m at. I push myself hard in training when I’m supposed to, but when I race, I always seem to find an extra gear. In case you didn’t know, I’m kind of a big “planner,” so I want to be able to use Muncie to make realistic goals and plans for Ironman Lake Placid just 2 weeks later.
- Set a P.R. on my swim. Whether Muncie ends up being wetsuit legal or not, I know my swim is better than it’s ever been, so I really want to see how fast I can swim. Ultimately, my swim is what costs me in races, so it’ll be nice to not have to do so much “damage control” on the bike and run.
- Qualify for the 70.3 World Championships. This has never been on my radar before due to it taking place in other countries, but now that it’s in the U.S., I wouldn’t have to miss school to be able to race. Plus, I’ve gotta return the favor for Megan’s 30th birthday :)
- Make myself uncomfortable. I'm not in 70.3 shape by any stretch, so I have to expect that this is going to hurt... and embrace it.
You know what's funny? Prior to writing out my goals, I felt pressure to perform well.
Part of it stems from past performances (in 2015, I had a HUGE P.R. at Muncie after coming back from patella tendinitis, and in 2014 I was 2nd to the eventual Ironman World Champion, so I kind of enjoy Muncie a bit!).
Part of it stems from the fact that I feel like I need to be this incredible machine to match the amazing performances Ryan produces. I was feeling if I don't do well in racing, I'm almost not worthy enough to be married to such a talented person.
But, fortunately Megan put things in perspective for me: "DUDE, you've just started running again after 3months of no running AND Muncie is literally just a stepping stone to see where you're at for Lake Placid. Oh and Ryan's pretty lucky, too."
So, here's to a FUN weekend of learning where my fitness is at... and a reason to indulge in some of the many offerings from the Albanese Candy Factory on the way home.