Back into Training: Looking forward to a better 2010.

Well after looking at the scale looking in the mirror, and just plain looking at life in general I decided to get back into hardcore training. (sadly I can't bike as I put the thing in storage until I figure out my living arrangements.) This week I was putting up swim numbers like I did during the early phases of my Ironman Training. Four sessions 3 of which were at 4000 yards or more. Last nights main set I brrow from Belinda Granger's REV3 workout. 400 swim 8x50's 400 swim 4x100, I added a 400 pull to each set for added yardage and to actively rest for the next one. So my workout looked like this 400 swim on 5:30 8X50 on :45 400 pull on 6:00 400 swim on 5:30 4x100 on 1:25 400 Pull on 6:00. I wasn't holding the 1:20/100 yard pace Granger was in June but I figure it's a start.
I've also got my running back up to speed doing 2x 7.75ish milers on Tuesday and Today.
Today's run was made even more fun by the prescence of Snow..yay..uhg....
Alright it's not sticking but it did make me second guess going out the door. In the end I pulled up my big boy pants HTFUed and got the job done. Especially as it was mixed with some mini sleet.

I need to increase my run frequency but my shoes are on their last gasp of life and I packed the wonderful little warranty slip which would allow me to get another set for free and Ican't seem to find it.The thing is I really don't want to/ can't really afford to fork over another $80 right now.....so Santa could you please leave a pair of size 11.5 New Balance 769s under the tree?

As for my 2010 schedule it's all up in the air. I've had other priorities to focus on/ figure out but I really do want to race next season. And I sort of want to keep my perfect attendence/finish streak alive at Patriot. Afterall it's a nice little race and New England's fastest half. Likewise my main goal for 2010 is I want to train like a pro, I want to eat like a pro, hell I want to be a pro. I want to be able to get my USAT pro card by the time I'm 30, which gives me five years. I also want to get to Kona before I either go pro or go into the uber competive 30-49 brackets. So I've got five years to get my mind and my body with the program. Maybe that's why I was/am considering the military. I've always been naturally good at a lot of things but I've always had doubts, second guessed myself, had my mind stuck in other things than the task at hand, always looked to others for guidance. I need focus, I need to stop second guessing I need to , as Jon Blais so elgantly put, live in the moment. I need to stop thinking and start doing. I need to trust that I can make the right decisions even if they are unpopular.

I think that was my major problem in 2009. I had some excellent races but was so worried about my checkbook, and what was going to happen after the race that I really didn't enjoy the races themseleves or even the travel itself. I mean I enjoyed New Zealand because hey it's New Zealand or as Scott Tinley put it "California before we messed it up." I'm an urban legend in Taupo and unlike the my time in the Bronx it's not for all the wrong reasons.And quite frankly I had the money at the time that I didn't have to worry about my next meal or the car payment. But Rhode Island and Patriot, I just seemed so drained from stresses on the home front and crap like "I need $100 worth of gas and food and I've only got $60 in the bank." that it just seemed to lose it's luster. So on the racing front in 2010 I need to just focus on my races and damn it have fun in them.

So that's been my reflection on a snowy Saturday afternoon.
The Winter Wanderer
R.D.

Apologies and what's been going down

Hey there readers....if there are any of you still out there. I'm still alive and making through. A lot is happening on the home front so I apoligize for not keeping up with posts and reading yours I plan on devoting half a weekend to it.

I completed Manchester on Thanksgiving granted I was over a minute slower than last year.I blame that on lack of training as I was laid up with a head cold and some drama on the home front. Still my time wasn't too bad a 32:27 still fast enough to get seeded in the sub 35 corral next year. I would like to go into more detail and talk on how I was put in the corral with the sub 30 people but my internet connection is kind of finicky.

Congrats to Speedy Claire in her Ironman Cozmuel adeventure she managed to pull a 12 hour race from the jaws of a DNF.

I'm still sort of schleping through winter training doing a lot of swimming and running since my bike is in storage and there's no Ironman New Zealand on the agenda. Also my hodge podge training and whatever is available diet has caused me to go from my usual 165-170 to the 175-180 lbs. range.

Still considering Navy OCS but I'm not really sure. My parents are screaming it would be a mistake and I kind of see their light on the issue. I'm not the best person under stress granted I've been under stress for the last two years,especially this year and managed to function. Granted I tend to get a little snappy and sour and well just not the type of person most would want to be around. Likewise my other alternatives aren't looking too pleasant either. Option one is go back to working two retail jobs until the economy gets back in gear...this is sort of the reason I went to college in the first place. and with the economy in its current slump not necessarily the most available options as some place tend to turn down people with degrees as being "over qualified." The second is attempt grad school in 2010-2011 which means another year of trying to juggle bills and student loans then taking out more debt to get a sheet of paper that might get me the opportunity to get a job, but not really guarantee it. essentially I'm torn in what to do. I could see my self in grad school I could but let's face it a BA in History might as well be toliet paper. And a MA in Education with a BA in history might toss you into the fray for the 20 or someodd openings for history teachers. I would like to go into medicine and as my dad has suggested I could do Public Health Services when I get that coveted sheep skin but that means taking out loans for a year of post Bac. and then 4 years of Med School.or 2 years of Chiropractic, still it's a lot of coin up front.

I'm getting back into training because if I do decide to become the first commissioned officer in my family then I want the physical part of OCS to be as painless as possible. I look at the website for it and sort of had to chuckle when they wrote we will be doing 10-12 miles of running weekly...that's sort of a vacation compared to the 20-30 miles I normally do weekly on top of swimming, cycling and weights. Indeed the physical part is the easy part for me. The Mental challenge of having to follow strict protocols for tasks as basic as eating might be where I'd have a problem. Likewise add in officers and drill sergeants screaming at me for the sheer purpose of creating the most stressful enviroment possible and I'm just not sure how I'd take it. I might be fine but without a daily release like my long run or swim and I'm just not sure.

At the same time there's been a lot of drama on the home front that I just can't really get into. But needless to say this is also contributing to my cloudy visions of the future, as I essentially feel like I'm sailing in limbo. So that's what's been going on here. Time keeps moving into the future and the time to act is approaching but I'm just not sure which course of action to take.

R.D,