sporty: August 2006 Archives
I have a confession to make.
I miss Ironman desperately. I'm a bit lost without one of these races in my future. I don't exactly know what to do with myself.
Yeah I've talked about mountain bike racing and maybe cross and shorter triathlons and xterra, and I want to do all that, but I want to do it along with Ironman. I swore up and down no more Ironman for a while, but the truth is, its a large part of who I am. Yeah, I pretty much suck at it and yeah, I have had as much (actually more) "failure" as "success", but I miss it. I miss having that kind of structure. Sure, having the time to sit around and twiddle my thumbs has been great, but there's something missing.
When I was in the water at CDA getting pummelled I swore to myself "never again ... at least not until they lower the number of entrants at these events". I hated that swim, and I'm a strong swimmer. But now, looking back on it, I keep thinking ... it wasn't so bad ... was it? And I remember how my feet felt like they were absolutely on fire on the run at CDA and how, again, I said "never again ... this is stupid" ... and yet I miss that. I miss the intensity and feeling like, whatever happened, I was sticking my neck out and giving it everything I had.
CDA is sold out for next year. So is Placid. Arizona is too early in the year for me (long rides in winter just ain't gonna cut it). Canada isn't a possibility because of the crazy entry rules this year. Florida doesn't excite me. Wisconsin I love ... and I mean I REALLY love ... that race. But July and August are freakin' TERRIBLY hot months to be doign lont rides around here. BUT its a cheap trip from here, its a few months AFTER the BAR ....
Not that I'm really considering it.
Of course if I really wanted to avoid those crazy swims, I have two other options. One is to do one of the smaller "iron distance" races like Great Floridian, which doesn't really get my blood pumping (call me shallow, but I like the big glitzy races). The other option is of course a race that is at a perfect time of year, in a beautiful and exotic locale, still big and glitzy, but with a slightly less crowded swim. Of course that race would cost more than I'll make in my first year after graduation (ok, not really, but close!).
Not that I'm really considering any of these ...
I'm not an addict. I'm just having a hard time figuring out how to quit.
And in my less missing-what-I-used-to-do moments, I think that it would be really really cool to try something like this.
I love it. I had forgotten how much I love it. I had forgotten how simply amazing it feels when your brain just completely shuts off and you zone out and all of a sudden you realize that your body has found its groove and its flying around corners and over logs and you're not even thinking about it.
In some ways I think mountain biking is the perfect sport. Don't get me wrong, there's definitely something to be said for the simplicity of the road. And I still love flying past farmland and pastures and waving at overall-sporting farm folk as I go. But ahhhhh mountain biking. It requires such a mixture of strength and endrance and finesse and coordination. And guts.
The guts part is what I'm working on. I'm pretty comfortable on trails but since I hadn't done it for a while prior to buying the new ride, its taking a while to get the feel and confidence back. Its coming though. Each ride is better than the last. Last time we were out a little too close to sunset for comfort and by the time we were on the last few miles of the trail, I could barely see, which I think was a good thing. I wasn't able to overthink things, I couldn't meticulously choose a line and I found myself feeling the trail drop out from below me more than a few times ... and each time I was fine.
Right now, when it comes to mountain biking, my mind is my limiter, not my body. And I think thats really cool. Overcoming the mental hurdles is usually so much harder, and so much more rewarding, than overcoming the physical ones.
Now if only it weren't 100 degrees out ...
