Did I mention the Road to Ironman Louisville does not have fresh new blacktop pavement? Did I mention this road is long and winding? Oh, and did I bring up that this same road has detours and construction? Did you expect, that I would be able to post regularly that my swim workout was solid, my bike workout was epic, and my run workout was stellar? Did you think my times would constantly improve and my distances steadily increase? Were you picturing a vision of awesomeness that was glaring to the point of feeling the need to reach for your Oakleys? It's ok. That's where my imagination takes me too when I'm bringing up the websites discussing and advertising the various Ironman events. This is where my mind goes when I finally select an Ironman for me to become commited. This expectation can be reality, but it doesn't always work this way and adjustments sometimes need to be made. The road this year has potholes.
Adjustments, detours, twists and turns, potholes, or whatever you want to dub them, they are not always easy to navigate. It's not that you don't know how or know what to do about them, but they cause you to take a hit and to lose heart. I would like to say it's a one time blow when something is amiss, but setbacks can weigh on you every single day and effect not only your outlook on the upcoming event, but on your next workout, and even your life. This is a shame of course and balance must be sought.
So what do you do when sh** happens? You put on some gloves and grab the Super Duper Pooper Scooper and try to get the sh** out of the way. Of course we all know it's not this simple, and if it were I would have a nice pair of gloves and a ready-to-go scooper. Anyway, you have choices. I can't even get into the number of choices one has but, the obvious two choices are to quit or to keep going. I'm choose the latter. Sh** happens and you deal with it.
My detours have involved all three disciplines. In swimming I have been dealing with taking on bilateral breathing and it did not come to me right away. The good news is that this detour had a slow down, but not I am moving right along and feeling better for it. Cycling has been going ok, but ok refers to being satisfactory, and that's not what I'm looking for. Arguably it has not yet reached "ok status" because my fit is not completely dialed in with my new GURU (see photo above). It's in the shop right now getting a set-up, make-over. I hope it works because I want to move from satisfactory to hell yeah! My running has been riddled with injury on and off since 1994, so I really shouldn't be surprised, or even taken aback. However, this particular injury (my Achilles) is hangin' around and trying to become more of a permanent fixture. I'm working regulalry to not let that happen. At any rate, I've been hit from many angles this season in all three areas.
I would be lying if I said I haven't lost heart, felt dejected, and feeling like I want to take my ball and go home. I'm pushing forward though because I'm not a quitter. Granted, I have motified my road map many times now to accomodate for my setbacks, but my destination still has a red "X" on it, marking the spot. My eye is still on the prize, but at times it is hard to keep my head in the game when my confidnce is...well...not quite shattered, but let's just say bruised.
I do look for high points and I draw inspiration when my workouts go well and when I hear or read about others' successes in both training and racing. However, I'm looking for my own breakthrough workouts. I'm want that swim that says, "You are on your way brutha'". Fortunately, I think I've had a few of those. I want more though. I want a time trial on my bike that not only is encouraging, but shoots my confidence through the roof, or a long as heck ride with a steady pace which ends with a feeling of "Whew, that was tough, but dangitall, I did it". I want to have that long-ish run...well any run really, but a longer run would be more fulfilling where when I get done I realize, "Hey, my Achilles didn't even bother me!" There have been some high points, but I'm still looking forward to more.
So, does it matter that the Road to Ironman Louisvile has potholes or if it is smoothly paved? Not really, but it does matter that it gets traveled, so I've still got my GPS programed for Louisville, Kentucky.
Peace,
~Sam
(And no, for those of you that know me personally, I don't actually own a GPS, and no, I still don't own a cell phone).
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