100 days out...thoughts

So I was just reading my wife's blog and realized there's 100 days until IMCDA. I have had a lot of different emotions about this race lately, so I will spew them out here.

I can't say I have felt much like a triathlete training for an ironman lately. I think the weather being so cold, and not doing a whole lot of biking has contributed to this. So, its been hard to think much about the race, and how I'll do there. Part of me knows that if I can post times similar to last year, I might be within reach of a Kona slot, but I am trying not to think about it at all. Putting up those times means I'll have to be in at least as good shape as I was last year, which could be tough to accomplish by June. I'm certainly in decent shape right now, especially for running. But my swimming has been sparse and I haven't been on the bike as much as I should.

But then, there's a part of me that knows life is a balance. I've had so much going on with work, and moving to Pennsylvania, and Elena changing every day. I honestly can't say I'm disappointed in how much I have been training. I've made concious choices to skip workouts here and there, and I am prepared to deal with the consequences. In each situation, there was something more pressing, or more fun, that I chose to do. And if that means I race a little slower than last year, then so be it. I think I have found a balance of training and the rest of life that works for me, even if it means slower times than I might have gotten if trained every spare minute of my life. I've also been watching the way Becca's been training, and I'm thinking maybe she should be the focus of this race, instead of both of us. This is like a welcome relief to think about it this way.

Now, this is all not to say I am throwing in the towel and giving up on my own training. Nope, not for a second. I am simply going to proceed doing the best I can within the balance of life that presents itself to me over the next 100 days. I imagine in a few weeks the weather will be better and I will start to get some solid training, and I might feel differently about all this. But for now, that's what's going on in my head 100 days out.

One other thing...though ironman is like the farthest thing from my mind right now, my subconscious is clearly gearing up: I had my first ironman CDA race dream two nights ago. Frequent readers may remember last year's first dream, of riding up a ski mountain in the middle of the bike course. This time Bec and I were riding the course and there were all these hairpin turns on the edges of cliffs overlooking the ocean (quick geography lesson: Idaho is nowhere near the ocean). And then we were scoping out the transition zone and some big muscled up guy named Vlad was trying to intimidate Bec and I by saying he was going to swim a 48 on race day. That was all, weird dream, and i have no explanation for it!