Big Things Coming!

Just got back from a nice early morning run. I think Preston was a little surprised when he was excited that I got up early, and thought he was getting taken out... and ended up on a five mile run! He was a trooper though! I think he found some good smells out there too, so win-win I guess.

I met with Mary yesterday morning, to just talk about some stuff, and do some preseason planning. As I said a little over a week ago, I have some ambitious goals for this season. Well yesterday morning they got kicked up a notch, and I couldn't be more excited! We're going for something big, and I couldn't be more excited. I feel like I have to say we, because Amanda, and Mary invest so much time and energy in my progress that they might as well be out there hitting the road with me.

That's about all I have for now. Time for a quick shower, then back to bed for a bit before I have to get up for class. So pumped about what's coming! A little bummed that I'm going to not be able to race some events that I wanted to, but it's all part of the plan, and I'm fully committed! I start with QT2 in one week!

Don't call it a comeback!

Well I last posted here the day after Placid. That was about a week or so shy of three months ago... So it's been a while. I've pretty much been on offseason since then. I did a couple races, but really haven't had the mojo to train. As for the rest of my life, I did a couple things after placid. I got married, went to Amsterdam and Paris for the honeymoon, moved to Buffalo (unfortunately without my amazing wife, who's still going to school at UofR), and started my PhD at UB. So I've been a little busy. The downtime that I've had, though, I really haven't had the desire to train. I keep telling myself "you should go out for a run today" or "you should get in some time on the bike" but the operative word there has always been should. Anyways, this morning, I was awoken by people talking outside my apartment at about 3:30AM. This was followed by flashing lights. Apparently, someone in the building next to mine set their apartment on fire. So I laid in bed for a bit thinking about how it's probably going to be a while before I went back to sleep. Then a funny thing happened. Some part of my brain that has been dormant for the past few months flipped back on. I thought "I want to go for a run." Want! I actually was excited at the prospect! I rolled out of bed, and slipped on some shorts and a shirt, grabbed my garmin, and HR strap, and slipped on my shoes. I couldn't wait to hit the pavement! In minutes all the flashing lights were gone, it was just me and the cadence of my foot steps and breathing on some deserted suburban roads. I loved it. Every singe second. I felt that old familiar ache creep back into my legs (hey, it's been like three months), and it was surprisingly welcome. An hour later, I trotted back up to my building, all the trucks were gone, all the people were gone. I felt refreshed. I remembered why I love this stuff. I drank my recovery, took a shower, and slid back into bed for a bit longer before the alarm. It was a great morning!

I have some big goals for this upcoming year. The focus is on the 70.3 distance, I'm done with Ironman for a while. Right now, I don't have any motivation to do another. I know that will change, partly because of my poor performance there. But I'm going to stick with races I really love. I start with QT2 in a few weeks. I'm excited. I'm beginning to sketch the rough outline of my season next year. I'm looking at a few key races (all halfs) that I really want to nail. I ended this season with a goal for 70.3. Over the past two months, I've slowly developed that into an obsession. I'm going to need a few minutes from each leg, but they're there, and they're mine for the taking. I'm looking for big gains in my run. But, I also know that my bike is a big portion of what's limiting my run. I'm going to be building durability, and with it, speed. I'm talking holy crap speed (for me). It's the next level. The way I see it, I spent all of this season looking at it from the outside. I'm ready to bust my way in.