Metamorphose

Triathlon has been very, very good to me and I doubt I will ever stop swimming, cycling and running. There is too much benefit to me with that combination of endurance training. After finishing the Vineman 140.6 race a couple weeks, I wrote that I wasn't going to just rest on my laurels but return to a Toughening Phase and rediret my fitness into other areas. I thought I'd give you all a bit of a glimpse into my thinking. 

My next confirmed and possibly most responsible race this year will be the Sally Meyerhoff 5k in Tempe, this December 10. I only knew her tangentially but she was a real hope and inspiration to young women athletes and her abrupt departure from this world has left an indelible gap in progress towards that end, here in the Valley of the Sun. This race will include a Who's Who, of local and nationally ranked running legends, some I am proud to call friend, and I intend to bring my A game. Based on previous short course races, I think I can hit a sub 19 pace or hold around a 6 minute pace. That would be blazing compared to my usual long course training pace of  9-10 minutes, but I think based on looking at all the data I have, it is doable. A hard goal but achievable. 

I still have no real desire to enter a 140.6 race. Train. Sure. Complete is something else. That day really put the physical and mental pain on Mighty Mo and I have no desire to do that to him again. Plus, two weeks later, my legs are still recovering and my body battery is not totally recharged. 

By taking my focus off long course triathlon, I can be guiltless in my desire to tackle some credentials that can only be tackled on weekends, like PADI and Skydiving certifications, clinics for pre-race certifications like rappelling, Wilderness EMS, kayaking, horseback riding and the like which you are often required to show certification or proficiency in at event registration. 

For race fun, I am really looking more towards the obstacle course stuff. Take your pick, orienteering, Adventure Racing, Tough Mudder, Warrior Dash, Spartan Super or Beast, GORUCK challenge. I have done all those events in title or real world experience through the military, so it's a natural extension of my personality. The difference from focusing on just triathlon is less time and funds for triathlon specific items but more in travel expenses as some of the events listed above are best done in other states or only done in other states. A long term goal might be the 2013 Spartan Death Race. (10 minute video, highly recommend you watch it).

In essence, I am looking for a more well rounded life of endurance pursuits. I always have sought this and Lord knows that triathlon, especially long course like 140.6, has given me great challenges and pleasures, but I have a bad habit of being too loyal to a goal. Training for an ironman becomes a singular purpose, one that requires significant investment for specificity. Everything else in fitness or fun is balanced against the long ride, early swims and training runs, deposits in the Bank of Ironman. And you don't miss making those deposits. Where as, two hours of compass work, two hours of running cross country with a weighted pack, an hour of jumping over my cinder block backyard fence, high crawling through my yard, pull ups, burpees, sledge hammering a tractor tire, can translate into a lot of other races.

As you can tell, lots of thinking on the future. A great big weight lifted off me by finishing Vineman, but the distance, right now, doesn't appeal to me. Staying in half iron shape is easy and sustainable. I firmly believe that once a goal is completed that another goal should be added to the list. One that improves on the previous goal or one that takes the foundation of what you just accomplished and go in a completely different direction, like I just laid out. 

It's not enough to exist. I am going to live.