After Victoria 70.3 in mid-June, I've been enjoying some downtime. I still get up and exercise more days than not-I feel better and have more energy when I do-but I do what I want to do, not what a training plan says to do. It's a nice mental break I build into every year in late summer before beginning training for my fall/winter events.
In a few weeks I start my training plan for the Dallas Marathon Half this December. Having only done half marathons as training races or in the middle of triathlon training since my daughter was born it'll be fun to focus on shorter distances for a change. And since my long runs will only be 2 hours instead of 3-4 I'll have time to build in some cycling as well to build my base so I'm in better shape come spring.
O Canada, part deux
What will I be doing in spring? Well, my first Canadian half Ironman experience was so fun, why not do another? Next June I'll be doing the Mont-Tremblant, Quebec 70.3. I hadn't realized it's such a popular race but apparently it is since it sold out within 12 hours of registration opening. Glad I had done my research (and even booked a hotel) before so when registration day came I jumped right on it! I've visited western Canada quite a few times but never been to Quebec so excited to explore a new place and see how much I remember from my French class in high school.
It looks like a great course. Wetsuit-legal but not freezing lake swim, a bike course that's hilly but not particularly curvy (and on freshly paved and swept roads!), and a run course on a gravel trail on what used to be a railway in the Laurentian mountains.
While these would be good reasons to do Mont-Tremblant on their own, there's a bigger reason I chose this particular 70.3.
The Actual El Guapo
Mont-Tremblant is home to not only the 70.3 event in June but also a full Ironman distance race in August. The full distance race covers the same course as the half, 2 loops each on the bike and run instead of just 1. The plan is to use the 2016 70.3 as a recon mission to familiarize myself with the course so that in August 2017 I will do my first full Ironman on a course I know.
Yes, a full Ironman. On some level I've been looking ahead to this day ever since that first super sprint tri back in 2008. I've deliberately avoided focusing on it all this time, like not wanting to look directly at the sun. Each milestone on the journey has been worth celebrating in its own right and could well serve as a worthy pinnacle. I don't think I'd have enjoyed all those links in the chain if I only saw them as steps toward something bigger. Each one was the biggest race I'd ever done up to that point.
But the thing about finish lines is that they have a funny way of becoming the start lines of the next adventure as something that had seemed impossible becomes doable. Do enough half marathons and you begin to think you might have what it takes for a full. Finish a sprint triathlon and an international distance looks like an achievable goal. Do an international and you think how much more is a half Ironman, really? I just need to swim a little further, bike a few more hours, and run a half marathon, and a half marathon after a 56 mile bike doesn't sound so far when you've run the last half of a full marathon. Do a half Ironman and you wonder, do I have it in me to do the full? I'm going to find out.
I think sometimes about growing old. I imagine myself in my 90s or even 100s with grandchildren and even great-grandchildren. When that time comes I want to have a rich history of memories to look back on and feel that I spent my time well. I don't want to look back with regret and wonder what I might have accomplished in my younger years if only I had dared to try.
I read a great post on a blog called Swim Bike Mom where she talked about how everyone should find their own Ironman. For some people it may not be an actual Ironman-may not be an athletic event at all-but something really hard and challenging, something that pushes you outside your comfort zone.
For me, that race is the Ironman.
"In a way, each of us has an El Guapo to face. For some, shyness might be their El Guapo. For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo. For us, El Guapo is a big, dangerous man who wants to kill us. But as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santo Poco can conquer their own personal El Guapo, who also happens to be *the actual* El Guapo!"
The Ironman, all 140.6 miles of it, is my El Guapo.
So, in the words of Stephen Covey, as I look ahead to next year I begin with the end in mind and know where I want to be by August 2017. I survived Victoria. I want to thrive in Mont-Tremblant.
The biggest area of improvement is the bike. I've got to get faster but more importantly I've got to become more confident descending and riding in traffic. That means getting in quality miles, improving handling, and hill-specific work. To that end I'm planning to join a training group and do group rides with them. Just going out the other morning I could see the benefit. Riding in a group is different than riding solo and I need to gain some comfort with that. And I held a higher average riding with the group than I do on my own. I know I need to improve, but I also know I'm capable already of more than I'm doing. A group will help me reach for my limits and find out they're further out than I thought. When I run out of the lake and into transition next June I want to feel confident when I get on the bike and looking forward to the ride. I don't have to be competitive, but I don't want to be riding on the hoods just praying not to crash like I was while descending the hills in Victoria. The bike doesn't have to become my strength but it won't be such a weakness.
The biggest area of improvement is the bike. I've got to get faster but more importantly I've got to become more confident descending and riding in traffic. That means getting in quality miles, improving handling, and hill-specific work. To that end I'm planning to join a training group and do group rides with them. Just going out the other morning I could see the benefit. Riding in a group is different than riding solo and I need to gain some comfort with that. And I held a higher average riding with the group than I do on my own. I know I need to improve, but I also know I'm capable already of more than I'm doing. A group will help me reach for my limits and find out they're further out than I thought. When I run out of the lake and into transition next June I want to feel confident when I get on the bike and looking forward to the ride. I don't have to be competitive, but I don't want to be riding on the hoods just praying not to crash like I was while descending the hills in Victoria. The bike doesn't have to become my strength but it won't be such a weakness.
So even as the next few months will be targeted to my half marathon, I'll be getting in some saddle time. When spring training comes I'll be ready for it. Mont-Tremblant is waiting!
