Dark Abyss Up Ahead

Another quickie post.  I'm in the pitch black of my bedroom before conking out for the night.  My laptop power is down to next to nothing. Sort of like me at the moment. My coach told me we're going to ramp up the training in the next few weeks.  I'm wondering where that extra time is going to come from.  I like my schedule the way it is at the moment, to be honest.  It fits in my life for the most part.  During the week it's, get up, train, go to work, train some more, come home, spend time with Steph, blog, prepare bag for next day, go to bed.  Rinse, wash (get the chlorine out), repeat.

I'm sure I'll find a way to fit more training in.  I know I'm close to the final three months of IM training, the dreaded time where every workout matters, can't be skipped, and the days just get longer and harder.  Fortunately, this weekend will be my last business trip (South by Southwest in Austin) until Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

Before I head back into the dark abyss of full IM training, I emailed Gerardo tonight to ask him how I'm doing.  I want a progress report.  Is my breaking 12:00:00 goal at IM CDA still realistic, with an extended recovery period from IMAZ?  Am I improving?  I know the answer is yes in the pool, but what about on the bike?  On the run, am I getting my strength back?  Stamina?

Why is all this important? I'm not really sure. I guess I want to know -- need to know -- how to motivate myself in the coming months.  What am I shooting towards?  What can I achieve?  What's in my way?  What can I change, and what's just gonna be the way it is no matter what?

I'll be honest (when am I not here!?), I'm not really looking forward to what's in front of me.  What's worse, the "evil" you know or the evil you don't know?  In this case, I know the hard work hasn't even started, and yet I feel like my time is maxed out in my current training and life schedule.  And I'm not complaining about that at all. I like spending my Sundays with Steph! I'd like to spend more time with her, my friends and the rest of my family.  But soon, for one last time before I take a long break, it's time to enter the dark abyss of full Ironman training.  Coming up next, sacrifice, soreness, and stress.

I hope I get through injury and illness free.  And of course, having my sanity intact at the end would be a bonus.

105 days and counting.