Pacing Myself

Normally, pacing in triathlon involves a discussion about racing and training properly so as to properly balance efficiency and output. Right now, a few days removed from a trip to London and a day removed from re-packing my bags for Las Vegas, pacing means something else entirely.  Right now, pacing means juggling work schedules while picking and choosing my spots carefully to train in between spending quality time with Steph, not to mention paying bills, catching up with friends and otherwise staying on top of life.

Boo-freakin' hoo, I know.  And I'm not complaining, to be honest.  I've written recently about how this year is so much different than last year in terms of Ironman training.  But I think I may be even more satisfied with crossing the finish line in Idaho this June as a result of how much harder I'm going to need to fight to get there.  Every little training opportunity I can scrounge is treasured.  I took it for granted last year, perhaps even had a false sense of entitlement.  This year, every hour or Saturday morning bike ride I can manage is appreciated.  I'm sure some of you feel the same way.

Tomorrow is one of those days.  I've got a full day of meetings and then the next day I'm in Vegas through Friday.  So, it's up at 6 a.m. for 7 a.m. running hill repeats at Griffith Park, followed by strength training with Shannan at 8:30 a.m. I've been missing the weights lately so I need to squeeze in a PT session while I can.  After my day of meetings, I'll jet over to the pool for a coached workout at 7:30 p.m. But that's my last swim until Sunday.  And my last strength training opportunity for the week as well.

Sometimes it's a feat of strength just to stay in shape amidst a hectic life.  It's easy to forget that.  But right now, I'm happy with being an Iron Juggler.

I'm just not sure how long it'll last.

Pacing.  I have to keep remembering that it applies to life and not just racing.

134 days and counting.