400 Blog Posts

There's a lot I could write about over the past two days.  I had a solid run on the treadmill on Friday, amping up the intensity while picturing all my friends racing at Coeur d'Alene that I want to beat.  (Yes, I'm a tad competitive, in case you didn't know already.)  I could write about how my running is falling behind at the expense of cycling and swimming, causing Coach Gerardo to question whether I could run a half-marathon next weekend or how I'd even do at Wildflower in a few weeks.  (Totally reasonable on his part, so no disagreements there.) Instead, I'm going to write just a bit about hitting the 400th blog post of the site on Thursday night.

I never expected I'd still be writing almost every day when I first created the site in 2009.  But here we are.  Honestly, I can't imagine not writing here!  The blog is as much a part of my training as my bike.  It helps me sort through the madness and monotony of Ironman training.  While I'm admittedly facing burnout issues at the moment, I think they would have occurred far sooner had it not been for being able to find something unique in almost every workout I complete.

What's especially interesting to me is what the next 400 posts might look like.  I think my full Ironman days will be behind me.  But I'll be attacking half-Ironman distance events and Olympics as fiercely as ever.  Still, I wonder if there's something more.  In fact, I know there is.  I just have to figure out what that "it" is.  Is there a charitable angle I want to explore?  Maybe.  A self-published book?  Possibly.I dunno.

I do know it's late and raining, and I'm tired.  Frank, Chris, Murray and I climbed 5,000 feet today and did close to 60 miles on the bike.  Then, I swam 2,500 yards, basically 50 minutes non-stop.  I'm mentally woozy and physically spent.

Back to the blogging thing for a moment.  If YOU were writing a blog, what would you be saying about your training right now?  What insights are you internalizing that could help you have a major breakthrough in your workouts? What's holding you back?  Why?  What's worth celebrating?  Why haven't you then?

If you haven't made one blog post there's never been a better time than right now.  Tri season is beginning.  It's just the start of something special for you.  Why not commemorate it with something that will last longer than the hat, T-shirt, visor or medal you'll receive after finishing the big race?  Remember, the process is just as important as the destination.

Perhaps the journey of 400 blog posts begins with a single word.

94 days and counting.