450th Blog Post

I wrote my 450th blog post last night. Surprisingly, I have little to say about it.  Today was an ordinary day of training. An hour of hilly interval running on a treadmill, followed later by an hour strength session with Shannan.  Followed by a massage tonight with David from LA Body Mechanics.

What started off as a bizarre, frustrating, confounding, taxing ritual has become routine for me.  An everyday habit.  A lifestyle.  I rarely think about it anymore, how what seems like an insane amount of training to most people has become "just another training day" for me.  And I don't mean that to sound boastful in any way.  It's just an observation.

I never thought the day would come when 2-3 hours a day of training during the week would just be normal.  But it is.  And yet in a month's time, it may come to an end.

I'm not sure I'm ready for that.  I've become wed to this lifestyle, some might say addicted.  I wake up every day with a sense of purpose and passion to take care of myself and push just a little harder to go faster, or be stronger than the day before.  Each day fuels the next.

Tomorrow morning, I'm getting up at 5 a.m. to do a three-hour brick before work.  I'm not looking forward to waking up early, but what really bums me out in a weird way is that on June 27, the day after Ironman Coeur d'Alene, I won't have any reason for the rest of the summer or fall to wake up early to train.  No races on the calendar.  Just me, my conditioning, and lots of time.

I'm worried my life is going to go from 90 miles an hour to what feels like 20. Of course, I'm definitely looking forward to spending a lot more time with Stephanie, my family and my friends.  I love that aspect of "Family and Friends First" that will become my mantra again at least through the fall. I just wonder if I'll hold out that long from resuming training.  I've adopted a lifestyle I truly love, yet it's not necessarily a balanced one.

Finding the point of harmony between two worlds may be my focus for the next 450 blog posts.  I'm sure that balance exists.  But this iron mad man hasn't found it yet.

After 450 blog posts, I'm definitely a work in progress.  But the person I was at Post 1 is far different than the person typing before you at this moment.

What would I tell my "Post 1" self if I could send him a note?

I think I would look at him, smile, and laugh just a little while shaking my head.

"Dude, you have no idea."

27 days and counting.