Wednesday, December 28, 2011

2011: Wrapup



This has been an interesting year. It was a constant juggle between the fun of participating in a new work venture and the drag of Ironman training. I knew upfront that Ironman was going to take a back seat this year and that work was ramping up; however, I did not expect to have significant hangups when it came to training. Unfortunately, I did get sidelined for awhile.

As I danced across the Central USA for work, I visited too many YMCA's to remember, along with unknown roads, parks, and sidewalks. On my third trip to St Louis, running around the Arch was becoming a bore, especially since it was nearly midnight when I finally fit the workout in. The eventual result was a bad back that lingered with me through Ironman Hawaii.

While the finishing times at this year's races were not great, the fun level was mostly high. American Triple T was a record bottom mainly because the motivation was low, the training going in was too hard, and I got lazy during the races and forgot to take-in the necessary nutrition. Thank goodness I'm not going back to Ohio.

Ironman Hawaii was fun. Because of the aches and pains it wasn't as fun as I'd hope. Adrienne and I did manage to cross the line together, something unique, but that uniqueness did not satisfy the need for conclusion. We both left Hawaii with feelings of "only if." Is there another Ironman Hawaii to come? At the moment, I'll say yes. If life doesn't get more hectic, I figure I'll go back to race the race.

2012 remains uncharted. I have resumed training with Adrienne to the extent of doing something for fitness. I may do a few races this coming year.