Well, finally made in back to S.D.! Feels good to be home but I am hardly settled b/c I will be hitting the road again next Wednesday. I am headed back to Northern CA first for a bachelor party, then a few Skinfit events and some team meetings. I will be up there for about 10 days in total. Lots of work and some good training will be on the agenda but it is always hard to leave Jess. She has been a good sport but it is hard to always be leaving. Seems I am living out of a suitcase lately...even at home I don't really unpack b/c I know I just have to get on the road again soon.
Since getting back I have managed to get in some good training. I have really been enjoying the workouts and I feel motivation coming back. I even have a bit of a desire to race and go hard, which is a welcome feeling. It really is all about finding that "happy place" with training. I have been able to get out there with Lesley, which is really nice. She is a great motivator and we always have fun training together. You always needs someone on the same page to help with the daily grind and to put things into perspective. We share very similar views on training/racing so I think we are able to help eachother excel and really find the joys in the whole process.
My focus is on strength right now. A couple bike sessions per week doing low cadence work, longer intervals in the pool, and hilly runs. Strength is a weakness of mine and I am determined to work on it. I love strength work on the bike....it works, plain and simple. I can literally feel a difference the next day after I do these types of workouts. My weakness in the water is my lack of swimming hard, longer intervals. I can swim fast for short distances but I need to swim a fast 1500 so my focus is on swimming distance sets hard. Honestly, I have never really done this (b/c I hate it) so I am curious to see how I improve with this change. My leg feels good (cross your fingers) and my running is progressing. I am just running, nothing hard or structured. I am building slowly and will be up to 3 hrs total (per week) next week. Doesn't sound like much but being able to do this and stay healthy is VERY motivating for me. I have gone virtually the entire race season without running and I know if I can stay healthy and get in the key workouts I can post a decent run split. Knowing I couldn't prepare for the run was really hard for me and actually sapped a lot of energy...I mean, if I can't run I am missing out on 1/3 of the sport of triathlon...kind of a big deal =)
I have quite a bit of travel coming up as I already mentioned. The good thing is that my travel takes me to some AWESOME training grounds. Between Monterey and the Santa Cruz mountains I will get in some great work. Then at the end of August I will be in Chicago for a week to do some Skinfit networking and I will be able to log plenty of hours with Adam Zucco...a great training partner.
Overall, I feel good and I am excited to see my motivation returning. Taking a step back for me was a great thing and has brought back some fire. I can't say with certainty that I will race nationals and worlds but it is looking like I will. If I keep on the path I am on I think I will be fit physically and mentally.
Got a good weekend on tap...long ride and swim on saturday with James and Beth and it's Jessica's Bday on Sunday so we will have a fun filled day.
Have a good weekend everyone. Thanks for reading!
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