Grrr and Argh

I had all these good intentions about starting my half-ironman training, and then work got in the way. And not the "big-project-long-hours" sort of problem, but the "oh-shit-things-are-going-south-quick" sort of problem. Its been a long week already and its only Monday, I'll be on night shift working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week from now until Thanksgiving.

So, some training updates:

I got back in the pool on Tuesday of last week and came to a realization about swimming . . . I need to make peace with the pool. Maybe I did too much in college, but ending my swimming career on such a sour note has really turned me off from swimming. It might be the strongest of my three legs, but I have the hardest time getting up any sort of enthusiasm for getting in the pool. I managed to put in around 2400 yards in the 45 minutes I was there. Speed work isn't an issue, but I have a hard time grinding out yardage for the sake of hitting a distance goal. This mental hangup will probably be the thing that holds me back the most.

I also got some time in the weight room. I love the results of lifting, but I don't like the time that it takes. I always feel like I should be doing cardio if I'm working out, I don't give lifting the same amount of value I do to cardio.

Kenda announced the sponsorship for next season - Blue is back! I think I'll be getting at least one new bike (TT/Tri). Don't know if I'll be able to afford a new road bike - we'll have to wait and see. There's so much else that I want to do (Colorado trip, Amsterdam trip, pay off some loans . . .) the fundage might be tight.

I think I'm going to have to spend some time sitting down and reviewing my training plan to fit into my new work schedule. 24 hours in a day - 12.5 hours of work - 7 hours of sleep - 1.5 hours commuting = 3 hours for everything else. Figure in time to drive to the gym, shower, etc., and there's not much time left in the day.

But, to keep me inspired, I signed up for the Chicago Tri next year. These are pics from this year's race.