Triathlon Training: A New Goal Added To The Equation

2010 is fast approaching and as most of us do at the end of a year, I find myself reflecting a bit on 2009. This year has been a motivating one for me. I feel as though a lot has been kicked into high-gear in terms of reaching farther and trying harder.
 
I'm not sure why '09 was so pivotal in this way for me, but I see building blocks actually starting to stack up, and baby steps turning into strides. And you know what? It feels really good. It feels really exciting. And it makes me want to push the envelope farther.
 
As I have written about before, my connection with nature through hiking and camping was a huge awakening as of late. Learning to remove myself from the tediousness of work and technology (even for short periods of time) opened up this whole new world and helped me to see things differently. It also helped me to realize that although I'm getting older (hey, who isn't, right?) that my body is still capable of a lot more than I was requesting of it.
 
Though I have been a daily exerciser for years, I stepped things up once we started hiking more. Occasional walks turned into daily walks. Walks turned into jogs. Jogs turned into runs.
 
Cycling miles increased steadily. From four to six. Six to eight. Eight to ten. Ten to thirteen. Thirteen to fifteen. Fifteen to eighteen.
 
I started reaching higher and decided that instead of settling in, I would make some lofty goals. Even if they seemed crazy, it was worth trying. What's the worst that could happen? At least I could give them a shot. And so I decided that my 2010 goal would be to complete a triathlon.
 
I have so far to go and so much to figure out before this happens next summer, but each day makes me feel a little bit more confident. I still worry a LOT about just how capable I am and will be. I have been dealing with a little injury (Achilles Tendonitis) this week and had to take some days off from running, so I'm realizing that setbacks are reality when it comes to playing this game. But I figured that since I couldn't pound the pavement like I wanted to this week, that I would redirect that energy in other ways and so I stepped up my swimming this week; which spurred on a whole NEW goal.
 
As I shared with you last week, adding swimming back into the equation of my life was liberating beyond words. As a swimmer for most of my youth; from age seven through my college years, swimming was what much of my life centered around. School, friends, weekends, meets, traveling, early morning practices, afternoon practices ... pretty much the life of a swimmer was my MO when I was a kid.
 
I admit that after an injury halted my swimming career at age 20 it sort of felt good to not have that pressure any more. I made up for lost time by staying out late and doing things on the weekends that didn't involve swim caps and googles. I savored sleeping in and not diving into water when it was still dark outside. I certainly got to a point where that "life" was a thing of the past.
 
But you know, every time I stepped onto a pool deck, or smelled chlorine, or watched competitive swimming on TV, that twinge of familiarity and sentimentality got the best of me.

So last week when I suited up and decided to give the ol' lap swimming another try, I was excited and nervous to venture back into this forgotten, yet familiar territory. But once I realized I could still do it and that perhaps all of the time spent on other stamina-building activities were having a beneficial effect in the water, it was a little exhilarating. I guess some parts of the person you are will always be engrained into your psyche and what you do with that is up to you, eh?
 
I may be totally jumping the gun here, but yesterday, I called Steve at work and asked him if he could take a Saturday in February off of work to attend an event with me. "Sure, I will try," he said, "but what's going on?" It was then that I told him I wanted to try competing in a US Masters Swimming meet. Holy cupcakes! What did I just do?
 
I'm sure I'm crazy and I hope I don't make a fool of myself when I show up in February. But I just inserted a new goal into the 2010 equation: to compete in my first swimming meet since 1990. Woah.
 
I figure that by writing this blog today, I just can't back out, because my uber-supportive readers will hold me to it. So there it is. Swim meet in February. I'm pretty stoked! Nervous. Apprehensive. Questioning my sanity. But stoked nonetheless.

I'll keep you posted.