Ironman Psychology

When people asked me if I'd do another Ironman I used to say, "in a shot but not next year, I need time to let my life settle down again first".  Well, I broke that promise last week.

So why have I entered another so soon?  Well, it's a combination of things - realising just how much residual fitness I have retained from Forestman, in spite of the three months downtime afterwards.  Also, finding that no other goal will do.

I tried stepping up training for the 3 Peaks this year, then again for the national 'cross champs in January but neither gave me quite the incentive to train that Ironman has.

Today I have managed to bring myself away from the computer (indulging in shopping for bikes on line) and have stumbled across some old reports of Susanne Buckenlei, previous winner of Norseman triathlon and finally, a female triathlete I can actually have a girl-crush on.

Not that I have any intention of winning Celtman or even being first female, but if I can't win it, I am damn well going to finish it and it will be amazing.

When I'm there I don't want to find myself wishing I'd done one more training session.

I tried to do some race planning today for the season but it's been unproductive due to in-affordable bike shopping and setting up the anti-virus on the TV computer.  Not exactly athletic stuff, especially as I don't need the bike until the spring.

What got me away from it?  Reading about Susanne and changing my thought process over to going out for that run and using the beautiful day to baseline a hill climb that's close enough to the house to be quite repeatable and enjoyable at the same time.  For now it's a long run but in future weeks it will morph into my short Wednesday morning runs.

I've swum twice this week and really enjoyed both.  The second session left me a bit exhausted but it's all part of the acclimatisation and re-programming process.  What matters is that I'm interested in swimming again - even at the pool!

Outside of exercise, I'm prioritising more looking after the house and myself time and less 'pooter time.  More time playing with the cat.

On a beautiful sunny day like today, it's easy to recall all the beauty of life and not worry or wonder why you worry about the small stuff.  Easy to get off the couch, not get stuck.  I hope I can look back on this first positivity post during my dark days of exhaustion and remember that.

Baseline hillclimb Black Brook to Moorbank Road RV Trail: 6:33.8