Update

Well, friends. I was thinking it might be fun to abandon the ol' blog for a week and let people start to wonder where I disappeared to. And then I remembered that I'm just not that important or cute to cause such concern, so I am sparing myself the disappointment when there were to be no whispers about where Erin has gone.

There are two reasons for the lack of postings this week:
1) Work has been crazy. I'm working on a project, that has been incredibly time consuming.

2) I have a lot to say, a lot on my mind regarding upcoming goals and plans, but not sure how to say it. My mind is a chaotic whirlwind of thoughts and emotions.

So, to update you on my week's absence...
The Couples Triathlon last week was fun. It was pretty awesome to get to mile 8 on the bike and ONLY have 3 miles left, as opposed to 104 miles!! Both Dan and I improved from last year. I was so excited to improve in all three areas from last year. My overall time was 1:19, compared to 1:24 last year, so I'll mark that as a success. I also got to meet two Daily Mile friends in person, which was really cool. Both times they came up and asked me if I was Erin. Made feel like a celebrity (ha!). I was wearing my Ironman CdA tri-top and they knew my pic from Daily Mile and put two and two together...

I always thought my Coach was crazy for doing so many Ironmans in one year (he did St. George in May; then Louisville in August and Florida in November). But, now I understand completely. I saw that IM Cozumel in November is still accepting registration and only semi-jokingly mentioned it to Dan, even though in no way would that fit on our budget this year. But if it did, I would be there in a heart beat.

I've been feeling a little lost the past few weeks. Okay, very lost. The challenge is that you absolutely need to rest. After an Ironman you are mentally and physically exhausted whether you want to admit it or not (which I don't). I didn't imagine that post-Ironman I'd want to dive right back into it... but it makes sense now because I'm caught up in the routine, excitement and adrenaline. For the most part, I've continued to train like I was pre-Ironman.

I thought I would wake up on a Saturday morning and realize I can finally sleep in or do something in the middle of a weekend day rather than be on my bike. But, there is guilt, I feel like I should be training. Last weekend, I found myself again in bed at 9 pm on a Friday night and up at 6 am to ride my bike on a Saturday...and, really, there is no purpose to that at all, other than that I am used to doing that on Saturdays.

Which brought me to some deep thinking this week. Ironman training - a good distraction from life's ups and downs? An essential part of my life? A distraction to living life? I think I do all three. I can see the addictive nature of Ironman training (or any endurance sport.)

So, after some thinking and a talk with my coach, I'll be doing my best not to stick to any sort of schedule for the rest of the month. Plan nothing, and decide when I wake up in the morning what I feel like doing. No pressure to swim, bike or run. There will be plenty of time to be on a schedule when IM Texas training starts, and I don't want to get burnt out.

So, I canceled my plans to ride/run with friends on Saturday. Which is good. It's my cousin's Bachelorette Party weekend, and the last thing I need to be doing in glancing at my watch every 5 seconds on Friday night, wondering when I going to get to bed and worrying about not getting enough sleep. I am not going to set my alarm in the morning, and if I wake up and want to go ride tomorrow then I will on my own. If I want to swim, I will when I feel like it. If I don't, then I don't. I am going to enjoy myself and relax. Make some deposits into the "emotional bank account", as my coach wisely stated (ref: 7 habits).

I'm excited to go out tonight. It's nice not to have to worry about being in bed by 9 pm. It's nice to remember that there is an incredible amount of pleasure for me in non-triathlon things.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!