Ironman Thoughts

I have about half a day of work left, then tomorrow morning we are headed to the beach (Corpus!) with friends for a lot of fun and a little bit of running. We're doing the Beach to Bay Marathon Relay (6 person team) on Saturday morning, then planning to spend the rest of the weekend enjoying ourselves.

I am so happy to be getting away for the weekend. See, Saturday is my birthday. It's also Ironman Texas, which I signed up for last June, but pulled out of in January. I had many reasons for the decision - and knew it was the best one for me this year - but I can't help feeling a little sad this week as others were getting ready to tackle Ironman Texas. It's bittersweet for me, and I wish everyone the best. It's such an incredible experience, and I would be lying if I said there is not a part of me that is sad I won't be toeing the line on Saturday. So, this weekend will be a nice diversion to keep my mind off of Ironman. I did not wanting to be sitting at home wallowing in whether I should or should not have done the Ironman.

I've done a lot of reflecting on my decision to forgo Ironman, and how my life has been without the high Ironman training volume for months and months.

I seem to have found more patience. I can sit quietly. I can wait until a piece of software opens up on my computer without impatiently switching to some other task. I'm not so short with Dan at the end of a long day. I have more time to spend with friends and family and my beloved dogs. I have my weekends free again to do what I want.

Even though I gave up Ironman this year, I never plan to give up triathlon. Sprints and Olympics are certainly fair game, and maybe a half-iron will still make it on my race schedule from time to time.

Best of luck to all competitors. This girl is beach bound!