I wonder what’s down that road?

From many perspectives, 2015 has gone in an unexpected direction and while it took quite some time to come to terms with it, I’ve accepted it.  Though I never had plans to race in the 2015 Ironman Boulder, it doesn’t feel right sitting at home while many of my friends are out on the adventure, playing in our backyard.  I couldn’t talk myself into going out for the start of the race, but I’ll definitely go by the venue to take in the sights this afternoon.

I spent the months after finishing IM Boulder last year in a whirlwind of change and a temporary retirement was the only solution, though it took months to figure it out and come to terms.  I finished the race injured, battling plantar fasciitis, unable to run, I immediately started gaining weight.

Quick and dirty monthly view:

  • November: Case of strep throat that went undiagnosed (thanks doc) for over a week and took 2 weeks to recover.
  • December: my little man joined the family, Alexander Patrick.  He turned 8 months yesterday.
  • January: Started a challenging project with a client who had unreasonable expectations, but training continued
  • February: Client work takes priority.  I can only leave the office at midnight and get up to train at 5am for so long
  • March: Heads down, no training.  Sadly, I bagged my first race of the season, the Accenture IM 70.3 Oceanside
  • April: Wrapped up the client work and took 2 weeks off to recover and train.  Felt the best I had in months
  • May: Sporadic training, but I raced my first 2 CAT 5 events on the bike.  Koppenberg and Morgul Bizmark TT.  Bagged the Colorado Sprint
  • June: Quick parachute client project, and opened a new account.  Week off at the beach to relax, recover and train a bit.  Loved swimming in the ocean, but didn’t go far. Bagged IM Boulder 70.3.  Bought a house!
  • July: Work-life balance has returned as much as it ever will in my profession.  Slowly scaling up the training and making sure I can handle it.  Hollie started us on the Whole30 to jumpstart metabolism and get us back on the path of eating healthy. Moved into the new house!
  • August: Just getting going!

It’s been difficult adjusting to no longer training full time, but this year is focused on 1) Family and 2) Career.  Everything else is lower on the priority list for the time being.  Now that things have settled down a bit, I’m making sure I can find time to get on the bike every weekend and maybe get a run.  Hopefully I can do a little swimming.  Maybe even hit a late season race.

The thing I have missed the most is being with the team.  Marty, Liz, Audra, Kenny, Conrad, EK and a handful of others that were constantly there, everyone going through the same journey.  Everyone took care of each other and we shared in each other’s success. I know we’ll never have another 2014 season, but 2015 has been no slouch, just different.

I think I’ll get out and go for a run.  A small tribute to all my friends out there suffering in the heat today racing Ironman Boulder.  Go get some!

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