I Have Nothin...

profound to say. Which is just fine! Geesh... I can get a bit long-winded and philosophical sometimes... right? Am I right? Uh. huh. I know... it can also be a quite nauseating.

So I just finished a Cer-AZY week! Here's a brief synopsis: I drove around the state like a maniac, worked my skinny, chicken-shit bastard ass off, and trained. Yesh. I told you it would be brief.

Base training continues and I'm feeling more and more fit as the days pass and my legs are coming around nicely. I'd kind of forgotten what it was like to go out and run hills for an hour... and smile about it. SO great to be back. I've got quite a ways to go before being "race ready"... but that will come... and I'm not even sure what that means exactly... at least for this season. I'm operating in some unknown territory in my personal life... so we'll just have to see what happens. I'm pretty confident that if anything... I might not be my fastest this year... but I sure do plan on having a ball! I just dropped the $$$ for Boise 70.3 and Lake Stevens 70.3. Giddyup.

If you didn't figure it out from the last post... Coach Liz and I will be working together again... starting tomorrow. As a welcome back... I have 3 tests this week. Not math... swim, bike, run. I have a love/hate relationship with these tests. I like having the data that they produce so that my training can be better tailored... but I don't particularly enjoy throwing up during or immediately after them. Eh. All in the name of self-improvement right?

Anywho.... I'll keep ya posted on how things go. Thanks for taking the time to read. Hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole.

<---- notice the Ecstatic European Tourist face after my first OUTDOOR ride of the season!

Breathe...

Reunited....

and it feeeeeels so goooooood! Yeah. She is Liz. She is my coach. Period. That pretty much sums it up.

Breathe...

I Felt Like...

a triathlete this week! For the first time in a LONG time! Not a very GOOD triathlete... but a triathlete none-the-less! YAY! See the guy on the left? That's happy Rob. Happy Rob did the following this week:

1. Parented his kids with all the love and patience he could muster.
2. Laughed.
3. Managed the household, (i.e., cooked, cleaned, washed, folded, and put away stuff)
4. Played.
5. Did his "job" in the professional world to the best of his abilities thus bringing home the bacon.
6. Smiled.
7. Disciplined when necessary.
8. Spoke with friends.
9. Rested when he could.
10. Trained: (swim: 2 hrs, bike: 4 hrs, run: 2 hrs, strength: 1 hr)

I just tooted my own horn! (hee hee... "tooted"). The thing is... I'm entering a new, different, and very challenging chapter of my life. I honestly have questioned whether or not I would be able to continue in triathlon... seriously... I just didn't know. After coming through this week... handling all my bizniz... handling it well... AND training... I've got my confidence back! I might not be able to train exactly as I'd like... but I'll tell ya what... I'm going to train to the best of my ability... and compete in the same manner.

I feel like I can actually breathe again. I'm aware of the ebb and the flow... I'm aware that there are more "downs" to come... but you know what? It's gonna be okay. Actually... it's gonna be good. Really good.

Thank you for taking the time to read. Hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole.

Breathe....

Hesitation

In SH 21-6, the Army Ranger Handbook, it states that when reacting to a near ambush, (within hand grenade range):

"Soldiers in the kills zone return fire immediately, without order or signal, assume prone position, throw concussion or fragmentation and smoke grenades. Immediately after the explosion of the concussion or fragmentation grenades, soldiers in the kill zone return fire and assault through the ambush using fire and movement."

You might giggle a little bit at this... the language isn't exactly poetic... but what do you expect? Its Army doctrine! So what's my point?

There's no hesitation. There's only action. Sometimes we get stuck. I'm stuck right now. We wait, postpone... or hesitate, waiting for things to come together perfectly. We hope with all of our being for everything to pan out exactly as we wish. In the meantime... our lives stagnate b/c we're on hold. The thing is, there's a limited amount of time that we can wait before we realize, "Hold ON! I'm not living." It was recently pointed out to me by a very dear and close friend that oftentimes, the moment you stop waiting, hoping, hesitating... the moment that you launch yourself back into living your life... everything begins to fall into place. I don't know exactly why that is. Maybe its b/c you've put so much time and energy into hoping and praying and waiting... that it takes away from any effort to make something happen. That's not living. That's not what makes us happy and fulfilled... whole. I'd rather not hesitate anymore... I'd rather commit.

May: Eugene Half Marathon

June: Ironman 70.3 Boise

July: Deschutes Dash (Oly)

August: Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens

Sept: Something

Oct: Something again.

There's a start huh?

Hope you're all happy, healthy, and whole. Thank you for taking the time to read.

Breathe...