Goals

Now that I have signed up for another Ironman the question now becomes what do I hope to achieve in my third run at this distance. Good question and I really don't have a lot of answers.

The primary reason I signed up is I like to have something to look forward to and it keeps my motivation for training high. I love to train and I never really take a break from it. I like to think that I maintain a high level of fitness throughout the year and that with a limited amount of time I can be race ready for distances up to a half.

As for a goal time, I never do that as it is a recipe for anxiety and potential disappointment. It's not that inside I don't have a gut feel for what I think is possible, it's just I don't feel a need to share it. My results from IMAZ indicate that while I was essentially the same time as the previous year's time in CDA, I made major improvements in everything but the run. That is ironic given it is my best event, but that is if the conditions are right. Even with a slow marathon (4 hours) I would have been an hour better than CDA so there is some major upside.

Getting a Kona qualifying time is also out of the question so I am not doing it for that. I will eventually get a Kona time, but I just have to patiently wait for the rest of the people in my age group to die off! Persistence is the operative word here. Time is on my side, I will just patiently wait and eventually I will make it.

Coeur d'Alene 2009 will be for the same reasons I have done the last two. The personal challenge to complete an event that on the surface seems impossible, to be in the company of people with a similar passion, and to just have a great time. Those were my objectives in the previous two IM's and I have been able to meet them and come away quite satisfied with myself.

This week continues to go well and I am nailing some good workouts and feeling pretty good about my upcoming race in Sylvan Lake. Wednesday afternoon I did a 2,300 metre swim. Good warm up and a few sets of drills and then 3 x 600 metre swims. I am noticing that my pace is staying far more consistent than it used to be. Last evening I ran 11.5 miles in just over 1:25. It was a beautiful evening and I ran the trails along the Athabasca River. I never tire of that route as the views of the river valley and the Rockies to the west is always awe inspiring.

Lately I have loaded up the iPod with a bunch of old blues albums. Robert Johnson, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and J.J. Cale to name a few. I haven't got the blues, I just like listening to them and it is good for learning some new guitar licks. I am also waiting for a new guitar amplifier that is supposed to be in the weekend.

Have a great weekend!