74 days to Kona...

I got my notice from the WTC today for my official registration for Hawaii. There is something about seeing that Hawaii Ironman logo on the letterhead that makes the blood rush to my head. Kona is spiritual for me. There is something about what I’m willing to put myself through in my training, along with how deep I’m willing and able to go that makes this race so meaningful for me.

Ironman is basically an opportunity to shed all pretenses and see our real selves. We get glimpses of that in our hard, long training days, but the rest of the patina is completely stripped away on race day about half way through the day and we get a real deep, long look at ourselves. I dig this introspective journey, as painful as it is. How many folks engage in an activity where they get a real gander under the hood to see how they are built? In all honesty, I don’t always like what I see. Sometimes I’m heartened to find real toughness, truth, strength and a durability that surprises me. In some races I’ve found an unwillingness to hurt as deeply as I need to and often fear just for fears' sake. It is what it is, and that is why I like these big, hard races. This year I hope to find more of the former and less of the latter;)

I’m pleased and mildly surprised with where I am in my training. I have a long way to go in the next two months, but with only 5 weeks back on the bike and in the water, I’m good with where I am today. Last week I coached a camp here in Boulder. It was awesome. It was so much fun to have the people here that we did. It was also a great way for me to benchmark my training. My long time training partner, Paul Hert was here for the camp. It was terrific to be back on the road with him knocking down the miles. We got into this sport together almost a decade ago and to climb side by side up the steep hills in the thin air was nothing less than beautiful. My favorite thing about training with Paul is with all the miles and races he and I have shared; we still don’t race each other. We don’t race each other; we train with each other. There is a huge difference. We will train day in day out, bleeding from the eyes, but all to make ourselves better. I feel as much joy when he goes fast as when I do. It was awesome to see him going as fast as he is right now. He’s peaking for Canada and he’s as fit as I’ve seen him. He’s in better shape than me, but I stayed closer to him than I expected I would, so it was super for him to show up and go good.

In the spring of 2006 Paul was hit on his bike and was seriously injured. When he didn't show up where he was supposed to be, his wife Kaye called me and I went looking for him as we were supposed to train together that day and I knew where he might be. Half way through the ride, Kaye called me and told me he had been flown to the hospital unconscious. I hammered all the way back to my car wondering if I had just lost the best training partner I have ever had, and as dear a friend as a guy can have. So one can probably understand why I am so pleased to see him in such great shape. It is a blessing for sure.

The other discovery that came from last week’s training was how very sweet it is to be training in Boulder. The number and variety of rides along with the pureness of training in the Front Range makes this place Ironman nirvana. I feel so blessed every time I walk out to my garage, put on my helmet, slip into my bike shoes and pick one of my bikes and head out for the mountains.

In the coming weeks I need to see some progress in my swimming. While the stroke and feel are coming around, I still haven’t seen the drop in my times that is going to be required for a good Kona swim. I am just now hitting in the low 2:30’s on my 200 repeats. In 2006, I was in the low 2:20’s. I’m hoping that in the coming weeks I’m hitting those in 2:26ish with my 100’s around 1:10. If I see that at altitude then I’ll know I’m coming right in September. I’ll keep you informed.

Train with joy…and look for your best self. We all have our best self with us always; it is about being able to find it when we need it, eh?

sj