Over the last few weeks, months, a bit of time anyway, I’ve really been struggling with training. There has been a lot of workouts missed, the motivation to train isn’t really there and I’m not a big fan of me racing unless I’m in shape. Sure, I still like to go run, ride my bike and check out the 60-70 year old hotties at the pool when I swim, but I’m just not digging training for triathlon right now. Staying fit yes. Training…not so much.
There has to be more out there to do then triathlon. I like being fit, knowing that I can pummel most people 10-15 years younger then me, at least in endurance sports. But I think, or at least I’m thinking that I think that I’m over having triathlon as a pillar in how my life is structured. It’d be nice to go out and get plastered some night at a pub, hang out until 12 or later and not have to worry about getting up at 5:30am to beat the heat to work out. Of course I can drink a fair bit, so getting plastered at a pub could become expensive. So somewhat plastered. Easier to recover from and easier on the wallet, two things I really like.
I’ve got Wildflower coming up next weekend and I’m not really excited about going to that race. Looking forward to seeing some friends and hanging out with them, not so excited about racing.
It seems I need to drift towards a decision, continue to train and try to get faster, after all I’d still like to break 4:10 on a legit half IM course, or try to shift my focus towards some other things be it work, napping, maybe work and napping or something else.
If you aren’t feeling it, then take some time off whether it be a weekend or a couple of years. You define yourself however you want to and if you no longer want to define yourself as a triathlete, then no problems from my about it. It does feel good to be in shape and fit but it does take a lot of sacrifice and hard choices to get there. And you don’t have to be a triathlete your entire life, either.
Eric
I already told you, buy yourself a mountain bike and get dirty.
Brian,
I could sort of sense this past weekend that your thoughts and mind were somewhere else. I probably should not have made triathlon training the main topic of our conversation. I did enjoy the company on the run and after being out of triathlon for over 20 years I am on the upside of the ladder in excitement. Of course I have never trained or raced at the level you have. Give it a break. You did that once before and from what you have told me you really enjoyed what you were doing without tris.I am looking to do some different things even though I enjoy triathlon and the fitness level it provides. I want to get a two-person kayak this fall because my daughter wants to do that. Call on me anytime, and I promise you can talk about getting drunk or about your new position in your career Maybe? Alot in your life right now to consider. Just stay fit my friend but I know you will.
This is exactly why I moved to ultra running. I just wasn’t excited about getting on the bike or in the pool. I love to run so why would I spend hours each week doing something I wasn’t enjoying.
If you aren’t enjoying it, why are you doing it? Triathlon and racing in general will always be there.
Of course, you still have to keep your athletes….
I understand where you are coming from, this is the reason I ended up in triathlon. After I was tired of being a Tour de France rider…wait thats not me..
Prior to tri’s I focused all my time on rock and ice climbing, every weekend I was off in the mountains or somewhere climbing. When you add having to have a partner you can trust it raises the stress level of the sport a bit. After a while, I stopped enjoying climbing and felt like I was just going thru the motions since climbing is what I do. I do miss it quite a bit at times but sometimes its a good thing to take a step back and really look at why you choose to do what you do and if your getting out of it as much as you put in.
Someone else made a great point, GET Dirty, mtb is a blast and a great way to break things up or give Xterra a try.
Good luck with your question Senor!
If you lose the tri, won’t you go from old and treacherous to just old? 🙂
go for a long run… always has answers.