Rejuvenation

When I finished Ironman Louisville last August, I hurt physically – a lot. However, while I may have been exhausted, I could tell I had finished without injuring my body. But I found out the hard way that the Ironman is just as much mental as physical and it wasn't until months later that I could take a look back and realize how much the race had taken out of me psychologically.

The grueling schedule of training for a full Ironman, training to do it from scratch in 6 months and all the while trying to also be a good parent, husband and worker took a chunk out of desire to do any physical activity at all. Two months after the event, I was still mentally spent. Nothing was less interesting to me than going out for a quick run.

I ate. I watched some t.v. I gained at least 10 pounds.

So when the desire to get back out there slowly started to creep back. When my psyche began to heal – my mistreated and ignored body wasn't ready to heed the call. It had only been about 4 months, but the extra weight and lack of physical activity and the fact that I'm now over 40, made it difficult to maintain consecutive workout days – it became (and still is) a real struggle. Simply put, it's been a real pain to run.

But what has helped me through thus far is the same thing that always does - I picked a goal to achieve and now I'm going after it. This one is fairly small in comparison to my last (thank goodness). There is a "Triple Crown of Running" here in Louisville. It consists of racing a 5K, 10K and ten mile race all run at different dates in the month of March. It's just something to keep me running through the cold winter months. Beyond that, I'm shooting for a marathon in the fall – yet to be determined. Hopefully I can qualify to go back to the Boston Marathon next year – the most exciting and enjoyable race I've ever ran.

I'm going back to my basics - running. I'm not going to stop doing triathlons. I'll drop into them every now and then and incorporate biking and swimming into my workouts. But I need to recapture the enjoyment I get out of exercise – of appreciating the blessing of being capable of simply going for a run. Truth be told, I rushed into the Ironman and I wasn't able to take pleasure in it because I was stressing out trying to learn too many new disciplines while balancing the rest of my life. The next time I do one (and I probably will) I want to be able to enjoy it more. And the way to do that is to get in the right frame of mind, get in the proper shape and choose to do one at the proper time in my life. Who knows, it might be a decade before I do another full. But I'll darn sure do it better.

Until then, I'm going to relearn the joy of running.

8 out of 9

My house is located at the bottom of a long steep hill. This means that all of my runs begin with a long slow and somewhat painful climb. This morning it was particularly painful. My legs were sore from running 8 out of the last 9 days. But it was a beautiful misty fall morning and, despite the pain, I had a good run and it wasn't because I went fast or felt light on my feet – it was a good run simply because I was running.

As I posted before, it's been tough getting motivated in the past few months. Ironman Louisville left me with little both physically and emotionally and the Disney World Triathlon took what was left. I had no desire to run, swim or bike. A couple weeks ago I realized that my fitness level was decreasing and my waste size was increasing. But it was my mental state that finally got me back on track.

I'm not the same person if I'm not running or exercising on a regular basis. I worry more – I'm more easily stressed. I can't sleep very well at night. I'm irritable. But worse, I don't feel like myself. I'm a runner (and part time triathlete) and I've been one for most of my life. It's a part of me.

I can't say that I suddenly sprung from the couch and started running with a new passion or that it was some sudden realization. I didn't and it wasn't. Actually, I went out the door 9 days ago without feeling much desire to run at all. But I felt it was my responsibility to do it – as a father, husband, boss and worker. I'm just not as good at any of these occupations if I don't get out and run.

So my promise to myself was simple; string together 4 or 5 days (no matter how uncomfortable) of running and then see how I felt. I struggled through a week of running, but during it I rediscovered a little of my passion for running. Now, after nearly two weeks, I'm building on it – enjoying it a little more each day and fearful of stopping and going backwards. I feel like I'm on my way back to enjoying running again (cycling and swimming hopefully to follow).

It hasn't been magical

About four weeks after doing Louisville Ironman, my family and I went to Disney World. We spent a week walking the parks and generally having a good time. At the end of the week, I participated in the Disney World Triathlon. I thought it’d be a fun way to end the vacation. I was wrong.
It was hot, humid and I hadn’t completely recovered from Ironman (not to mention walking around Disney in the heat and humidity and staying up late all week). It was miserable and not a very good experience. I ended up dehydrated and hanging out in the med tent again. Immediately after the race, I never wanted to ride a bike, swim or run again.
So now here I am, nearly two months later, and I’m running a few times a week, not swimming and thinking about biking every once in a while. In the mean time, I’m eating plenty and gaining a few pounds. “Uninspired” is what best describes me right now.
But this is normal, after taking on such a big goal like Ironman, it’s hard to find inspiration in the normal run or bike or swim. In the immediate future, taking on something as large and time encompassing as an Ironman – is out. So I have to set my sights lower.
I want to do a marathon and qualify to run Boston, but with all the slow long distances that I did training for Ironman, I’m in no shape to run close to a qualifying time. And the thought of running fast doesn’t excite me either.
I will say that when I do get my ever expanding butt out the door, I enjoy it. But right now it’s really hard to get up off the couch. It’s like my batteries need recharged – sometimes I think I’m ready to go back at it hard. I have a good run but then the next day, I have no interest in hitting the road.
I know it’ll come – that desire to run or do the triathlon again – I just hope it’ll be soon.