Looking back at my path to Ironman Florida in 2013, there came a point my training derailed; but not to the extent my training for Ironman Arizona has. It’s not that I am completely off task, but I just can’t seem to make Arizona THE priority above all other priorities in my life. That was Florida for me: focused, dedicated and willing to sacrifice a lot to get my training in. The dedication paid off, and my results were better than I expected. So what happens this time around?

Life is more sane, more balanced. I like it like that. But I wonder when I get to the finish line in November and don’t have that feeling of crushing a goal will I be disappointed in the results I didn’t get with the work I didn’t do? Or will I remember all the other things going on, and be okay with just being a part of the experience? I’m hoping for the latter.

Much of my distraction lately was Swim For Alligator Lighthouse. Though worth every minute, that race was a lot of work physically, mentally, and logistically. For the past two weeks I didn’t get an Ironman Arizona weekly recap out because it was just too crazy (I know, I know, you totally missed it right?) Then my son was sick and out of school for two days; with a travelling husband I couldn’t find a way to train. Okay, I’ll rephrase: I wasn’t willing to go through extraordinary lengths to get my training in. And finally, I got sick with a lingering cold for the past week or so, and now the stomach bug he had which has me going back and forth to the bathroom as I try to write this. Fortunately the stomach issues came AFTER I finished my key workout this weekend. I’ve been getting the long stuff in, but during the week there have been a lot of unplanned rest days.

Is this just my self-doubt rearing its ugly head again? What is it that I really want? I wrote my Coach and told him of my woes. He knows me well enough to know what to say. He answered that unless I am planning to win my age group (NOT) or be incredibly competitive (NOT), then plug along. Do the long weekend workouts, do what you can of the week workouts, and all will be well.

And all is well, other than my stomach right now. Ironman Arizona for me is not an all or nothing game. I want to do it, I want to raise the funds for Brianna I committed to, I want to show that there are no limits to what we can do, but I also want to show that one goal doesn’t have to come at the expense of another. Success is not success if it comes at the expense of things you love. Balance. It’s finding that balance.

So because of all of the above, I have had four, yes four, unplanned rest days. Is it the end of the world? No. Does that mean I will double up in the next weeks? No. Does it have an effect in my overall fitness? A little, I am staying still instead of building. In the grand scheme of things, of life and the things that are important, were those rest days necessary? These guys seem to think so:

And I do too.

To give you an idea of how it’s going, this is the past week. The two weeks I have missed recaps have been somewhat similar:

Monday: RUN. 18 miles – I didn’t get my run in during our trip to the Keys for Swim For Alligator Lighthouse so I had to get that in.

Tuesday: REST. I was going to swim but thunderstorms kept me out of the water and I didn’t have the motivation to do anything else.

Wednesday: BIKE. Computrainer session at the Ultrabikex Studio.

Thursday: REST. Again, the weather kept me out of the pool.

Friday: RUN. 5 miles

Saturday: BIKE/RUN. 80/6 Struggled a bit, but feel like I got what had to be done … done.

Sunday: REST. Because that is what Training Peaks told me to do, and who am I to not follow directions 

How was your training week? Are you on task? How do you keep balance?