I will be 40 this year and there is no denying that this number makes you take stock in where you are. Clearly, my generation (Ethan Hawke and I) are in many different places as compared to our parents. They didn't have opportunities to find out what they were passionate about, they worked and provided. The world has changed, I have a job where I get to run/swim/bike and talk to people about the same. In addition, I get to put on races to help people acheive things they didn't think were possible. Oh and I am building a brand around healthy eating, living and pushing what you believe is possible. In other words. LIFE IS GOOD!
Every year I end up picking a so called BIG RACE, Ironman, half IM's, 50k, whatever. After Mountain Mist 50k this year I was out of it. I didn't want to train, race, nothing. It was frustrating, but I knew it would pass. The problem for me is I have never been mystified by say Ironman, or marathon after marathon. I want a challenge, I try it, if it works out that I can do it again, I do. If not, I choose something else. The problem is I like big challenges so when times like this February arise, I usually end up biting off something ridiculous, for instance, I dnf'd the Austin Marathon and decided to swim 32 miles. So this year I had the following ideas.
1. 50k swim 50k run-back to back- 2. Swim Lake Ponchartrain 3. Everest Bike Race 4. Race every week for a year
I may still do more than one, but for now I have committed to number 4. The rules are as follows.
1. One race per 7 days 2. To count, it has to be an actual event 3. I have to RACE everyone. Showing up and running a 25 min 5k doesn't count. The only exception to this rule is if my wife asks me to race with her for an event or I help a friend achieve a PR in an event. 4. Swim meets, bike races, triathlons, standup paddleboarding, kayaks, whatever. But it has to be a legit physical challenge.
So I was going to start this on my birthday, and then my friend Craig said, hey, do you want to push me @ the Happy's 5k. I had ridden 30 miles that morning but said sure, why not. I didn't suck too bad.
The next week was Traditions Tri in Gulfport Ms. Now the last thing that you want to do when you are out of shape is jump into a sprint tri. This is because you know you the distances are easily attainable, but you feel like you have to push no matter what. In a sprint tri, there is no "save some for the run." You floor it until you puke or pop. This was not as fun as the 5k, but I placed okay and it only lasted 1:15.
Finally, last weekend, I planned a 40 mile ride and then the Fat Boy 5k. This too went better than planned.
At this point I decided that since I had 3 down, I only needed 49 more. Here is the schedule through parts of May.
I promise to keep updating as this "adventure" continues.
April 16th-Get your rear in Gear 5k April 22nd Crescent City Classic April 30th Capitol City Produce AGRI-thon 5K-tentative May 7th Louisiana Triathlon May 15th Xterra Triathlon May 20th-Pensacola Bay 5k run5k swim-
I will definitely be doing some longer stuff, but right now these are what I can find that are easy to do-now the key is to see how many I can do for free....