Keep going...because you want to

I was reading professional triathlete Bree Wee's Blog (as the closet blog stalker in me tends to do). She is a regular poster, and always has amazing pictures of her life in Hawaii...and I'm always so jealous of her gorgeous underwater ocean shots (where it's warm enough to not wear a wetsuit!). Anyway, she's going through a hard training block getting ready for Ironman South Africa. In a recent post she ended with "Keep going...because you want to."

Because I want to.

I want to finish Ironman with a smile on my face. I want this training to become effortless...even if that makes it mundane. In the event of mundaneness, I will mix it up. But it takes effort to keep going. And because I want all of those things, I have to keep going.

If it's going to rain, I have to keep going.

Utah is under 9 weeks away; I have to keep going.

Keep on Keeping on - a usual workout week for Rachel:

Monday: Masters swim session (3500)
Tuesday: Brick, 50 mile tempo ride + 4 mile tempo run
Wednesday: 50 mile hilly ride

Thursday: Long Run 16 miles, 2000+ ft elevation gain
Friday: 2 mile ocean swim + Pannikin hot chocolate
Saturday: 6 mile tempo run in rain/wind
Sunday: 95 mile long ride + transition run

Now let's add in some fun:
Monday: 2x1hr swim lessons after masters
Tuesday: Night Snowboarding from 5-10pm at Mt. High for $15 with Chad
Wednesday: JCC volunteer swim coach

Thursday: Dashboard Confessional Concert at House of Blues
Friday: Olympics watching
Saturday: More Olympics/Dinner plans
Sunday: Shopping!

Now where does laundry, preparing meals, doing dishes, cleaning and relaxing fit in? I'm not sure I agree with any of those activities.

But I keep going, because I want to. If I didn't have all those secondary activities in my life then I'd just be a girl training for an Ironman. And while I see this is a daunting task, I don't want it to completely take over my life. Granted, I understand the time commitments, as the 17 hour workout weeks are here, but for my sanity, I cannot just swim/bike/run. So here's my fun:

Snowboarding at Mt. High. I swapped the Brooks running shoes and Nike cycling shoes for some Ride Snowboarding boots! Great snow and perfect weather. I also had the perfect shredding (laughing at myself) soundtrack thanks to an ice dance routine I saw during the Olympics. Linkin Park's Reanimaiton.

JCC coaching. I'll say it: sometimes I dread going. I've been up since the butt crack of dawn, worked 10 hours and all I really feel like doing is eating cereal and watching the Olympics. But I go, and every time I leave, I'm glad I went. It's so rewarding to give knowledge and see progression in beginners and returners. I truly love coaching.

Dashboard Concert. Awesome. Got some last minute tickets from a tri-clubber selling them on the list serv. Great concert and even a great opener: Ives the Band. Had fun with Kyle in the upper level, sharing the one seat left...that happened to have an amazing view.

Monday night I did my first F.I.S.T. fit alone! Erin just got a new bike and so we went through the fit process together... hopefully she enjoys it! And now she has no excuse and must beat me! Tonight was catch up night with Nikee. We had dinner at a great little place in Old Town called Blue Water.

So I'm trying. I'm doing my best at keeping up with training, staying relatively injury free, working, and having a life. Balance. It's tough. But I keep going because I want to.