Ironman Frankfurt was 2.5 weeks ago...the Challenge Roth relay was last weekend...and I am racing a half IM in Poznan this weekend. So I've got plenty to write about, but nothing on the page.
There are a few reasons (or excuses!) for this:
1. IM Frankfurt wiped me out and I spent the following week in a daze and shuffling around like a senior citizen. Part of this was the heat and humidity of race day. But a bigger part was probably my disappointment in not qualifying for Kona. I knew that it would be tough, but I felt that if I gave my best performance it was possible. I dedicated myself to this for months and pushed myself to the limit on race day...and came up short. Instead of looking at all the positive things, I was focusing on the one negative that was completely out of my control. I was not too eager to re-live the whole ordeal by writing a race report.
2. I now have a part-time job as an instructor on base. I have been doing a lot of prep work for this and I teach my first class next week. I am looking forward to it, but it is taking up a lot of my time. Once I find my rhythm, that will be a huge help.
3. I am still tired. I pride myself on my ability to get stuff done and have the discipline to do all my workouts that my coach gives me. Maybe it was because I was in the Army, but I have lost the ability to physically assess if I am tired. But I have finally figured out that my mood/mental state is my best indicator of fatigue: if I am cranky or sad or easily frustrated for no good reason, I need to rest.
So now that my late-season race calendar is empty, I think I have decided on doing the Munich Marathon. I also signed up for the relay again for Challenge Roth 2015, as well as Ironman South Africa in March 2015. I have not completely lost my motivation (that's a good sign!) but I recognize that I need to step back and regroup. I have learned a lot about myself over the past few weeks and I know that will help me as I move forward.
