Perspective

It's a funny thing. I was going to blog about my severely blistered feet until I read some of the Leadville 100 trail race updates. While I was complaining this weekend about raw feet, these guys were enduring rain, sleet, snow, cold weather and high altitudes to run for over 24 hours straight. When these guys DNF, it isn't because of an upset stomach or lousy blisters, it's because their kidneys started to shut down, they broke a bone (or several), or had 2 bouts with hypothermia.

Makes blisters seem pretty ridiculous.

I've been having a hard time sticking to my training plans and finding motivation and I think my perspective on racing and training has shifted from where it should be. I remember when workouts were the highlight of my day and races were the icing on the cake. I remember when I couldn't run 2 miles straight and now 7 miles is a 'maintenance' run.

I also remember when I thought marathoners and triathletes were crazy and a 1/2 marathon seemed impossible. I didn't even consider a 1/2 Ironman anything a normal person could do. And here I am, three 1/2 marathons, three triathlons (one 1/2 Ironman) under my belt and I had lost the joy to train. I had ignored what I have already accomplished and stopped thinking about what I have yet to accomplish.

I think it's safe to say that all athletes get burned out from time to time. It just took reading about some of the toughest people on the planet, racing in awful conditions, to put my own trivial issues in perspective.

I have 2 more triathlons this season. My goal is to finish my first Oly dist and race hard my last sprint. I'm running in the KC 1/2 marathon and I will set a new PR. Then from October through February, I'm going to train for my first ultra - the Psycho WyCo 50k this winter. 2008 was my "Year of Big Mileage" and I don't see a reason to stop.

Just for the record, while my perspective on distance has change, Ironman athletes and ultra runners are two groups that will never cease to amaze me.