Ironman Louisville Update: The Reward of Going Uphill Is Going Downhill

A part of being on the road to Hawaii is realizing that my objective may take longer than I thought it would. I've learned to accept that, while my son, Bob, can say he wants to go to Hawaii on a specific date, I may not be able to make that guarantee in the same time frame. The benefit in this is that I'm learning patience more than I ever have when it comes to my training. Part of being a mature athlete is realizing that, as much as I'd like to believe I can control time, sometimes time controls me. Although I believe in circular time, I live in linear time. So, sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I'd like to.

At the same time, my training is going extremely well - I'm improving in every aspect. I'm a better swimmer and much better cyclist than I was 26 years ago, but I'm not as good a runner. What used to be my strength is now my weakest sport, and that's ok. Believe it or not, I'm actually enjoying cycling, the sport I used to hate the most. I love being able to cover a lot of distance in a short amount of time. When I'm in Las Vegas (2 weeks out of the month), I ride in the mountains, which is a real thrill for me having lived in Florida since 1981.

I have 11 weeks to go until Louisville, and I'm starting to implement more effort. I'm concentrating the next 3 months on bike-run transitions. Unfortunately, the ocean has been very uninviting, and I haven't been getting in open water swims. That's a problem. I'm looking forward to calmer water, but that's not up to me. All in all, i feel great. I'm maintaining my weight (198 to 200 lbs all the time), even though I'm not eating as clean as i should. I eat pizza, sweet potatoes and the occasional bread, so I can't be as lean as i want to be because of the carbs, but i need them for energy.

I'm surprised at how much fun it is to become an athlete again at this level, and I'm not disappointed in my failures. I'm much more patient with myself. I was with my son this morning, he said he thinks I'm doing extremely well. With three kids, he's struggling just like I am. But, like I say, the reward of going uphill is going downhill.