2013: Tri-ing something new

[marathondan]

Sad smileys all round. I've pulled out of the triathlon.

I did a lake swim a few weeks ago, and it was actually better than I expected. But deep down I knew that my swimming is still too weak. I'm not at the stage where I can just get into a rhythm and swim indefinitely, no matter how slowly I do it. The rigidity of the training was also getting to me - long bike rides can only be practically done during the day, and even if the weather's great I don't want a hobby that takes over my life. Swimming necessarily requires some overhead; lessons of course are a fixed time commitment. All a far cry from my days of fitting marathon training in whenever I found a spare hour or two.

I also have an underlying problem that I'm pretty fed up with my career, which has recently come to a sufficient head to kill off much of my motivation in other areas of life, too. Maybe without that issue at the same time, I would have stuck at it. And while endurance sport is much more than just a sticking plaster, it is a way of introducing some adventure into the relatively safe and predictable life of the modern suburban human. So in a sense I feel that I should be putting all my energy into solving my underlying problem, rather than indulging in escapism.

Running? I haven't taken a step of training for over a month. Part of me says that I should get back out there and it may energise and motivate me. I've even got time for a shot at the Robin Hood marathon in September, if I fancied that. Certainly there are halfs aplenty to aim at. But I wonder if, just this once, running isn't the answer, and I should instead invest the time in reading self-help books, poring over job websites and attending career seminars.

And will I return to triathlon? Not sure. Another year of swim lessons would certainly help. Right now I'm not inclined to do that. I'm starting to see why there are very few "fun" triathletes - it's a bigger commitment than running, for sure. That was pretty obvious from the outset, but I always have to learn these lessons myself.

So that's me. No biggie really, we live and learn. Probably don't expect too much from me till I get this job thing sorted out.

Looking forward to hearing all the P2P buildup from Down Under and the South Downs, among others.

Peace.