Clearer and more frightening

Last post was about the clarity I get from writing and analyzing.  Well I continue to analyze and things become clearer and I get more anxious about my race.  The enormity of it all.  2.4 mile swim, 112 miles on the bike and a marathon,  no problem.  Just a walk in the park.

NOT!


I am going to have to write a novel the size of War and Peace to fully understand what I am doing. 

But seriously it is getting close only 38 sleeps until Ironman Louisville.

It is not all doom and gloom.  In fact I am very excited about this opportunity.  I feel prepared and ready to hit the course.  I have the course maps pinned to the wall in my office.  They are on the wall behind me.  I think that it would be too distracting to look at them all day. So I see them as I enter and leave the office.  It is a reminder of the task ahead.  I do not want to dwell on it, I want to be focused.

It is a progression.  You start with ideas, concepts and even feelings.  You then make the leap to your goal setting.  As for triathlons; I have enjoyed them, I want to continue doing them,  I want them to challenge me.  These are feelings.  To be challenged I need to do harder races, I have enjoyed progressing to harder and longer races,  more feelings.  So given what I have done I looked for longer races.  A simple concept.  You want bigger you look for bigger.  You want longer races you look for longer races.  You find a longer race and you sign up!

It seems like there is a whole bunch missing here.  All the stuff that gets you from your feelings/ideas/concepts to your goal. Oh yeah, the planning preparing training etc..  It seems a little out of sync.  This jumping to the end (your goal) and then planning how to get there.  Well really it is not that strange.  If you did your planning and preparing before you set your goal you would not be able to focus your energies in the right direction.  It would be very difficult to plan for and train for a race if you did not know when it was.  How would you train if you did not know what to expect as far as the distance and intensity.  It might be comforting to set a goal only after you are fully prepared,  but it is not realistic.  Why plan a trip to California if you are sitting on the beach already.  Did you drive there to see if your car could make it?  Now that you have proven that your car could make it, is it time to now go on vacation?