A Shift in Focus to Running

"I learned that rewards in running, as in life, come only in direct proportion to the amount of effort I am prepared to exert, and the extent to which I can summon the required discipline and application." - Tim Noakes

I did not fully apply myself to triathlon this year. That's not self criticism; it's just the truth. I had a few okay results, but did not take as much joy in the sport as in years past. This season more than ever I came to the same realization as Noakes: that my enjoyment of the sport is a function of the effort I put forth. Results don't drive enjoyment.

Looking forward to next year, I'm not prepared to exert the effort required to get the same joy from triathlon as I have in the past. The time commitment is wearing on me, and I'm not looking forward to early morning swims and winter training rides. The fire has (perhaps temporarily) been extinguished. I used to look forward to trainer rides, at least sometimes, but even more so I enjoyed sticking to a plan and working toward a goal.

Part of the problem is that I cannot think of an exciting triathlon goal for next year. I don't care about qualifying for Kona, and the potential of winning my age group at an Ironman or a half-IM is also not enough to motivate me. I had considered continuing with shorter tris so that I could spend more of my training time focusing on swimming. The prospect of being in a race from the gun sounded fun, but that plan doesn't cause me to look forward to tomorrow's workout.

Still, I want to work toward some athletic goal, ideally one that has me outside and in nature as much as possible. I want to continue training rigorously, as it's become a big part of my life over the past 6 years. In the past I had talked with Stacey about potentially spending some time focusing on running, since that seems to be the athletic area where I'm most naturally gifted, and see how far I can take it. Right now, training to run excites me more than training for triathlon. So with that, I'm changing my focus to running.

I do not know what specific events I will train for or what my goals will be. Trail running is certainly appealing, as is running a fast marathon (I think I can well under my current PR of 2:48 set at Chicago on a hot day). There is even some appeal to an ultra-marathon or multi-day running event. Until I figure that out, I will focus on gradually building up my mileage with mostly easy to moderate running while keeping a close eye on my recently recovered Achilles.

Biking will still be a part of my fitness routine, and I may even sell my tri gear once I'm sure of the change and use the proceeds to buy a mountain bike. I'd also like to spend more time camping and maybe cross country skiing.

The time has come for a new challenge.