Taper day 9

Mood – Miserable & lonely

I want to do this….
http://www.24hoursoftriathlon.com/info_24_hours_of_triathlon.htm
But it’s too close to IM Canada, so I will volunteer for IM this year, race next year and then 2 years out I will do this 24 hour triathlon. It has my sickness level.

On a side note?
How the hell am I going to do IM Canada? I have no clue even where to begin in my training. I mean sure…this year my racing/training calendar is full and I’m really working on endurance. But my question is, after my marathon in October how much time should I take off? What should be my focus during my off season? How long should it last as I want my first ½ of the year to be Wildflower in May. Does that mean training will start back up in Jan? Can I do any speed work? Or am I limited on keeping a low HR and building that aerobic powerhouse. How many weeks out does my last ½ ironman need to be? I’m so confused. I really can’t afford a coach, not sure what I’ll do.

One is the lonelinest number…….

I go through this bought of loneliness during every taper. It seriously sucks ass. I am single, independent and free and 90% of the year this makes me happy. My training is what I date, it completes me. Funny as that sounds it is true. As I enter taper I come across this new found sadness, like I am longing for a long lost love. It is my training I am missing. I realize as I withdraw from training I have nothing to occupy my time. Well there are things to do like cook, clean, watch TV, eat non stop….you know all that good stuff, but none of it completes me. I am sad as I feel as if my training has turned on me and left me all alone.

This brings me to another topic. How the hell do competitive triathlete’s hold functional relationships? I’ve been reading a ton of blogs lately and it appears most have wives/husbands and live what appears to me as perfect lives. My question is “What’s the secret?” Did they find their one true love before they got bitten by the “tri love” bug? So the phrase “for better or worse” is truly put to the test? Or another question is did they find their true love during training or racing and is this other person an athlete? Maybe I’m just an odd ball out but I can’t foresee someone being able to deal with my OCD ADD training/lifestyle insanities. If only my bike could talk back, we share the same heart.