Planning….Getting lost in the future

Planning….Getting lost in the future

The subject line topic is vague; I guess that describes my train of thought lately. I have so many things on my mind, so many wants and desires and am really not sure which path I want to go on. I really need to stay focused yet I have often found my heads stuck up in the clouds as of lately. My disposition keeps changing.

*Ironman has weighed heavily on my mind. Less then 3 weeks from now I will have signed my life over to training for the next 10 months, all to build up for that one glorious day. It’s really a scary concept. Hours on end of swimming, biking and running, a lot of one on one time all alone (honestly that is where all my fear lies). I was conversing with a friend about it last night and he just laughed out loud. “Kat, you have already signed your life over to training….” And gave me a *WTF are you are afraid of?* look. He brought up a very good point. I have given up most of my outside life to train before dawn, train at lunch and why the hell not, train at night. I have found this is the love of my life and it completes me. But with all relationships you have these lines you have to walk to make them successful, I guess this is where my fear comes from, finding the balance. I can’t keep a guy around for more then a week or two, managing something this intense for so long will be one of my biggest challenges. I expect some heat ache here and there.

*Now I need to address equipment and knowledge. I’m questioning getting a coach. I can’t afford one but I really want to see strong progression in the next year. Ideally I’d like to start getting AG placings and not sure if this can be done on my own. I’m also not sure about what kind of coaching I would like. I can be a bit difficult to deal with as I rebel or challenge against much that is thrown my way. Often I feel like a bull (stubborn at times, yes me) and the coach is my Matador trying to strategically kill me. There is only one person whom I think I have enough trust to train me to be the animal I want to be. I just don’t know if I should ask him for help or try to wing this adventure on my own. On to the topic of new equipment. I want a fricking power meter BAD. So bad I’ve been dreaming about them at night. Visions of wattage data dancing in my head. Ugh, it’s driving me nuts! I can’t justify dropping $1-2 grand right now, so if anyone knows where I can get one used hit your girl up. Along with a power meter I want a new bike this fall/winter (which I’m looking at dropping $2-$3k new or used in good condition). I haven’t pin pointed which bike I want, I’m still putting research. I do know it will be a tri bike with a double compact cassette. I’m tired of struggling up hills in my standard double and am sure during an IM my legs would appreciate the compact. Not sure if I want to stick with carbon or go with aluminum. I have carbon now and I love how light my bike is, only because I have limited muscle to get it in and out of my car. Cadence is uber stiff, I feel every bump in the road and my *womanhood* is not too pleased with that. I also want to go with high end Dura Ace components. Cadence has an Ultegra rear and 105 front derailleur; she has a tendency to argue with me when shifting. This could be stupid human error….regardless I’d like a smoother shifting transition. I’d also like to stick when a men’s model. My torso is long and the women’s bikes don’t feel like I get enough expansion. If anyone has feedback on what bike to look at or points of interest that I should consider please let me know, would love to hear feed back.


Off season. Yes, I am already thinking about it, I told you I think too far in advance. So I’m not sure how to go about this. I’d like to keep my run endurance up while continuing to work on my swim efficiency and power (cross your fingers for that power meter) on my bike. BUT I know I have to give my body a rest or I’ll probably die in the middle of next season. This year has been difficult enough with 2 HIM’s and a marathon on the racing schedule, training for 9 months on end. So really where should my focus be from Nov-Dec?



I was going to get into my desire for a new car, the battle I’m having with choosing a much needed new car or my first home, moving all my shit to some state I’ve never been to and starting over, the status of my father and the trials and tribulation my family has had over the last 5 days (what a fucking nightmare), my endless desire for food and my new found boredom with taper. I guess I’ll leave these topics to be their own blog at a later date since I have so much new time on my hands. Is it time to swim yet?