I'm in for the 70.3

That might look like a funny title - didn't I sign up for the Raleigh 70.3 last fall? Well, yes, yes I did. But if you had asked me 2 months ago if I was going to do it, I would've probably said, "I don't think so." 

It all came down to balance. I'm working almost full time again, coaching athletes, being a mom, and trying to keep some organization to the house and things were just too much. For me, anyways, I know plenty of people out there have more on their plate and get more done than I do. Anyways, when it came down to decision time, would I rather be on my bike for 3+hrs or take Logan to a trampoline place? Would I rather get a run in or head to Logan's daycare for a Mother's Day Tea Party? I always chose Logan. I don't want to miss anything! So training went on the back burner and I did what I wanted when I wanted. This typically meant no long rides and I swam if I felt like it. I also didn't do any long runs over 10 miles (10 miles just seems the perfect long run distance to me). And I was 90% sure I wasn't going to do Raleigh because I obviously wasn't trained enough to be competitive.

Last week I sort of started feeling like maybe I could still do it. And then when I ran with some friends on Sunday (on the course, for almost 11 miles and it felt pretty easy), they convinced me. My plan is to not go too hard. Seriously. I'm not joking when I say I'm not well trained for this event - I can definitely do the distance, but I most definitely can't do the distance fast. So I will cruise the bike and run. The swim is whatever anyways. I'm taking a page from my friend Tori's playbook and the goal of the day will be to "Finish Happy"

We know so many people doing this race, and it's right in our backyard. I'm checking my ego at the door and will be enjoying the day, hopefully with a smile on my face for most of it.

And it's not like I'm not training at all. I'm still averaging 8-10 hours a week, and this is doable for me and it's what I like. That was the other thing - I don't actually like training for the long stuff. I'm much happier training short and hard and doing sprint tri's. All out and you're done in a little over an hour. Perfect.

So hopefully I get through the 70.3 unscathed and get back to racing sprints. Or maybe I'll just run. I love running and there is always this desire to just focus on running for awhile and see if I can lower my adult PR's on the roads. Who knows. At this rate I'll change my mind again in a few weeks.