Unraveling the Conundrum

Yesterday I answered the question that has been sitting on the edge of my consciousness since the Ashbury 5K. Am I a runner or am I a triathlete? The answer: I am a runner. Of course, I have a swimming and cycling addiction. For the last month, I have not gotten into the swimming pool and logged laps, I have not jumped on my bike or a trainer to grind out some miles, and through all of this I have been fine. Flashback to when I injured my knee. Not being able to run was driving me crazy, no amount of swimming or cycling made me feel better. On days where I need to release stress, clear my mind, or think things through I find my answers in running. In fact, my long run this weekend help me sort through my race schedule for next year.

I'm currently looking at following the FIRST training plan to race the Chicago Marathon, hoping to push myself closer to qualifying for Boston. On paper, the FIRST plan looks a lot like my training plan for Ironman Wisconsin in 2005. It calls for three days of running and 2 days of cross training. One minor difference is my triathlon training called 3 days of running and 3 days of cross training. A major difference is the three days of running need to be quality workouts (speedwork, tempo, and long distance). When I was training for Ironman, many of the days were there to log mile and make sure I had the endurance to finish a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run in under 17 hours, and in the process become an Ironman. In the past, I wanted to know how far I could go. Now, I want to test my limits and see how hard I can push. I'm sure I could race the Chicago Marathon ("A" priority race) and run Ironman Arizona ("B" priority race) six weeks later, but I don't want to run Ironman; I want to race Ironman. I also have no idea how my body is going to react to such demanding training. I'm currently running 5 days a week with some serious workouts and everything is looking good for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. Of course, the last time I was training this hard was in college and every year I wound up with some sort of overuse injury.

This year turned out to be a successful racing season after coming off of my injury. I would have never imagined that I would be running at the level that I have all year. Most of my running this year has been structured to achieve my goals (even if many of my races were added to my schedule 1-2 weeks before the race), but my triathlon training was haphazard. With all of this in mind I have decided not to race an Ironman distance race next year. The fire is still burning it has not been extinguished, but I think it would be better to have a season where my triathlon training is more structured before returning to Ironman.