There are a number of reasons why it can be difficult to live up to high expectations for oneself at an Ironman race and one of the main ones is that life gets in your way. My life has been living proof of that over the past few months, hence the lack of updates and lack of dedicated training like I had mapped out at the beginning of the season. Triathlon is my hobby, not my life and certainly not my profession. I enjoy the influence it has on my life, but at times I need to control that influence before it controls me.

I would not want to trade what has happened to me recently for anything. On May 6th I found myself at Timberline Lodge on the shoulder of Mt. Hood with one knee in the snow proposing to Erica. Her answer, yes, has done more to change my life recently than anything else. It immediately lead to one of the more anxious moments of my life as I ask her father for his blessing, after waiting a number of hours so we would not wake him in the middle of the night in Australia. (He was great and very supportive, by the way.) But this new engagement also spawned a move to Corvallis (about 90 miles away) where we are currently looking for a house (another stress unto itself). Work was very supportive in allowing me to work 50% of my time in Corvallis and 50% in the Portland office. Then the engagement also created a new impetus for me to join Erica on a trip to Australia to meet the family for a large family reunion.

The two weeks that were planned for this trip coincided with the time I was originally planning a major build in my training volume, but the opportunity to accompany the woman I love to her homeland to meet her family was a quick reminder about priorities. As it turned out the family did not tie me up and throw me in the corner of a barn (so I guess I am ok), we saw some amazing country, and I gained about 10 pounds eating mud pies, chocolate, and beer…but again, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Jet-lagged (and yes, I learned the true meaning of this word which I had never really experienced in full effect despite previous trips to Europe) and a bit more portly, we competed in the Vineman Half Ironman in Santa Rosa, CA the weekend after landing in Portland on a Wednesday. I had a decent swim (just under my goal time of 30 minutes), I felt great on the bike and despite holding myself back came in under 2 hours and 30 minutes for an average speed of 23mph. Then came the run. If you have read other entries or followed this Quest for Kona saga you will know that the run is currently the big concern. Though I have run an off-the-bike half marathon (pre-accident) in 1 hour and 30 minutes, I was thinking that if I finished around 1 hour and 45 minutes that I would stand a good chance in Canada. Unfortunately I was a few minutes slower than that and not feeling like I could double the distance. I have since had a few solid weeks of training and am back feeling confident that I have an outside chance to qualify.

I now have most of the things I own in storage, a few things in the space Erica nicely cleared out for me in her small apartment, and a few more things in a buddy's spare room in Portland. My leg, however, feels much better thanks to the workings of Dr. Whittaker, and I have put in the training that matters for the big race on August 27. The next updates will come from Penticton.