Back to the grind (and back to the blog!)

So, I'm taking a hint from Jessie's blog that shorter can be better. Her blog, Follow Me To France is a blog about her preparation for her English Channel swim in July 2007. She's done such an awesome job already, and it's shown me that one doesn't always need to include every detail to have an exciting entry. That's always my biggest downfall as a writer - I LOVE the details! Will do my best, though.

I'm reading The Triathlete's Training Bible right now in an effort to train more properly; that is, really focus on periodization (slowly increasing duration and effort over a period of time and then easing up for a week to allow my body to build strength and recover) and not overtraining. Also, I'm trying to focus on really having a method this year.

Why the sudden motivation? Well, for one, I have a couple of teammates who have really put a lot of faith in my abilities and seem to think that I can qualify for the Clearwater 70.3 Championships in Clearwater, FL in November. This is particularly motivating for me...I never seem to be as confident in my abilities as other people are. The second thing is that I was chosen to be part of a sponsored team this year! Team Aquaphor Active.com reviewed my application and apparently thinks I'm worthy of being part of their team. I'd like to show them they've made a good choice.

So far, the schedule is:
May 6, 2007: Wildflower Olympic Distance
June 3, 2007: Tour de Tahoe 72 mile ride
? June 10, 2007: Baja 70.3 in Baja, Mexico?
? July 8, 2007: Lake Stevens 70.3 race in Lake Stevens, WA
July 22, 2007: Vineman 70.3 in Santa Rosa, CA
August 25, 2007: Santa Barbara Long Course Triathlon in Santa Barbara, CA
? November 10, 2007: Clearwater 70.3 Championships...?

Phew. Time to get crackin'! Been working on my swimming more, but really felt like I was running slowly on Sunday morning. That said, I kept my heartrate low, so I suppose it was to be expected. Am trying to get onto a regular schedule as I try to plow through this book as fast as possible so that I can create a proper schedule. So many things to think about! Weight lifting, stretching, not going too hard too soon...sometimes I find it a challenge just to stay on top of all of this AND everything else I have going on. It's a good challenge, though, and I enjoy the process of it.