Where did 2008 go?

One of the nuances of having a late season race is that it accelerates the year. My major goal for 2008 was Ironman Arizona, held on November 23 and my life revolved on preparing for that race and waiting for that date. Training in earnest started in April, 7 months out from race day. I hired a coach who provided weekly training workout schedules and race day seemed so far away. I competed in the Memphis in May Olympic distance (1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6.2 mile run)triathlon, my first tri since IM Florida in November, 2005 which gave me confidence that I still was capable of doing triathlons as well as made me realize the magnitude of an Ironman race and all the training that was still ahead of me. I signed up for a few more races as milestones including 2 OLY distance in July and September, and a Half IM distance in October to keep me focused on training and putting in the miles. Countdown continued in weeks: 7 weeks until the Disco Tri in July, 6 weeks until the September race, and 4 weeks until the October race. As all of this was happening, the training mileage on the bike and run was increasing which added a different dynamic to counting the time until the BIG race. My coach planned a few hundred plus mile rides and I was prepared for 8-10 century rides to show up on my schedule, but after the first 3 or so really long rides, I started looking at the weeks left in our training season and accelerating my brain to the time we could do shorter rides (and runs, for that matter). Time really accelerated after the Longhorn Half IM in Austin - 7 weeks until race day...YIKES! How did it go from 30 weeks until race day to only 7 weeks??? Part of me was ready for the race to be over because we would be done with the long bike rides and runs and swims. Another part of me was slightly panicking because I was not ready for another Ironman race. The next 7 weeks brought four more weeks of long mileage and 3 weeks of taper and I could not wait for the taper. Those 7 weeks flew by and race week was upon us. The days leading up to race day were a swirl of activity: packing for a race and a vacation to the Grand Canyon, driving to Arizona, packet pick-up, practice swims in the frigid water, running a few miles, and riding for 30 minutes to make sure we remembered how to do them all, and exploring Tempe, the host city. It was finally race day! How can 11 months go by in a blink of an eye and race day be here? I distinctly remember every moment of the 14 hours and 26 seconds I was on the course, but much of the rest of the year is a blur.

It has been 6 weeks from race day and I am amazed that so much time has already gone by, though with 2 major holidays, travel to Grand Canyon and Boston for vacation, it is somewhat understandable. My commitment for 2009 is to not wish away my year by focusing on future dates or milestone activities, rather I will strive to appreciate every day.