Soon, the real challenge begins

If you're married and/or have kids you know that finding the time for training can be difficult. At any given time there are activities, classes and carpools all layered with anything related to life or your wife (mine teaches after-school art classes, volunteers, etc)...so needless to say, planning a training schedule each week has been a constant in my life for some time. You might say it's like working out a T1 plan for the family...ha!

I bring this up because as challenging as it can be sometimes to make time for all the things in your life as well as this little thing called an Ironman, you make it work. We don't have the option to just train all day at the expense of our sponsors, so we make do and do what we can.

This mindset is important because I realized this morning that June is basically here - and that means my training schedule just got a bit more interesting. Let me tell you why -

1. We leave for Disneyland on June 8 through June 10 (we won the trip, imagine that). Three days and two nights of magical bliss with my wife, her sister and child along with their mother and my own 2 kids. Happiest place on earth? That depends on how well the mini bar is stocked...
2. June 21st we fly to Rapid City, SD. We'll be staying for about 2.5 weeks until...
3. July 5th, we drive from Rapid City to Minot, ND to visit my family for a couple weeks.
4. July 18th, we drive from Minot, ND to Cour d'Alane, ID for my family's grand reunion that starts on July 21 through July 24.

I'm exhausted just writing it all down.

First, the good news - I'm taking my bike and every piece of gear I own so that training does not fall behind. I'm looking forward to the scenery of western South Dakota and getting in some rides with my old college buddy. It will be slightly more challenging to find interesting scenery in North Dakota, but at least it won't be as hot!

So what's the big deal you might ask? I have no doubt that I'll get in some workouts - it's not the frequency, it's the quality. I have yet to figure out when and how often I'll be able to do long rides or bricks. Slogging to the local YMCA for swims  We're talking about small towns with fewer resources than Phoenix metro...compound that with the likely diet that comes along with being away from home. Let's just say I can already see the dietary temptations that lie before me - something I must resist and conquer.

Lake Stevens 70.3 is August 15 - just enough time to get back from travelling, bust out one last brick and then taper. It will take every ounce of strength and mental fortitude to stay on track - making time to train and eat right. The workouts themselves will be the easy part.