Absent

I know I've been absent from blogging. Let's catch up.

Work is busy and I'm stressed. We won a big account that we never expected to win. I was part of the selling team in an effort to get my feet wet with selling. Now that we've unexpectedly won it, my assembled team has to convert the valuations from 2007 before we can hit the ground running at the end of the month on their disclosure accounting. I know, actuarial jargon to you, but suffice it to say that it is a ton of work to do in a little time. We don't want to fall on our face in our first big assignment with them - at least the client contacts are all nice. Of course, I still have 7 other clients to worry about as well.

But, today, Matt and I are off work to go on our annual Christmas shopping trip. We create a list of people/presents then strategically plan where to get each in the most efficient manner possible. If all goes well, we'll be done shopping by the end of the day.

For the first time in years, I have absolutely no race goals for the upcoming year. It is liberating, yet scary all at the same time. Don't worry though. I'm still training 8-10 hours a week.

What motivates me to keep training must be a question in your mind. Well, there are three things:

First, I signed up for a triathlon swimming class from one of the best triathlon swimmers in the area. We meet every other weekend and have assigned workouts in-between training sessions. Rob is teaching me brand new stroke mechanics and my stroke is already radically different from just a month ago. Radically in a good way too. I'm still not a speedster, but I've dropped a couple seconds off each 50. I hope to go sub 2 minutes regularly on a 100 yard swim set soon.

Second, I am participating in the Virtual Triathlon Camp hosted by our triathlon club. It is boys versus girls, so I don't want to let the gals down.

Third, 2 of my buddies are training for races and I like to keep them company as much as possible. Suzi is training for her first half-marathon since having a baby in May. She's getting her speed back quickly and hopefully, will be rivaling her times from before getting pregnant. Sam is training for Ironman Lake Placid. I'm reliving my training through her. She's so tired and sore all the time, but keeps at it like a good trooper.

Well, I better get to the Giftmas shopping trip. Hope all are well and the off-season (on-season for you Kiwi readers) is going swimmingly.