7 weeks, 5 weddings, 1 Ironman

When I decided to take 2011 off from IM training I did so for a few reasons. First, I wanted to have a season to train and race without the pressure of an IM looming over my head. I also felt that I could gain valuable experience by spending more time training and learning about the sport then have my attention at IM prep. But mostly, I decided not to race to enjoy another summer with a lesser time commitment to triathlon as a whole. I promised that I would return in 2012 and devote my summer once again to IM training. This was the plan from the get-go and I never really wanted to take a second summer off. Then something happened...

...my friends decided now is the time to get married along with my sister. Being close to all these friends of mine, and of course my sister as well I was now facing a big conundrum. Race day for IMWI is September 9th, 13 days before that I will be supporting Kate as she is the maid-of-honor in her friends wedding, and 6 days before that I will be standing up in my sisters wedding too. But that is not all of them yet!

July 28th Aaron/Katie's wedding (Madison)
August 4th Matts wedding/Patty's wedding too (Milwakee area)
August 12th Rev 3 Dells Half/Olympic
August 19th Sisters wedding (Madison)
August 26th Kate's maid-of-honor (Somewhere)
September 9th IMWI

I knew of two of these weddings before IMWI registration, but now my calendar is now quickly filling up. On the positive side here I do not think anyone else is in-line to get married this summer, but you never know with my friends. Still with that said the final 7 weeks going into IMWI have become extremely chaotic. Luckily all of these weddings are located here in Wisconsin so travel will be minimal (though I am skipping the Jamaica wedding). On the downside (not really) all of these weddings are slated to have one freakin' huge party after another. Drinking and training do not mix for me, the mornings after are always harsh for me, it might come down to the old college workout, and sweat out the alcohol the following morning. My only other worry is time and recovery, which being in my high volume training phase at that point is crucial. This is also another reason why I have sought out coaching for 2012. Usually with commitments known well ahead of time and I fail to plan my training accordingly, that should not be a problem this year and something that I will not need to stress over.

The thought of me missing any one of these weddings is out of the question. I know sometimes triathletes put their training ahead of other activities, but I only see my friends tie the knot once (fingers crossed) so I do not want to miss out. Ironman's can come and go and I am not going for a Kona slot this year, so I figure that I can afford to party it up through my biggest training block.

Good thing I do not wear compression socks!

Ben