Well, if I was to answer the question posed by a recent post entitled ‘Mission Possible?’, that answer would need to be a definitive no! Long story short, I had not done nearly enough training, so the triathlon I started yesterday was much shorter than planned. I got a bit panicky in the swim (unusually), had to swim to the edge of the lake to a bit where I could stand up and just calm down for a few minutes. I swam on, but it wasn’t going well so I called it a day at the point where I’d reached the start of the swim, just before the course kicks back out again for another section of the course, so I stopped.

The swim was actually lovely (apart from the shallow breathing panicked bits!), so I’m glad I started the race. It was nice to feel a part of a big event again, and feel the buzz of excitement and anticipation. I really want to get back into triathlon because I used to love it. However, I just can’t make it a priority because I’ve got a lot of other stuff going on in life that takes up a lot of time, and those things take priority. That will change in a couple of years, but until then, realistically training for anything more than a sprint tri is going to be impossible. It’s supposed to be fun, otherwise what is the point? So I’ll stick to supporting for now, and look to do some short tri next year to bring the fun back. That takes the pressure off.

Aside from not finishing, I had a fabulous weekend with friends which is actually the most important bit of it all. We had a good laugh, and it was great to be able o then cheer on the others who battled through hellishly hot summer temps to get to the end.

So what next? I’m loving the yoga practice, so I’ll continue with that and get back to the gym and do the sessions I love, just for the sheer hell of it. I always thought I needed a big goal to motivate me, but in fact keeping it simple and doing exercise I enjoy for its own sake is motivation enough. I have an entry into a 24-hour running event in September that I’m hoping to transfer to a friend, so that covers that. I’ve still got a lot to keep me occupied, and that’s enough to keep me happy without being stressed about it 😀