I have great hopes for this blog. I want it to be a place where people come to get all of their most embarrassing triathlon training questions answered without having to ask, where people are inspired to compete in their first triathlon or increase their race distance. I want to bring more fun to the sport and break through the type-A, too-serious, gear-obsessed attitudes that can make this sport intimidating to many. And as part of that goal, I threw myself into training for a half ironman with the thought of sharing all the things I would learn along the journey.

Alas, life got in the way. My journey started in April. It’s now August. And I haven’t posted a darn thing.

The whole training and working and chores and having some semblance of a life takes WAY more time than you’d think. I’ve had too many days where I just wanted to turn my phone off, curl up on the couch and become a Netflix binging zombie because I couldn’t deal with any more things, or demands, or people, or people demanding things. I succumbed more than once. I’m not proud of it. But I sure enjoyed it.

Life has also thrown some curveballs my way. I had to unexpectedly put a dog down when he became partially paralyzed. That came out of nowhere, and it was real rough. My 91 year old grandmother passed away. That didn’t come out of nowhere, but even when expected, you’re still not prepared. And as all of this is snowballing, my husband and I made the decision to put our house on the market after he deploys- requiring yours truly to handle a full kitchen renovation and sale-prep activities by myself. I am a person who is motivated by stress, but a person can only take so much.

And then there’s the motivation factor. After you spend 2+ hours a day training for a triathlon, then explain to your family and friends and coworkers what a triathlon is and why you’re doing a triathlon, and then spend the rest of your time prepping for the next day’s triathlon activities, opening up your computer to write about triathlon feels like mindnumbing, self-serving overkill. Even I start to get a little sick of swimming, biking, and running.

Here’s the good news. Training is going really well. I’m starting to feel confident that I will complete the distance and finish in the time allowed. I have learned an absolute ton and I have a whole folder of post topics just waiting to be written. I have several very embarrassing stories that I will share in full detail (lucky you!). And I left my full-time job with a dual purpose- to work for myself helping small businesses manage their projects and communications more efficiently, and to spend more time here, on this passion of mine.

So this time really, look for lots more to come. I promise it won’t be so long again.