So what do I now?

I have finally accepted that I cannot enter another triathlon this year. The next one is set for October 12 in AAV but it is a real sprint. I am not geared up for it at this point. I can do a decent 1k swim in 32 minutes and finish a 7k run, but no way can bike 30K in about an hour with my current mountain bike and pedalling rate. I have been inspecting road bikes in several stores in the metropolis, but that is all I can do for now. I have just purchased a show dog and need to save up for a new bike. I have to read further on bike types and make sure that whatever bike I will buy will not end up in storage after a few months.

I have resigned myself to running in the 2008 Adidas King of the Road race. I think I have run this years ago and I still have the red singlet as souvenir. Since I ballooned to 200lbs I had opted to tuck away this singlet to avoid offending other people's sensilibilities. I heard this year's singlet is nice. Thank God I can now fit into a large size. In a few months' time I hope to slid back to my natural medium size.

For my previous road races I have always aimed to simply finish. I get a deep sense of self-pride and accomplishment from finishing initially the 5K, then the 10K, the 16K and eventually the 25K. I was average in the 5K and 10K categories and far from the last runner in the 16K, but I always end up in the tail-end for the two 25K New Balance runs I did. Yes I finished running the 25K but it always came at the price of cramps and egos deflated from organizers running out of water and pulling out all the street barricades as the alloted time came to end. It was not a good feeling, and it took away a lot from the personal euphoria I was supposed to enjoy for having conquered what seemed to be an impossible distance for a person of my weight.

For the Adidas run, I opted to do the 10K. This will just be the second road race for me in at least 3 years. I did the 5K about 3 months back. I used to have a personal best of 1:15 for the 10K. For this race, I simply want to improve my time. I want to prove to myself that not only can I finish something, I can also race well. By sheer will I conquered the 5K, 10K, 16K and 25K. By the same will I will improve my running pace and time. My current training reflects that philosophy. Instead of aiming for finishing a specific distance, I am concentrating on elevating my average speed. I am working on developing longer strides. This is a major challenge for me in view of my weight. I am glad I have shed the initial 15 lbs and now tip the scale at 190 lbs. The weight loss improved considerably my ability to take longer strides and set quicker pace without causing debilitating stress on my heels and knees. I hope I can shed 10 lbs more before the Adidas race. So help me God.