And, I end the week off with a 90 minute bike ride this morning. I have managed to get two outdoor rides in this week, which is the first time all year... The weather is finally starting to cooperate.
I am working to eliminate the starter phrase of "I have to..." when I refer to training (e.g. "I have to do a run today"). Truth be told, I don't "have to" do any of this. Any time I do a workout it is not a matter of obligation, but of choice.

Ah, it's April. Less than 5 months until the Ironman and just over 2 months until the Half Ironman in Victoria. Strangely enough I feel as though everything is going along smoothly. Maybe it is the fact that I have done this all before, but I am remarkably at peace with it all. I work hard when I need to train hard, and I think that fact has made the rest of my life more balanced. I don't worry about training anymore. I really have to say that having a good coach has made that part easy. I don't have to think about what training I need to do. I just take the schedule and do the workout he suggests at the intensity he suggests. Seriously, it is nice to have somebody else make the decisions.

I am an active participant, mind you, in this. I tell him how the training is going or feeling, and give him feedback in heart rate readings, speed, etc. but then it's up to him to tailor the schedule to my responses. Quite liberating, really. And the great thing is that when I have my days off, which I do tomorrow, I don't have to fret about whether I should be doing something else.

Still looking for that new bike, though.........