Winter makes me SAD and lazy.

Jessi was speaking with a friend last night, and apparently the conversation turned to trying to figure out the motivation behind some of my more curious behaviors (the outcome of which is never really good, but that is what counselor types do). Apparently the subject last night was my endurance type events. When we found out Jessi was pregnant with Bryce, I was training for a half-marathon. When Bryce was born, I was training for a sprint triathlon. And now, when we found out about #2, I am in training for a half-iron distance triathlon. First of all, let me say that I am not nearly as complex or complicated as Jessi and her friends give me credit for being. But, in an effort to hopefully satisfy them, and maybe even clarify the purpose of this for myself, I thought I would write down a few of the reasons I am doing what I'm doing.

1. I really hate wintertime. Not necessarily because of the cold weather, which I can handle, but the short days really get to me. I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. My energy level drops and I am not very fun to be around. The two things that I have found to really help this are good diet and exercise. Unfortunately, I have never been able to keep up an exercise schedule just for the sake of exercise, and I have a well known tendency to overdo things. But the extra motivation that comes with being "registered" for something that I am currently unable to do really helps me stay focused (and/or slightly panicked) and helps get me through the winter. It makes the short days easier on both myself and everyone that has to be around me.

2. I think family does have something to do with it. I never really understood how it could happen, but something about knowing that you are about to become a father really makes you think differently about things. It made me think so differently that I signed up for a half marathon without being in shape at all. That may have been a bit of a knee-jerk reaction, but I think it is important to set a good example for the kiddos. I don't want laziness to creep in and infect them while they are young. My dad always ran when I was growing up, it didn't necessarily make me want to run then, but maybe it has something to do with the way I am now (hopefully not too much to do with it). I do want to stick around and take care of my peoples as long as possible, and maybe this exercise thing will be just enough to overcome some of the less beneficial habits that we all know I possess.

3. It gives me time to decompress. My job is a hard one to turn off after leaving the office. When I go home, I have a tendency to sit around and think either about what I did that day or what I have to do the next. Changing clothes and going running for an hour really helps me shift out of work mode and get a little better perspective on life.

4. It is just always fun to sign up for something I am obviously unable to do, and then figure out a way to make it happen. Actually, a perfect example of this is the time I registered for my first triathlon -- I didn't even own a bike. Everyone needs to push themselves every now and then. Sometimes you will really be surprised at what you can accomplish. All you have to do it tell your friends you are going to do something, and make sure they give you hell until you actually do it. If you have surrounded yourself with the right friends, there is absolutely no backing out.

*** Last night (2/19) -- I ran 5.1 miles in 44.01 minutes starting around 6:45. Today is an off day. My training schedule has all Fridays scheduled as "off days", but I never actually get to enjoy them because I have swimming on Fridays. Swimming has been cancelled this morning and all next week (pool maintenance), which is perfect because next week is a scheduled recovery week anyway (every fourth week in my plan includes a reduction in training to help prevent injury and exhaustion).

This weekend, I have a scheduled 80 minute run on Saturday morning and a 45 mile bike ride on Sunday. I'll try and check in after each of those.

Later.