The Tongyoung race, which I won last year, was on TV, briefly, last night. Fortunately I had a party and some nice company over the weekend, otherwise I might have felt disappointed.
I feel as though, having gotten ill, and being unable to train, I have fallen behind everyone else. I've heard that almost none of the people I went with last year went this year. I have a good excuse, that I was sick. I wonder what theirs is?
Another guy that I introduced to triathlon is still in New Zealand (and has been since September 2004), and is training there, in winter, for the Korea Ironman. It amuses me how someone who was such a pennypincher has, since he started triathlon, allocated huge amounts of time/energy and money to this sport. It is a sport that really attracts the compulsive obsessive athlete. Now though (when one is in one's 30's) is not a good time to be committing too much time and money on, well, fun.
Triathlon and Ironman in particular, require obscene amounts of discipline. One of the tricks is also knowing when to stop, including, when to stop only training and get back to work. It's a similar paradoxical philosophy to the one high altitude climbers face. Sometimes the only alternative (for survival) is to forget about reaching the peak, turn around, go down (instead of what may seem just a short distance to the top)and live to climb another day. To continue to pursue resource-needy sports like triathlon, to the ultimate level, does not end in death, but might end in bankruptcy!
Some teachers in Korea spend what seems like obscene amounts on entertainments, especially alchohol. Sport may be a healthier alternative, but it can easily be ludicrously more expensive.
Raynard said how hard it was to train for Hawaii in South Africa, and last year trained in Hawaii for a few weeks and in Austria before that, and he ended up coming in 10th in the world. The reality is that you can't train for an Ironman, and expect to do well, if you're gonna spend any length of that training in a different hemisphere. I feel like I have avoided the downtime that is associated with leaving Korea, by getting out, and coming back, and getting a job that suits me well, quite quickly.
I'm lucky to have a good salary, good hours, good colleagues and nice living arrangement. Work, at the moment, takes priority over the other stuff (especially having just committed 3 months (at least 5 million Won in salary)to South Africa when I pursued the Ironman there.
I have my eye on only 3 triathlons this year. Sokcho, Cheolwon and Laguna Phuket. I'll be happy with 2 out of 3 as well. I'd really like to do well in Cheolwon, I've looked strong for two thirds of the race in both races I've done, then faded. I'd like a different result this year, but having been sick, I'm not confident at the moment I'll be in a position to race any better this year.
The prognosis at the moment is slightly hopeful. I am still weak and a green gloop factory, but I am around the corner and feeling stronger and more energetic every day. Sometime this week I see myself on the run again. And that's a lovely feeling. I feel like I have been stuck with bugs and infections for ages. To actually get out there again, in the green and warm, is going to be awesome.
I'd like to gradually build up my running though, and concentrate on that. It's possible I'll get out of here in November (after 6 months) to dedicate a few months to the next SA Ironman. Priorities may change in the interim, I mean, I feel that year end bonus is just too good to pass up. 6 months though seems like a possible target too though. So what will I do? Who knows?
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