Iroman Canada Registration Fee … Buh-Bye.

My training has been sparse as of late, as I just seem to be lacking the motivation to run in the freezing cold. I didn’t used to be this way, I promise. I used to run right through the winter. At night, solo, around a big dark lake. I trained for a marathon right through the winter just last year.

This year, however, I have grown accustomed to my living room, letting babies crawl all over me by the warmth of our indoor heating. I registered for the White Lake 1/2 Ironman, but I think I’m skipping it. I think Ironman Florida, a late Ironman held in November, has done a whammy on my motivation this year. I am still going to race, but it will be sporadic and only when I feel like it. I have done two Ironmans in two years. I have also done three standalone marathons, five 1/2 Ironmans and many international and sprint distance races over the past four years.

A break from “racing” will be good for me, and it will allow me to train more with kettlebells, my absolute favorite training tool. I might even try to become RKC Certified. I’m sure it will be difficult, you have to snatch a certain amount of reps for time based on your weight, along with other brutal punishment. I have heard great things about what great people the RKC folks are, so I look forward to learning all I can from them.

I really think functional training is important for anyone who is looking to extend their ability to “race” well into their 60s and beyond, and I think using kettlebells is a great way to do this. Bodybuilding, or what most people call strength training, is not helping anyone, and it seems to me a lot of new triathletes, especially those who have lifted in the past, are now really doing all the wrong things. Seeing a line of guys doing curls and benching seems the silliest thing to me.

Kettlebells will make your core ridiculously strong, hamstrings, quads, glutes, back, arms, shoulders. The entire posterior chain is worked with the swing. It sounds ridiculous but I can tell you from just the tiny amount of training with kettlebells I have done, I’m leaner and stronger than I’ve ever been, and I used to be a body-building guy, too.

At any rate, triathlon is still my passion so I’m sure I’ll do a few races this season. My ultimate goal for this year, and I have no idea of whether it’s realistic, is to try and qualify for Boston at the San Antonio Marathon in November. My wife has family there, so the race would be kind of a family vacation wrapped into one. I will need a 3:15 to qualify as a 39-year-old. A more realistic goal would probably be to wait until I’m 40 this coming November. Then the qualifying time drops to 3:20. Realistic goals are no fun, however, so that’s the plan as of now.

I’m still planning to do some long rides and perhaps some fast ones during the week. I’m also going to run, a lot. I hope not swimming and cycling sporadically will open up some time for me to train with kettlebells as well as yoga. We shall see. Tops on my list is being a good husband and father. Next is progressing on my freelance consulting business. Next is this blog. Next is Boston and RKC. Triathlon and racing are next, so do not laugh as you pass me on the bike.

Our local training group, the Growling Geckos, have a our annual showdown at the Triangle Triathlon in July, so I will definitely do that one, along with a few more. Ironman Canada is out for now I’m afraid. I kind of panicked when I signed up in the first place, not realized how far away it was and how much it would cost to go, stay, race, etc. I also know much of a commitment Ironman training is, and how much it takes me away from home. With 23-month-old children who are just learning to talk and who are doing new things each day, it’s hard for me to be away for a minute.

Missing one of the twins say something or do something new because I’m out on a six hour ride is too much to bear for this guy at this point. The cost of getting to Canada, much less racing in the NCTS, is also bit prohibitive for the Cornwright clan at this point. We are making our ends almost meet, but they ain’t meeting just yet, so racing is far down on the priority list.

I am still very excited about providing some articles and making this blog a good of a resource for new triathletes as possible. I will also be posting my training and random thoughts on triathlon, endurance training, and my progress on a BQ in October. Possible RKC certification is something I’m definitely excited about, so I will post some of the training I’m doing with that here, too.

I’m meeting with a ocal RKC guy, Tim Anderson, on Monday, so I’ll let you know how that goes. He has a garage gym and he’s going to give me a session to see where I’m at. I’m hoping my form in the swing and the snatch is decent, but I have a feeling Mr. Anderson will have a few things to say about that. Stay tuned!