What now?

It's now been just about a month since Steelhead and also about a month since my last post.  Womp, womp on the blogging front!  I guess when there isn't a massive goal looming overhead that requires the support of friends and family, it's easy to not update on training or anything that's going on.  Maybe the lack of a goal has been an issue.  Although I haven't just been lazing around, I haven't been training like I have been for the last six or eight months.  There's something about finishing your "A" race that makes you feel like you're DONE!  In fact, the Upcoming Event Countdown in the sidebar reads -25 days (I'll have to change that before I post this). But I don't want to be done, and so here's what is on the calendar.

Apple Cider Century-September 25
Jennifer and I signed up for this century ride that takes place in our back yard of Berrien County just in the last couple weeks, but we've "had it on the calendar" for quite a while now.  I rode my first century on May 22 with my buddy Josh.  You can read the post about how it went HERE.  Jennifer, however, has not ridden a century, so we're going to do it together.  It's happening in just a couple weeks on September 25, and we're both excited.  Jenn was cranking out the miles by herself while I was finishing up the training for Steelhead, but now that I'm done with that, we've been doing the riding together.  We actually went back to the Steelhead bike course and rode it just the next week after the race.  It was so much different just cruising through without trying to hit a certain goal.  More recently, we rode a route down into Indiana and back.  It didn't go too well for some reason.  Maybe it was hotter than usual, or maybe we were tired because it was in the afternoon.  Whatever it was, we bailed on the full 65 miles and only did 45.  This Sunday, we'll head out for a 75 mile ride with the hopes that it will give us the confidence that we can ride 100.  I'm secretly hoping that Kevin Neumann @ Ironmanbythirty.com and his wife Jennie @ Neumannnews will come and ride with us.

Atlanta Half Marathon-November 24
Two years ago, on Thanksgiving day in 2009, Jennifer and I ran our first half marathon together in Atlanta.  We were slow, but it was a blast!  After the blowup this year at the Holy Half (read about that terrible day here), we want some revenge.  Although I was a bit faster during the half marathon in my 70.3, it's time to go sub-2 hours!

Other Events
Over the winter and into next year, I want to become a better runner.  I feel like I can hold my own on the bike, but I get hammered on the run every time.  Considering this, I might just have to sign up for some miscellaneous races (5k's or 10k's) to see if I can work on speed.

With all these bloggers doing their first Ironmans this weekend, I've really been thinking about it.  Steelhead 70.3 was a blast.  I loved every minute of it, but I'm left with a feeling that there is more to accomplish.  Could it be that I will go for Iron in the next couple years?  I've been choking up on every race report like Luke Powells @ The Journey to T3, and I feel like 140.6 may be in the future.

Shout Out
I must give a quick shout out to Kevin Neumann, Matt and Heather Oravec. They all are doing their first Ironman this weekend.  Kevin's doing IM Wisconsin just a few hours west in Madison, WI, and Matt and Heather are doing Rev3 Cedar Point.  They've all been training so hard, and I can't wait to hear about their big days!  Jeff Irvin @ Dangle the Carrot will be racing the 70.3 at Cedar Point along with Mary @ Tri Like Mary who will be seeking revenge for the shortened Steelhead Race.  Mary, hopefully after this weekend, you'll be a REAL Half-Ironman!  Erika @ This Spartan Will is racing a sprint TODAY, so check out her race report here in a couple days.  I'm sure I forgot some people, so good luck to you as you race.  You all will do AWESOME!

Edit:  I forgot to include Kurt @ Becoming an Ironman who is racing the 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas on Sunday.  Go get 'em, Kurt!