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No calendar entries

My cell phone is a "smart phone" -- not as dorky as a Treo or a Crackberry, but just slightly short of that level of geekitude. I sync it wirelessly with my computer's calendar software, which sends happy shivers up and down my spine. For the last few months, 99% of the events in my personal calendar have been workouts. Yeah, I put my training schedule into iCal. What better way is there to remind myself exactly what I'm supposed to do every day?

The problem is, my training schedule has ended. My coach gave me a couple of recovery workouts -- just a couple. The display on my phone now reads "No calendar entries." I find that DEPRESSO, folks. And not just because I have no social life. (Don't worry, Sara, I put tomorrow's dinner plans on the calendar -- not because I thought I'd forget, but just so I'd have SOMETHING ON THE CALENDAR.) During training I found it hugely motivating to finish the day's training (say, a 2000m swim and 90-minute run) and then click forward a day to see what was coming up next (a 3-hour ride). I'm sure some of you have your own geeky tools that motivate you to do what you have to do.

In the 8 days since Ironman Wisconsin, I have been like a junkie coming off the best high ever. I've had many elated moments, but I've also spent a lot of time thinking about how sad I am that it's all over. The entire long weekend gave me a huge rush, and that's a hard thing to come down from. All summer long, I was so motivated to do my training, I felt like a rock star every time I checked a workout off the list. Seeing "No calendar entries" is just another reminder that the party has ended.

It's not all bad. I am happy that I can sleep in again. And my body needs rest and recovery. I need to do some workouts just for the love of moving. I did my first post-IM run today, and felt pretty OK. Not great, but all the joints were working as expected. (My feet still hurt.)

But like any good junkie, I am looking for my next quick fix. I've been scanning the pages of Marathon Guide to see if I can squeeze in a marathon before the end of the year. Because then I could load up another training plan into my calendar. And once again look to my phone for the structure that I clearly need to make my life complete.

September 18, 2006 9:43 PM