I Haven't Quit Yet!

Day 3 of training is in the books and all is right with the world. Well, maybe not all, but in my little vacuum of existence things are copacetic I guess. The workouts have been manageable and not too strenuous - 2 swims, 2 bikes and 1 run. The hardest thing right now is getting to bed at a decent hour because the alarm clock is going off at an uncommon early hour! I need to get a little better about that so I'm not yawning in the pool when I need to be inhaling. That could make for an interesting workout.
This beginning stretch is considered "orientation" by the schedule's definition, but it's a little more involved than that. There are 18 straight days of workouts before the first rest day, another 20 straight after that and then 1 rest day per week from there on out. I haven't worked out like that since organized high school sports I think and even then those seasons weren't 36 weeks long! But, I guess, those games I was prepping for weren't 14-17 hours long either.
It actually feels good to be starting this. Leading up to Monday I was still working out semi-regularly, but I felt kind of lost, just going through the motions and going to the gym just to get my insurance discount. Starting an organized, detailed regiment is what I needed. Whether or not I still like it 20, 30 weeks from now might be a different story, but I'm going to do my damnedest to follow it. I figure the author of the plan knows a hell of a lot more about this Ironman thing than I do so I better not tweak things too much.
Getting a bike trainer and being able to do my bike workouts at home has been awesome! It was nice waking up yesterday morning and not having to worry about getting bundled up to head to the gym to do my ride. I just slapped on some shorts, walked downstairs and started riding. I didn't have to bother brushing my teeth until I was done. Tonight I was able to come home, prep dinner, get it in the oven for an hour (stuffed bell peppers, they were delish!) and by the time I was done riding, dinner was ready. Perfect!
Occasionally I find myself thinking about what Sept. 11th will be like. Having been there the past 3 years spectating, I'll picture the course, but this time I'll superimpose myself onto it rather than being on the sidewalk. I get goosebumps and nervous. What will the swim be like - as brutal as it looks? How long will it take before I'm not climbing over people, or more than likely, having people climb over me? I envision making that final turn, heading into shore and being ecstatic the swim portion is over. With all the other triathlons I've done I've always told myself that after the swim there's really no reason why I shouldn't finish. With swimming, if something goes wrong and you need assistance, your race is done. There's just something about being on terra firma that if something goes wrong during the race you at least have the option to keep moving forward somehow, especially during the run portion. I wonder what kind of run/marathon I'll have. I've done 12 marathons and I've never been able to run the entire distance without needing to walk. Can I realistically expect to run this next marathon after swimming and biking? Will this type of training be better for me so I can have a good marathon? Wouldn't it be something if I PRed the run? I don't think I'd sleep for days I'd be so happy!
But, I'm only in Day 3 and these are premature thoughts. There's a long road to hoe before I can consider any time goals. The alarm clock is still set for an early morning buzz so I'm going to heed my own advice and bid adieu.