bike wrench

At the beginning of the season I bought a beautiful teal 1988 Trek 1000 and have been riding the hell out of it. Unfortunately all that riding has come at a price, Ive ruined two rear wheels(rims) over the span of a few months.

I know I can tuck my tail and head back into the shop to have them lace me up a new wheel (they got me back on the road for a good price the first time) but I'd like to take a stab at building a wheel myself.

So my question, how hard is it to build a wheel?

• I've watched the park tools wheel building and truing videos and I'm sure they make it look easier than it really is.
• There's a few shops around me that do "open shop" hours a few times a week that i plan on taking advantage of if i actually do this.
• I also looked at just getting a new wheelset but then discovered the freewheel vs cassette change and the old hub width is the old 126mm standard and decided it might be easier if i just learned to lace a wheel and put a new rim on.

(I guess I'm actually just looking for some encouragement, tips)