Anniversary, Wonderful People, Rambling

When I registered for the Naperville Women's Sprint Triathlon (on 6/25), the registration form asked how many triathlons I have done. I guessed 45, but this morning I added them up, and it's 50! Ironman Brazil was #50. That was some way to celebrate a milestone! And this year I turn 50 in October!

Yesterday while swimming, someone I know at the Y (because we tend to swim at the same time of day) told me she thinks someone should throw me a huge party because I am so inspirational. Did I get choked up or what? I am just doing things that I like to do and seeing where they take me. This same woman told me a week ago after I told her all the things I faced in Ironman Brazil that I am like Michael Jordan--I guess a reference to a few games he played while really under the weather. I don't go around bragging to people about what I do, but there are a few at my Y who I chat with regularly and let them know what's up. I've decided I need to ask this woman if she'd like to have lunch or something together. She's the sweetest thing, and I can remember maybe 2-3 years ago that I had a slight "to do" with her at the pool, but truly we have mutual respect for one another. She is not that great of a swimmer (well, neither am I), but she's there doing it, and so I give her credit. Once or twice I've given her small bits of advice on her swimming, and she has really improved.

I literally ran into the director of the Y on my way home from a short run on Monday. She asked about my race and I told her about it and I began to cry when I mentioned that my mom had passed away just a month before the race. I was absolutely un-self-conscious crying on the sidewalk. She then told me the Y was going to put up a board with stories about athletes who belong there, and told me I should write something. I think it was my idea to do this--I spent about :30 one day chatting with someone at the front desk about how there are some really good athletes (truly, I wasn't asking for my own name in lights) that work out at the Y, and there should be a board where people can post stuff about their training and racing or whatever. There are a lot of college students who run track, swim, etc., and also a fair number of adults who do various things. It's always fun to know who's in your back yard!

Today, I received an email from someone I can't really say that I know that I'm not sure how she found my blog, but the purpose of the email was to give me a hug! Man, I needed that! I am still grieving for my mom and experiencing a bit of an internal struggle in seeking to gain more self-awareness, but there's never a bad time for a virtual hug!

This morning I dropped my car off for a brake job and ran home. It was a short, :25 run, and I totally enjoyed it. Running as transportation. Later I will probably ride my bike to pick up my car. It's high summer, and while I loathe swimming in an indoor pool, running and biking outdoors are truly joyous occasions. It is feeling less like "work" and more like "fun" every day that it's nice outside. What a contrast from all the time I spent this winter and spring riding on the trainer or riding outdoors in crappy weather, and running on the treadmill. I really believe I experience Seasonal Affective Disorder. My mood is much better the more time I spend outdoors.

Oh well, I'll be outdoors for a LONG time on Saturday, and it's going to be HOT, HOT, HOT! 125 miles worth of heat! But you know what? It will be FUN!

Which Way You Going?

That is the question. For now, I am going to lay low, not really train (at least I won't have some grandiose plan), see how I feel, do some stuff or not do some stuff, and along the way figure out whether I want to do Ironman Florida.

My body needs a break from heavy, focused training. 6 years straight of this stuff is a long time to keep at it without a significant break. Coincidentally, this approach comes highly recommended here.

I can tell you that it's a heady sensation to see yourself improve over the years, to see the caliber of training that you can manage and hopefully absorb and reap some rewards in races. On the other hand, at what cost? I may or may not have paid a huge price for following this passion. I know that it has taught me incredible things about my mind and body--how to care for them, how to just observe them. At times, I refer to myself as a "machine." Is that what I have become? Not really. A machine doesn't question what it does. It just keeps doing. But sometimes I think I am doing too much "doing." And not enough "being."

It is going to be difficult for me initially to fly without a plan. And that's precisely why I need to do it. Because it WILL be hard. It WILL be different from my usual modus operandi. For example, on Sunday I had wanted to get in a 4-hour ride to feel better prepared for this weekend's Horribly Hilly ride. But when I woke up, my body was telling me I needed to rest. And rest I did. I did pretty much nothing all day but read the Sunday paper, some light household organization and laying around. But I did come to a decision, which is that I am not going to Ironman CDA to spectate. It would have been nice--I really wanted to cheer Shelley in person; but I am going away this weekend, and 2 weekends in a row is too much stress for me right now. Not to mention I have no burning desire to get on an airplane so soon after suffering with travel-induced illness from Brazil.

Last night I thought, hmmm.....I'm not going to CDA, so let's see if there are other things I can do that weekend. There's a 2-mile open water swim race on Saturday, and OMG, there's a women's only sprint triathlon on Sunday that is still open for registration. I think I want to do both. I registered for the sprint. But then this morning, as soon as I woke up, I decided there is no need for me to do the 2-mile swim. For one thing, I'd need to be up at 4AM so I could drive 40 miles to this stinky little lake. For another thing, it would be better for me to get in a 3-4 hour ride that day, and I'll also need to register for the sprint. So less is more. A sprint will be fun, short, and hey, my registration fee goes towards a good cause--ovarian cancer research. I've never done an all women's race, so that should be fun, too. I've raced this course before 2 years ago and easily won my age group, but I am not going to worry about that. I am going to go have fun with my disk wheel. Bonus, the race is like 10 miles from home.

Then, in another 2 weeks I'm doing another sprint. It was my first ever sprint triathlon, and it features a pool swim (no chance of jellyfish or face kicks as it's a seeded start, and I don't swim that fast anyway), a flat-as-a-pancake bike, and a flat run. Again, the objective is to have fun. This race is less than 20 miles from home.

2 weeks after that I have a 1/2 Ironman. It will be fun to see how I can do with very little training!

I know it sounds like I have a lot of stuff planned, but the point is that how I get from A to B is unknown. And then if the urge for hard, focused training strikes, I know that I can fire that up in August if I feel like it. If not, well, I already have an Ironman under my belt, and it's not like I need to prove I know how to do them.

This is going to be an interesting adventure. Stay tuned if you like!