Tag Archives: beginner triathlete

Things That I’d Forgotten About Triathlon Training

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“The path not taken will lead you nowhere.” -Me to Myself

I’m almost a month back into my training and today, after a painless 1200-meter swim last night at the Y, feel GREAT! Can I get an AMEN for heated pools? It just doesn’t seem right to walk out from a swim to a flurry of snowflakes. On March 5th. In the South. Mother Nature seems a bit addled. Bless her heart.

Now that, like Stella, I’ve gotten my groove back, there are a few things that I’d forgotten over the past four months that I would like to point out:

Number 1: The laundry. Training really adds to the laundry pile in a way that I had forgotten about. The workout clothes, the swimsuits, the towels, the bike shorts, the skanky socks. Bigger picture: So worth it. I don’t know if it’s the manual labor involved in laundering all of these items or the fact that I’m a month into training that has propelled my pants into a state of fitting better.

Number 2: Accountability. Being back with Coach Caroline has snapped me back to attention. There is a quote that I like by Pamela Theresa Loerstcher that promises a clarity and vision about life by simply knowing oneself. “Know thyself and all will be revealed,” she says. I have a long way to go in the journey of self-discovery, but I know myself well enough to confirm that having a coach and a training plan that requires me to log the details of my workouts is the level of accountability that I need to accomplish my triathlon goals. Bigger Picture: If asked, my recommendation will always be, especially for the newbie’s, to find a coach to work with one-on-one or with or one who offers a group-training program. So worth it!

Number 3: Small goals are ok. Last fall at my first meeting of the Nashville Triathlon Club as a board member, I remember distinctly feeling like an utter charlatan. The board members are all seasoned athletes with amazing race resumes. Then there’s me. At my first meeting I remember a discussion between some of the other members regarding the use of salt sticks in a long race. Thankfully the universe (God) slapped his hand over my mouth before I blurted out my first thought, “I love Pixie Stix!” Ugh.

I left the first meeting feeling like I really didn’t belong, but after some time and getting to know the other members a bit better, I was better able to remind myself that everyone was a beginner at one time or another. It’s ok if my first and second races of 2013 are super sprints. Who says I have to be an Ironman to call myself a triathlete? I understand that sentiment may induce palpitations in the purist heart, but my goals are steadily increasing and who knows what races I will be able to accomplish this year! Bigger Picture: For some people in the world, finding a place to sleep at night and food to eat are the goals of the day. Being able to afford the luxury of competing in an expensive, time-consuming sport is ultimately exactly what I characterized it as: a luxury.

Number 4: Man I forgot how an hour on the bike kills the sit bones. Ouch. Bigger Picture: My sore behind will look so much better in bike shorts because of my training.

Number 5: I still look like a swimmer in distress when attempting flip turns. Bigger Picture: I still look like a swimmer in distress when attempting flip turns.

Number 6: It’s not fun when the shower gel explodes in your gym bag. Bigger Picture: Not sure there is one, but if pressed, I would say it was a good and much-needed opportunity to clean and organize my gym bag.

Number 7: Nudity in the locker room will always and forever skeeve me out. Bigger Picture: None, zero, zilch, zip up your pants fellow YMCA members.

There are 18 days left until my first race of the year! I’m excited, motivated and missing the bottom half of my tri suit. Must find the missing pieces.

On a final note, I wanted to share an article that I found called “Tips For Getting Motivated to Run,” written by Christine Luff in the running and jogging section of About.com. The title suggests that this is about running, but insert whatever training goal is looming out in front of you and put these steps into action. I was already putting some of these into practice and the ones I wasn’t, I’ m going to give a whirl, especially the “cut yourself some slack” part. Here are the steps:

  1. Run with buddies. (Find someone who runs at your pace. Trust me on that one.)
  2. Write it down. (Exercise and food journal.)
  3. Find a mantra. (Hell, yes! I am a ROCK STAR! Humility not required.)
  4. Reward yourself. (Preferably non Krispy Kreme-related)
  5. Talk to other runners. (Real ones, not imaginary)
  6. Don’t think all or nothing. (All of the cookies in the house or none.)
  7. Remember the health benefits. (Loose pants!)
  8. Cut yourself some slack. (But don’t be a slacker.)

For the real explanations of the suggestions on the list, click here to read the article.

Happy Wednesday!

Photos From the Bluebird Cafe

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It’s been over two weeks since I last shared about my upcoming show at the Bluebird in Nashville. In that time, I’ve been back with my tri coach, written some songs that I’m excited about and, now, officially have one month to go before my first tri of the year. I am beyond thankful that it’s a super sprint!

The Bluebird show was amazing! I can say with complete certainty that is was my favorite experience on stage in Nashville EVER. The standing room only crowd was so supportive and appreciative of the music and stories my cohorts and I shared with them. Here are some photos from the show taken by my family. Enjoy!

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Listening to one of my favorite co-writers, Chris Roberts, of Warner Chappell Nashville.

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Taking it all in.

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My ukulele, Pepe, making his Nashville debut.

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Listening to Heather Longstaffe of Sony Toronto do her thing. Love my Canadian peeps.

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Chris Roberts, Me, Georgia Thomas and Heather Longstaffe

Next: Back in the training game: my first two weeks back with coach Caroline of TriSuccess Multisport Coaching, a training recap, tips for getting back to it and things about tri training that it only took me 4 months to forget.

Like A Little Bird

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“If you give it good concentration, good energy, good heart and good performance, the song will play you.” -Levon Helm

Running through songs and rehearsing before a show are a lot like training and running in the traditional sense. The elements are the same:  tempo, good form, consistency, proper breathing. Even dietary considerations are similar. Stay hydrated. Don’t eat too much or too little before the race/show. Dairy? No good.

The mental hype is also the same. There is a date on the calendar circled in red. You tell all your friends and family about it. Nerves and excitement converge in such a way that it becomes hard to tell which is which. Down to making a checklist of things to bring, it’s the same. Swim cap? Check. Running shoes? Check. Guitar picks? Got ‘em. Tuner? Uh, oh.

The pep talk I give myself before anything that makes me a little nervous is the same no matter what I’m doing: Practice, show up, do the best you can and let God do the rest. Simple. A friend reminded me the other day of why nerves are ok. His simple text read, “Nerves mean you care! You’ll do great!” So true! Being nervous or stressed means you give a crap about what you’re doing and that is a blessing, to be doing something that you love. Anything perceived as a negative can be harnessed for good. Nerves can be used to one’s advantage. I find that a little bit of the jitters gives me the edge I need to perform.

So tomorrow night, I’ll be getting a check off my musical bucket list and playing a show at the Bluebird Cafe. Here’s to remembering the words to my own songs and remembering to bring my tuner.

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It’s Almost Like Spring

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“Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.” -Oprah Winfrey

The temperature was in the 50′s on Sunday, so I took the workout outside. A pain-free run/walk through the 12 South District in Nashville. Beautiful!

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Note: To my left in this picture, out of range of my iPhone camera is Mafiaoza’s, home of the best gluten-free pizza in Nashville. Too bad I had no money with me. Who’s afraid to run through Nashville with a pizza box in hand? Not me.

Santa Rosa Triathlon Recap: Part 3

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“Ocean: A body of water occupying two-thirds of a world made for man-who has no gills.” -Ambrose Bierse

Ok, so about that Shark Week moment I’ve been talking about. If you’ve read my blog, you know that my biggest fear about open-water swimming is what I may encounter in while in the water. I love to swim. I’m a good swimmer. Give me a pool and I’m in. Open water, not so much.

The day before the triathlon I was able to get in my practice swim. I knew that it was critical to get my feet wet, yes, even just my feet, or I would struggle the next day.  Every shadow that I saw in the water brought on a moment of panic, because of course, my mind clicks right over to the Discovery Channel and I begin to psyche myself out. It’s a hard way to live, but for me, the triathlon has been one big opportunity to overcome fear.

Thankfully, I didn’t see any sharks during my practice swim and I felt confident enough to dive into the water and collect shells. Also, thankfully, I was in the first wave with the elite group (comical) and didn’t have much time to be nervous. I did think to myself, however, that according to what I’ve learned on the Discovery Channel, both early morning and early evening are prime shark time. I may suggest to USA Triathlon that they consider this and suggest to the race directors of the world that all triathlons begin later in the morning. Just a thought.  I’m also positive that having a few helicopters scouting the water would make me feel better as well. Again, just a thought. I’m a thinker.

Let me make my way back into reality for a moment and get back to the story. The day of the triathlon everyone in our group went to the beach to hang out and swim. I have never seen the water in Pensacola so clear or so blue. It looked like the Caribbean. Butterflies were flying around the beach and out over the water just over out heads. Pelicans were diving for fish and beautiful silver and yellow fish were swimming over and around our feet and legs. Dolphins made an appearance and once we confirmed that they were in fact dolphins and not something more sinister, we carried on with our floating. Paradise exists in many places on earth and I felt like we were right smack in the middle of it.

My sister and two of her friends and I spent about an hour out in the water floating around, talking and trying to scrub off our tri tats with sand and only came in when one of the girls, Anna, yelled, “what’s that in the water?” It didn’t turn out to be anything crazy, but for me, the magic spell was broken, the bubble was burst and we headed back onto shore.

The next morning I got up and headed out to the balcony of our condo with my coffee, and because we are all early risers, my sister was already out there. It was a bit overcast but the sun was doing its best to make its way out from behind the clouds.

The first thing she said was, “I’m pretty sure I’ve seen two sharks already.” Up until that point, I had made a point not to get too close to the glass wall that separated the balcony and the 19 story drop beyond it, but without thinking I leaned over to see what I could see. About 15 minutes later the guys made their way out as well and we told them about the potential shark sightings. (I actually have a photo of the three of them out on the balcony in their p.j.’s that morning, but I’m positive they wouldn’t be happy if I posted it.) Shortly after, we saw what was most definitely the perfect outline of a shark cruising slowly out in the water just where we had been the day before for out post-race hang in the water.

The best estimate we could come up with for the size of the shark was maybe about 6 feet. It was difficult to calculate just how big or small it was because of the distance from our 19th floor balcony down to the water. Not too far away from where the shark was looking for breakfast, we saw a shadow of an animal that we couldn’t quite make out. We thought maybe it was a large stingray because of the circular shadow it was casting, but we could never could confirm.  Not ten seconds after I yelled, “I wonder if it’s going to notice that other critter,” it took a hard right and bolted over to the stingray. It circled around it and we thought that whatever the creature was, it was a goner. It was a tense moment and I’m sure we woke up the people in the condo next to us with our overly excited narration of the real-life predation that we were witnessing. It was over just as quickly as it began when the shark lost interest and the creature hauled ass as fast as I’ve ever seen anything haul ass. It was real life Shark Week.

It was a remarkable thing to observe. We watched the shark continue to move up the shoreline until we couldn’t see it anymore. I am so thankful that we didn’t witness that the day before the race, because I can guarantee you one thing: I would have bid a hearty sayonara to Pensacola Beach, packed up my goggles and headed straight back to Nashville.

About an hour after we watched the shark event unfold, a group of swimmers got in the water and headed out for a practice swim. I wanted to go down there and personally fish them out of the water, but from what we could tell, they looked like a group of local triathletes out for a group swim and were probably seasoned enough to know the dangers.

Later when we went out to the beach I told one of the resort staff members/lifeguards/beach chair keepers about what we had seen. A split second wave of what looked like fear washed over his face. He said to me, “I had to swim out to get a boy who was out on a paddle board because he wouldn’t come in and was waving for us to come get him. He said he didn’t want to stand up and risk falling in because he thought he saw a shark.” They’re out there people!

I admit I’m overly paranoid about these kinds of situations, but as I’ve said before, they’re out there and we humans should just be aware and take the proper precautions.

I looked up an article that I read before going to Hawaii last year about reducing the risk of shark attacks and injury. The following are tips for swimmers:

  1. Swim, surf, or dive with other people, and don’t move too far away from assistance.
  2. Stay out of the water at dawn, dusk, and night, when some species of sharks may move inshore to feed.
  3. Do not enter the water if you have open wounds or are bleeding in any way. Sharks can detect blood and body fluids in extremely small concentrations.
  4. Avoid murky waters, harbor entrances, and areas near stream mouths (especially after heavy rains), channels, or steep drop offs. These types of waters are known to be frequented by sharks.
  5. Do not wear high-contrast clothing or shiny jewelry. Sharks see contrast very well.
  6. Refrain from excessive splashing; keep pets, which swim erratically, out of the water. Sharks are known to be attracted to such activity.
  7. Do not enter the water if sharks are known to be present, and leave the water quickly and calmly if one is sighted. Do not provoke or harass a shark, even a small one.
  8. If fish or turtles start to behave erratically, leave the water. Be alert to the presence of dolphins, as they are prey for some large sharks.
  9. Remove speared fish from the water or tow them a safe distance behind you. Do not swim near people fishing or spear fishing. Stay away from dead animals in the water.
  10. Swim or surf on beaches patrolled by lifeguards, and follow their advice.

You can read the full article and find more tips about ocean safety (provided by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources) at GoHawaii.com I figure that even though these are tips for swimming in Hawaiian waters, they apply to all bodies of water.

Now that I’ve freaked myself and everyone else out, let’s talk about the REAL odds of getting attacked by a shark: It’s not likely to happen. The odds are only one in 11.5 million. According to an article by Michael Reilly on DiscoveryNews.com, even digging a hole in the sand is more dangerous. Read the full article here.

This concludes my Santa Rosa Island Triathlon Recap. I’m going to start putting together my race calendar for next year, hopefully as soon as the race directors start posting dates. Thanks to my bum leg, I still haven’t met my ultimate goal of finishing a full triathlon. The story continues….

Santa Rosa Triathlon Recap: Part 1

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“Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.” -Orison Swett Marden

The best thing I could have done for myself was to get in the water the day before the race and do some swimming. As soon as we crossed the Santa Rosa Island Bridge and laid our eyes on the Gulf of Mexico, I got nervous enough to fully expect that I would blow at any moment, as in throw-up from the thought of swimming in the Gulf.

Friday, the day before the triathlon didn’t look promising as a day that I could get in a practice swim. The wind was cool enough to bring on the chill bumps and the sky over the Gulf was gray enough to make the water look murkier and less crystal clear than it usually is on the part of the island we were staying on. As usual, my first thought was, “If I get in that water, I won’t be able to see any sharks or jellyfish that I know are out there.” Let’s be honest. My fears are not unfounded. When humans step into the sea, we are entering their front door. The sea is their home and we are just guests. I did, in fact, witness a Shark Week moment, but that is another part of the story, which I will share later.

We stayed at the Portofino Island Resort and Spa and headed out to the hotel’s part of the beach where we made ourselves comfortable under the umbrellas that were attached to the beach chairs supplied to us by the resort. I used a towel as a blanket and was able to relax and watch the waves and storm clouds. (One highlight of the trip down for the triathlon is that it felt like a much-needed vacation. The condo was beautiful, the seafood was mind-blowing and we were able to enjoy it, despite the triathlon jitters.) I found other unexpected and unplanned moments of joy in photographing the intact sandcastle that someone built the day before and the time we spent collecting shells. I tried to wear my air cast on the beach, but gave up and took it off. It didn’t quite match that cute beach cover-up I wore that morning.

Our plan was to hit the expo at around 4 o’clock and I prayed that the weather would clear up enough for us to get in the practice swim. Thankfully, by 2:00 the sun was out and the beach was full of people. I feel better when there are other people in the water, not because I’m ever hoping anyone else gets eaten, but according to the girl at the hotel, “the sharks are afraid of people, so there’s nothing to worry about.” Ok, so apex predators are scared of humans? Sure. I wanted to tell her to go continue smoking whatever it is she smokes that makes her blissfully out of touch with reality. Maybe she knows something I don’t. Moving on. A note on the expo: the best part was impulse purchasing these out-of-control fabulous pumped up kicks.

After lunch and before the expo, we changed back into our swimming gear, walked back to the beach across the street and got into the water. I sucked it up, did my best to get through the breaks in the waves and swam for about 10 minutes before we headed back closer to shore to continue looking for shells, but this time diving under the water to get them. The best shells were about two to three feet from the shore. Those ten minutes made a HUGE difference in how I felt about completing the swim the next day. HUGE! I don’t often feel like I’m a badass at anything, but after coming out of the water, I was pretty sure that I was, in fact, a badass.

That feeling would last about 16 hours until I was in the transition area putting on my tri tats. I didn’t feel like such a bad ass then, just nervous again, but more confident that I would have been without the practice swim. I REALLY lost my super powers when I realized that the relay teams went with the first wave, which included the elite group. Initially I had no idea that we were starting with the elite group. I looked around and thought, “ Wow, these relay people look a lot more hard core than I thought they would be. Maybe our team won’t win. Oh, look. Why is Jennifer Pinto doing a relay?” (If you don’t know who she is, Jennifer won the whole dang Santa Rosa triathlon in 201 and is a very accomplished triathlete.)  My brother-in-law’s sister, Carla, was also doing a relay and was standing next to me when we were gathering before the start of the swim. She corrected me and I felt better that the real bad asses weren’t my competition. Or maybe I felt worse because I was the little newbie fish out of water, so to speak.

For once, or twice, in my life I focused on what I was doing and ran into the water when the horn blew to signal the start of the race. I had no hesitation and little fear at that moment. Because I had practiced swimming through the surf the day before and because Carla had given me a couple pointers, I was able to somewhat keep up with everyone else getting out past the surf. Once we were past that point, however, I was alone in the water. They left me in the dust, or whatever the ocean equivalent would be. I had less than my usual fear of sea critters as I was solely focused on not drowning. Swimming in the ocean is a whole different animal. For me, that particular animal would be a snail. That’s what I felt like, a snail, but I kept swimming. I got a bit off-course twice, but got back on. To the person on the kayak yelling, “There you go! You got it” as I lifted my head and looked around to see where the hell I was headed, thank you. If it weren’t for that person, I may have ended up in the Keys.

The hardest part of the swim, for me, was the swim back onto shore. I had no idea that the buoys would be so far out. Running on the sand and then concrete back into the relay transition area on my bum leg also wasn’t easy. A nice spectator yelled out as I was walking by, “Slower is better than not at all.” While I really appreciate that kind of support from strangers, I just wanted my unfit tibia and me to make it back. I was a bit embarrassed to be walking, but his comment lit a fire in me and I ran the rest of the way in. In the end, I was just happy to be there and participating in the triathlon. I completed the swim in 18:03, which compared to the other athletes in my age group, confirmed that I was actually moving at a snail’s pace. The rest of my team knocked it out of the park and set us up for an 8th place finish in our division. Yay for the If You Never Tri Team!

Part 2: More photos of my team and the triathlon, a truly shameful vacation food log and the big Shark Week moment.

The Day After Tomorrow

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“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” -Theodore Roosevelt

I’m not talking about the big-budget doomsday movie. I’m talking about the one where I hurl myself into the Gulf of Mexico (which I’m listening to crash on the beach as I type) and swim for my life. That’s dramatic, yes. My actual goals for the swim are to be confident in the training I’ve done, not to psyche myself out, do the best I can and set the rest of the “If You Never Tri” team up for a great race.

We arrived, unpacked the car, got changed and headed out for a beach bike ride. I hadn’t been on the bike in over a week. After a long ride last Tuesday, my leg was really killing so my coach adjusted my plan to include only swimming until after my next visit to the doctor for a check-up. Such a bummer. I feel the muscle that I’ve built turning into a big pile of this:

(Key Lime Pie, Flounder’s on Pensacola Beach. I had to. Five bites. It is what it is.)

(The ride on Via de Luna. Inspiring.)

I got in my last swim before heading down here and spent most of the swim thinking back to February when I started this triathlon odyssey. I remember looking out across the days, weeks and months and wondering what I would feel like when I finally got here to Pensacola. I certainly wouldn’t have predicted that I’d be hobbling around on a bum leg. I didn’t think I would be feeling like such a sloth after adding a couple of pounds due to the cut back in workouts. Such is life.

(Life can’t be all that bad, when you’re looking at this.)

I’ve said this before in posts past, make all the plans you want, just don’t pack a bag. (I stole that from a very wise friend.) It has been 12 years since I’ve been on this beach. I have a lot of history here. If I weren’t so tired I would write all about it, but I’ll save that for my post-triathlon round-up next week. I almost forgot how beautiful it is here.

(A little stop on our bike ride.)

In the meantime, all mild personal disappointments aside, I am REALLY excited to be here. I can’t wait to be a part of this amazing triathlon and to soak up the sun and the energy of the hundreds of triathletes who will be here. It was so exciting to see other cars on the road today with tri bikes attached to the back of them. I can’t help but wave, smile and think “Yep, we belong to the same tribe.”

My plan is get a good night’s sleep and wake up tomorrow morning grateful for this view:

9 Days To Go

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“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” -Gloria Steinem

Update: We got an e-mail confirming that the Santa Rosa Triathlon directors got the overnighted fees and applications that were required to make the change to a relay team. Yay!

It’s been a little odd to look at my training program and not see any runs on there. My coach designed this week’s workouts to reflect my inability to run or to bike without the air cast on. I set up the trainer in front of the tv and have been getting my workouts there instead of outside. I much prefer biking outside, but I think I would feel like a bit of a moron biking through Nashville with an air cast on my leg. Swimming is as usual.

This morning I went to my physical therapist and then straight over to the YMCA that I used to go before moving to a different part of town. My membership allows me to go to any Y in the Nashville area. Love that. Perry, my PT, did some amazing work on my back, left leg (my only good one) and hips. Just when you think your body can’t possible snap, crackle and pop any more, POW! I apparently have the flexibility of a pretzel. My alignment is seeing a bit of improvement. And since that seems to be the root of all my issues, it’s positive news.

So, about the Maryland Farms YMCA. I was mid-lap when I heard the most outrageously booming loud salsa music playing in the pool area. I mean loud. If you’ve read any of my old posts, you know that it made my day, realizing that the Silver Sneakers were having a water salsa dancing class in the pool. The instructor was outside of the pool standing near the edge demonstrating all of the dances. I stopped at the end of my lane, had my one moment of shaking it under water, then finished my swim. Now that I have a bum leg I have an excuse to weasel my way into the Silver Sneakers classes and not be regarded as a total interloper. Life is good.

Ready To Relay

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“To get up each morning with the resolve to be happy is to set our own conditions to the events of each day. To do this is to condition circumstances instead of being conditioned by them.” Ralph Waldo Trine

Well, it looks like the wonderful people down at the Santa Rosa Island Triathlon are going to let us enter a last-minute relay team. They don’t know quite how happy they’ve made me. The name of the team? Drumroll, please…..The If You Never Tri Team, of course! I will be doing the swim portion of the race, which as many of you  know, is the part that scares me the most. Injury or not, I will get to face one of my biggest fears: sea life.

I am so grateful that I still get to be a part of the triathlon, even though I will be running out of the water straight back into my air cast. I may just Bedazzle the thing and sparkle my way through the next 6 to 12 weeks.

Presenting the If You Never Tri Relay Team

(Kelly, Christopher and Robin, circa 2003)

14 Days To Go Until…….

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“All the adversity I’ve had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” -Walt Disney

Until what, I’m not sure. Until this past Monday, I thought a “stress reaction” meant diving head first into a cake during hard times, or having an uncharacteristic moment of road rage after being cut off by a particularly bone-headed driver. Bad hair day? Throw a brush across the room. Forgot the one thing you went to the grocery store for? Curse the Kroger for not putting the milk in a more obvious location.

Apparently parts of the body can have hissy fits and stress reactions of their own and in this case, my tibia is pretty darn pissed off at me for running on concrete and, most likely, not stretching enough. In fact, it’s more than likely that my tibia is down there in my leg giving me the bird.

Why? Last week I wrote a post about a trip to the doctor and an MRI I had scheduled as a result of that visit. So how did the MRI turn out? Not great. I was going to cancel the MRI and I honestly thought it was going to be a waste of my time, but a little nagging voice somewhere in my gut said to go. It’s a good thing I listened. I suppose I’ve been a run or three away from a nice little stress fracture as the bulge in my tibia is the result of swelling and fluid in the actual bone marrow. Ewww! There is also fluid building up on the outside of the bone and to top it off, shin splints. The doctor I’m seeing for this issue, one of the best in Nashville, dealt me a one-two-three punch on Monday. “You’re bone is injured.” POW! “No running for six to twelve weeks.” POW, POW! “Here’s an air cast I want you to wear for the foreseeable future.” POW, POW, POW!

Obviously, my first question was, “Can I still do the triathlon?” His answer, “Um, no.” SERIOUSLY? Firstly, I’m not a cryer. As I’ve said in posts past, I only cry over the Olympics and stories relating to dogs and our military. So when I started crying in front of the doctor, the weight of my disappointment was startlingly heavy. Thankfully, I simmered myself down and was able to cap off the waterworks. Secondly, I was able to maintain perspective and reminded myself of the other races out there and the bigger problems in the world. I understand the moral of my own story, but the yin to that yang is that I’ve worked hard and have been so excited for the Santa Rosa Island Triathlon. I’m bummed, but it’s ok. I have a plan.

My first thought while driving home from the Dr.’s office and before calling my coach to break the bad news was that I could try to put a last-minute relay team together and just do the swim. Then I thought, no. Maybe this is a sign that I’m not supposed to do the race? Is it really that important? Just last week we had a family member still on life support after sustaining critical injuries while doing a triathlon and I was crying about having to wait a few months to compete in one. Perspective. I’ll do what the doctor says, be thankful that I didn’t actually fracture my leg and continue to work towards my goals. Do the next right thing.

I’ll be meeting my coach for coffee soon to discuss my next step (I’m still swimming and biking on my trainer) and what race I will train for next, once my leg is all healed up. In the meantime, I’m waiting to hear the SRIT race director’s response to an e-mail my brother-in-law sent in regards to allowing a last-minute relay team entry. He and my sister, who are signed up in their age group, are willing to bow out and do a relay so that I don’t have to stand on the sidelines. I had no idea he was trying to make that happen for me until I read the e-mail today. The waterworks went off again. I am blessed to have family like that.

Next: Grant’s Gang, a fund-raising effort for the widow and children of Gary Grant, an amazing human and fellow triathlete.

(Photo Source: My co-writer for the day, Maddie, 9-19-2012)