FROM THE RIDICULOUS TO THE SUBLIME

Maybe you’ve been wondering (then again, maybe you haven’t), what I’ve been doing with myself since my withdrawal from Ironman Boulder.

At first I stopped moving almost entirely.  Anyone that had walked into my house to see me on the couch may have called 911.  I needed the recovery time, given that I slept so hard and so well for a couple of weeks.  I went from training 12 to 15 hours a week to 3 hours.  It was nice – almost refreshing – for a while.  Then, my clothes started getting tighter.  I strongly dislike that feeling.  Still eating like an Ironman, I stopped training like one.  It’s like eating for two AFTER you’ve given birth.  Not a good plan.

So in June, I took on a goal to train for my fastest 5k ever.  Talk about going from the ridiculous to the sublime: 140.6 to 3.1.  It was beautiful!  My workouts were an hour, tops.  They were easy to fit in and fun to do. Each workout was a challenge: Hills, Intervals, Tempo, and long runs that never exceeded 8 miles.  After 10 weeks of that, I never ended up racing in an actual 5k, but I’m sure I could knock it out in under 30 minutes.  For the record, my clothes didn’t get much looser, but I felt less like a slug.

The church I attend ran a message series this summer called FIT.  Obviously, the topic revolved around being healthy, eating right, getting good rest and, basically “Choosing to live well.”  At first, I was irritated, frankly.  Here I am, fighting off feelings of being a quitter, and really looking forward to my upcoming date with netflix, and here is my pastor saying, “get moving!”  Excuse me, conscience, but I was enjoying the couch, thank you very much!  Well, after a couple of weeks, we were encouraged to do one big thing to help us get active.  So I made the announcement to my runner friends, “I’m signing up for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Denver!”  (Remember I was training for a 5k, right?)  Well, that happened, and I’m looking forward to racing in October.  As a result though, I now have more friends with whom I can run! 

As the series continued, our pastor threw down the gauntlet.  He challenged us to sign up for the Boulder Sunset Triathlon Series on August 30th.  Of course, challenge accepted.  This is me we’re talking about.  However, I hadn’t been swimming more than a few hundred meters since I dropped out of IMB.  And I wasn’t even speaking to Gary (my estranged bike).  I had 6 weeks to get ready for the Olympic distance, because heaven forbid I don't pick the longest distance possible.  No one pushed me, but I was jonesing for a plan.  I'm like a triathlon junkie..."it's just a 5k!  I'll stop after that, I promise!"

Yes, you are reading this right.  At the time of this posting, I have not one, but two races for which I am simultaneously training.  And oh my goodness, it’s all fun again!  It feels so good!!  This, of course, was the point.  I love triathlon.  I love running races.  I just had to pull it back and remember WHY I love it so much.  Sure, I have time goals.  I’d love to PR both the Olympic Tri and the 13.1.  I’m going to work hard to do so.  If I don’t reach those time goals, though, oh well.  I will still lap the “me” I left sitting on the couch or sleeping in.  Right now, I am enjoying the anal retentiveness of following a training plan.  I NEED finish lines, but they don’t have to be huge.  I just have to challenge myself to do my best, and maybe my best is better than last time.  Maybe just showing up and finishing is my best.

Here's the best part: encouraging my son to "train" for his first Kids Triathlon.  His event is a 25 meter swim, 2 mile bike ride, and a .25 mile run.  Let's face it.  "Training" is a very loose term.  We ride our bikes to the pool to swim.  Occasionally, we race to the mailbox and back.  He is so excited, but he’s learning how hard it is!  He asks me if I’ll go running with him, or if we can go for a bike ride.  He’s swimming very well.  He may end up loving triathlon, or maybe not so much.  All that matters to me is that he has as much fun as I do.