This is my beautiful knew CatEye bike computer. Shout out to PoppaSaltz for this contribution to the cause. The thing about triathlons is, there is an infinite amount of s*^_ you can acquire that can make you look faster, or feel faster. Note: A very small number of these things will actually make you faster. I understand this theory however, I am a marketer's dream and I too fall victim to the claim that those new Pearl Izumi shorts with the cute pattern will make my butt look fast! When I do this - I like to ask myself, why? Why am I so interested in purchasing every triathlon tool and gadget known to man despite the desperate cries of my bank account - and my husband. The answer is so clear and yet so uncomfortable. The truth of the matter is, I just want to fit in, to belong. The triathlon community can very eerily mimic a high school cafeteria. All the cool kids sit together and have the best lunches. You walk in as a freshman and you have no clue what end is up. But, if you can have the same lunch as the cool kids, maybe you will become cool yourself! Sad to say triathlons can be the same way. There are the cool kids, the ones who scoff at other people's IM times (please note: ANYONE who completes and Ironman is officially a beast and amazing), the ones who have the most expensive bikes because they can afford them, not necessarily because they know how to ride them. And then, there are the rest of us. Racing for our individual reasons. To support a cause, to help a friend, or to make ourselves better by trying something out of our comfort zone. We may not have the most expensive/newest/coolest tool but we do have heart. We love and support our fellow triathletes no matter what their finishing time. Some of us (you know who you are) would rather spend half of our swim making sure everyone around us is OK than worry about a PR. We care, and at the end of the day I think that is what is most impressive about the people I tri with. So yes, I have a cool new computer. And yes, I will probably get some more cool gear throughout the years. But no, I will not do it to be able to fit in with the "cool kids" I will do it so that I can be better for myself and my TEAM.
I know, I know, I am in BIG trouble. Trust me, a month off of blogging is not what I had in mind when I started this either. I assure you, however, that my absence has not been in vain. I have had a lot going on and I am happy to be in a calm(er) place and able to share some of the activities of the past 3.5 weeks. Buckle your seat belt kids, it's gonna be a fast recap! When we last spoke I had just rocked lane 2 with the help of my wonderful team-mates. I then proceeded to kick training into high gear by heading to WV (home of the bestie) to train in the mountains. We course marshaled a bike race in the pouring freezing rain (I swear it was fun!) rocked out a nice 7 mile run and then hit the hills for a 24 mile ride. It was a strong weekend of family, friends and lots of love. A great way to get the month of insanity started! As soon as I arrived back to DC I turned around and got on a plane to the Turks & Caicos Islands to celebrate the nuptials of some wonderful friends. Not only was the wedding beautiful and the scenery relaxing, I also managed to keep up a fairly strong run/swim schedule including one hellish ocean swim. It was short and salty... you can insert your own joke. After coming back from Turks I was feeling great. I banged out some awesome weekday workouts and tried to get mentally prepared for my first OWS: Open Water Swim. FAIL!! While standing on the shore getting the safety briefing, I started to cry. There was no reason for my tears, and it wasn't a sob fest but the tears started slowly streaming down my cheeks. The thought of getting the cold murky water and having no wall to touch every 25 meters was petrifying. I eventually got in the water and splashed around for a while, occasionally swimming in an composed manor, but my confidence was completely shaken and I left with doubt creeping into my psyche. With only a few days to go until my massive auction for Miriam's Kitchen. Coach Emily kindly informed me that this might just not be a growth week in training for me and that was OK since I had a lot on my mind with the upcoming event. Boy was she right too! 100 Bowls of Compassion had completely taken up my brain space for the time being and it is a good thing. A few days later the event set a number of records including raising over $500,000.00 for the first time ever. A huge step towards ending chronic homelessness in DC (which is up 6%). So I hope you see that while I have not been posting, I certainly have not been slacking. The one and only PoppaSaltz headed into town to MC the Miriam's event and it was great to relax with him once we were done raising money. We headed out to the botanical gardens and the MLK memorial and had a great visit. I must have been re-energized with all the love because I rocked out a serious swim AND did a 2+ hour ride by myself maintaining 15mph. I am glad that everything is starting to calm down now and that aside from work and training I have no other large projects looming. Posts will arriving much more frequently now I promise!
Coming up next: Triathlon: Gear-aholics Anonymous. |