‘Oh, maybe I should register for the triathlon,’ I said absentmindedly on Sunday, just a week away from the race.
‘You haven’t registered yet??’ The Modern Love Machine said.
I think that’s his way of telling me I HAD to do the tri, even though I’ve been really lax in my training and didn’t really want to race anymore.
I registered on Monday and then checked the weather forecast, only to find a prediction of a high of 55 degrees, which meant maybe 45 degrees for the start of the swim. Damn, I thought, I wish I’d never registered. That will be more miserable than last year’s swim.
I can talk myself out of anything if need be. But seriously, here’s a reminder of the disaster that was last year’s triathlon.
One bit of good news is I got my contacts situation straightened out a while ago, so I’m not worried about the tricyclops bit happening again. And fortunately by midweek the weather dudes bumped the predicted high to 75, AND I got an e-mail from the organizers saying the swim would be in the INDOOR HEATED pool at the local college (the dude who gave out the incorrect info about the swim being indoors last year isn’t in charge anymore, so I’m trusting they’re not lying to me this time).
So I think we’re at least off to a better start than last year.
But because I started freaking about the lack of training on my behalf, I forced myself to run as far as I possibly could on Wednesday without stopping, which turned out to be about 4.2 miles — a record for me (at least without stopping). Granted, my pace was slow enough to be confused with walking, but I swear I wasn’t walking and I never stopped. Yesterday I rode my bike to a work thingy, a 6.8-mile round trip that was mostly downhill to and mostly uphill from. And I was barely winded when I got home. And I felt fabulous.
None of this is to brag. It’s just a pep talk to myself two days from now that I WILL finish the race and I CAN beat my time from last year if I push myself just a little. It’s also a reminder to myself two months from now or even two years from now that when I’m stressed out, I can make myself feel better by pushing myself physically and doing things I didn’t think I could do.
I CAN do this. I WILL do this.
When I mentioned last year’s disastrous tri, the MLM told me matter of factly that I just needed to not fall during the run this time. Thanks for the advice, hubby-to-be. Any suggestion on how to get rid of the HILL OF DEATH?
I’ll let you know how Sunday goes, although I think we can all presume it’s not going to end with a diamond ring this time though.
Good luck lady!! I can’t wait to here the race recap but I am sure you will do awesome!
“I can talk myself out of anything if need be.”
Ha! I’m “training” for my first 5k, which will be in a few weeks and every single morning, I have this long internal debate with myself: “I don’t REALLY need to train today, do I? No….well, maybe….” Eventually, I do some kind of training but I fear I’m in for a rude awakening on race day.
Good luck to you, though!
My brain is ALWAYS my biggest obstacle, both in physical pursuits and in life. I usually find when I absolutely need to overcome it I can though, and I bet you will too 🙂
Good luck!!
Oooh good luck; you can do it, B! And who knows, maybe it will end with diamond earrings to match the ring 😉
Have a blast. You have: The joy of completing an athletic competition. A small amount of SWAG. The ability to casually mention to your friends the tri you did last weekend as if you’re so physically potent it deserves nonchalance. And if you get tired during the run you can find a nice posterior in front of you and let the enticing view pull you along.
Maybe that last part is more me than you.
Heh heh … I do especially like the “as if you’re so physically potent it deserves nonchalance.” I certainly won’t tell them how slow I am 🙂
You can do it! Good luck!
Maybe if you envision the MLM with another diamond ring at the end of the tri, you’ll blow everyone else away. Sounds like motivation to me.