Early Blog - Pre-Tri-Tri!

“Our best successes often come after our greatest disappointments.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

After the trail run with the sun and the mountains at our backs.

After an incredibly lovely trail run, yesterday, Matt asked if I might be up for a ride the following morning (today).  I knew I needed to get a swim on the books, but I also knew that if I said “no” that I would be relegated to riding by myself at some point over the weekend – a fate I don’t mind, but I certainly prefer to be pushed harder than I would alone.  

So, in order to be able to do both, I set my alarm for 3:30am and was in the pool by 4am.  I poked my head up and out of the water at 750 meters (18:37) and was pleased with my time.  Digging back in, I completed 1500 meters in 37:42, my best time in the last several months.  Looking at the analog clock on the wall, I could see I still had a little time to spare before meeting Matt, so I dug in for an easy 200 more.  I like the idea of swimming at least 1700 meters; it lets me know I can swim a mile without fail.  

Quickly changing into my bike gear, I headed to Matt’s house to do some hill work – since I am worried (to death) about the upcoming tri in San Diego.  It pleases me to no end that I have a riding partner who doesn’t mind the pain of accomplishment (either).  Interestingly enough, neither of us was really in the mood to be chatty.  We had independent crap swirling around in our heads and it made for some brutal miles of pushing ourselves harder than we had together in months.  We even made mincemeat of the HUGE and PAINFUL hills – one that is so difficult it feels like you are literally carrying your bike with your arms to the top.

I asked Matt, somewhere mid-ride, if he’d mind if I did a 5K from his house after our ride.  His comment was priceless.  “I thought you might want to do that.”  We’ve become so accustomed to these hard mornings, that I swear we can read one another’s minds.  It just seemed pointless to drive all the way home and not get the benefit of the run directly following the ride.  Not to mention, there’s this incredible 3 mile route around a lake in his neighborhood.

So, as we shook off our crappy moods, we finished our 21 mile ride strong!  With the hills and emotional darkness came a strong AVS of over 17 mph.  We both remarked about how amazing those numbers were considering how slow and painful the hills had been.  However, we knew we were pulling big numbers on the flats – which made up for those hills nicely.

Post ride, pre run!

We rounded Matt’s neighborhood and I commented about how I would likely carry one of my water bottles.  It was nearly 90 degrees and getting hotter by the minute.  Fortunately, Matt said he had a chilled hand-held-bottle (with strap) in his fridge and would absolutely let me use it for the run.  So, while he ran in to get the bottle, I stripped out of my bike shorts in his front lawn and into my run shorts (and swim suit).

After a hug and a pat on the back, Matt said, “Now, get after it.”  And, I did.  I thought about how much I wanted to be a better triathlete all the way around the lake.  I kept looking at my watch to see that I was maintaining a comfortable pace between 9:25 and 9:35.  After the swim and the bike, I was so pleased.  I came around the bend at the end and could see my car, but my watch only said “2.88 miles”, so I headed around the backside of Matt’s street and when I saw my car again, it was 3.1 miles – a full 5K.  My time: 29:23 – a 9:28 pace.

Matt appeared shortly after I finished, all clean and holding a cup of coffee.  “You know I am not going to hug you, right?”  I was soaked and disgusting.  He put out his fist and I knew he was proud of me.  There are so few people in my life who really “get” just how hard this shit is – some tell me I am crazy; most tell me they could never do it themselves.  The truth is – we all CAN do it.  It’s just a lot easier when you have incredible support along the way.  So, this is a thank you to all of you who really do support me – even though you think its insane or your convinced you can’t do it.  And it’s a fist-bump to all of you who, just like me, get after it day after day, week after week.