The Journey to a Texas IronMan

Hi Everyone!

A myriad of emotions have begun from excitement to confidence to joy, to exhaustion and yes, a bit of fear. The fear is more of the unknown of what will happen on race day. Will there be intolerable wind and humidity, will there be a mechanical on the bike, will my foot fall off during the run or will a big hela monster chew me up in the water? Ok – it’s random then again, you just never know.

Last Sunday at the St. Pat’s tri, Dr. Crane received third place in her age group. She calls it the old lady division which sounds funny, then I realize I am in the same division. The sprint went over very well and many local athletes enjoyed the day. I had to make a tough decision last week of whether to race or not to race. After going back and forth like a tennis ball at the Wimbledon championship, I made the choice to not race and let the foot heal. I knew I made the right decision and the foot is beginning to behave. Hopefully things will turn around in time for the half ironman in Galveston to be held next month. My fingers are crossed I will be able to race. If not, I will continue to train, train, train then have at it on race day at IronMan Texas.

Today’s ride was a beautiful one with gusty winds. There is just no way around the wind this time of year so we deal with it. Dr. Crane rode with me for the first 50 or so miles then I was off to tackle the last 50 on my own. We are on different workout schedules so it’s nice to pair up when we can. The last 50 miles I played a game to see how many songs I could remember from start to finish. I was really happy to remember America the Beautiful and of course of the National Anthem. Move over Christina, I will sing it classic style at the Super bowl anytime.

Toward the end of the 100 mile ride, I thought about how much time is dedicated to the sport and how similar it is to those who dedicate time to other interests in life whether it be home, business, sports, hobbies etc. No matter what, in the midst of all this dedication, we need to remember balance. We need to remember to be as effective as possible during each discipline of our day. I make it a point to work diligently at work then promptly switch to the next discipline whether it be training or home activities at the end of the work day. It’s really tough sometimes and yes, feelings of guilt are had by leaving those couple of items until the next morning. Working or training constantly is not the way it’s supposed to be no matter what tasks are at hand. We owe it to ourselves to balance. This afternoon after a nice nap I planted spring flowers with my husband. It did not involve a swim suit, bike or running shoes. It was as it should be – balanced. Take a minute and look at each day and make sure you balance.

Talk to ya next week,
Janet