Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Life goes on & I stay busy. Work, running & volunteering at a race consumed my weekend. I wanted to do a duathlon, this weekend. It was the last one of our local series & the personal pressure was on to take this goal off the back burner.

My plans & schedule always revolve around work & family so I waited to commit to this race. I needed to see how work would affect my plans. As the week progressed, I was hopeful & finally just took my bike into the shop. The whole 'bike seat thing' wore me out. My bike was placed on a trainer (kind of like a spin class). Adjustments to my current seat were made- seat height, angle, position forward or back, etc. The more adjustments we made, the more I pedaled on that trainer. After a few seats & numerous adjustments my quads were SORE! It was a fantastic feeling- like my old weight lifting days. I was hungry for more but too sore to get back on for a long ride during the week. (Regular marathon training & work still preoccupied my week.) I opted to help/volunteer today & watch. I looked at bikes, seats, shoes, how to rack a bike, extra equipment in the transition area (dish pans & buckets to rinse sandy feet from the beach, to a bath mat to stand on while getting socks & shoes on). I was a sponge soaking in what could work for me & what presently "wouldn't" work.

I was greatly comforted when I heard numerous adults telling me they couldn't swim, either! I have been shy but honest about my weak link. As I contemplate the swim I have to figure out how I can pull it off. I wear contacts & have never had issues with leaking goggles. I've heard of losing goggles in a race if a fellow athlete kicks you or hits you with their arm mid stroke. How would I handle that? Extra contacts in transition, for sure-- but I'm super blind without glasses or contacts... I'll work on a solution for that & focus on the bike & run for now.

Priorities: get a bike seat, riding that bike & getting comfortable on it (seat; gear shifting; aero position; new, hands free water bottle) tri suit (that doesn't clash with my bike), etc. 😋

I figured today would scare the crap out of me or inspire me. I'm looking at tri suits. 😁

I talked to Mr. Tom Falvey, today. He is 81. He was a participant; &, as you may have guessed, won his age group. I'm pretty sure he was the only participant in that age group. Inspired? Yes! Does his finish time even matter?! No. I helped tattoo him. He thanked me & said he'd give me his award if he won. I won't hold him to it. 😁

A picture is worth a thousand words & as I saw photos from the last race, I saw 'normal' people participating. Not trying to be disrespectful: as I saw women of all ages & sizes, with different equipment, all I could think was, "If they can do it, I can do it!" So-- I'm making it public. I've 'shared all' hoping new runners & non runners see the process & realize average people & people from non athletic backgrounds can start from an extreme deficit yet still have success. This biking stuff is going to make for some interesting tales. 😂

To be continued 🤙🏼

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