is full of CRAP!
Slow and steady puts you in 10th place in your age group (there were 11 in my group).
Today was a duathlon.
Run/bike/run.
2.5 miles/10 miles/2.5 miles.
A first for me: we were branded. They wrote our numbers on our arms. And our age on the back of our leg. I kinda liked seeing everyone elses leg (didn't care so much for them seeing my age - but it doesn't really matter). The numbers gave me something to look at and think about as folks passed me. One man I ran with for a little while, the back of his leg read '80'. REALLY? Wow. I nicknamed him pawpaw in my mind. I tried to keep up with him. He told someone that he was running with a broken hip. Some people are just amazing. Pawpaw pulled away, and I didn't see him again. He won his age group - finished first of one in his group. But his time was excellent - and overall he finished very strong. Is it bad that he inspires me and pisses me off at the same time? I want to be like him when I grow up!
I felt like a complete loser on the bike ride. I actually thought about ramming the bike in a culvert somewhere around mile 3. That would be the only descent excuse for finishing as slowly as I knew I would. But, since it is a borrowed bike - I thought better and decided to suck it up. Peddling was a chore. So, I took my mind away from it and started focusing on other things. If I could just let the legs do the work, and the brain be somewhere else - I could have a little fun. So, I thought about mental strength. Overcoming obstacles. How I have grown. Reflected on the last year. Skills I have. Positive things. This kept me going until around mile 8. Then, I took a June Bug to the shoulder. It popped me pretty good and woke me up. Glad it didn't fly in my mouth... Time to get busy and have my brain tell my legs what to do.
During that last leg, I ran behind a little boy. His shirt read 'Dylan' across the top. Then, in his scribbled marker hand writing it said 'I run fast'. It made me smile. He was struggling. The back of his leg read 'R' for relay. He was running as a part of his family's team. He could not have been older than 7 or 8. From time to time his knobby kneed legs would let him drift close to the lane that was now opened to traffic. He made me nervous doing this. I caught him and complimented him on his shirt. The thanked me and then ran really fast. Then, he walked. Kids are like that - a big burst of energy, then nothing. I caught him again. I asked him if he wanted to jog with me. He turned me down and ran fast again. Somewhere around the 2 mile mark (only .5 to go), his mom and brother were coming back to find him. They were so supportive - telling him how great he was doing, telling him to keep it up, telling him it's just a little bit further. Their words helped me too. :-) Dylan pulled away. Is it bad that he also inspires me and pisses me off at the same time? I want to be like him too when I grow up!
Goals of the day: #1 have fun; #2 finish; #3 don't be last. So, I'll call today a complete success!
I am so thankful to have friends to do these things with. To me, that makes all the difference. :-)
...Triathlon is in 3 weeks.
...I have a swim cap now. I could take a marker and decorate it...but I would not write 'I swim fast'. I would probably write 'help' or 'ICE - call Heidi'. ;-)
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