All you can do is tri

Our ALS Warrior Poet has passed on.  Jonathan Blais passed away this past Sunday evening.  He gave ALS a good 2 year fight.  I wouldn’t necessarily say that he lost the battle.  Maybe the physical battle, but not the monumental long term battle.  He got the word out about ALS by doing what he loved - triathlon.  He in turn, inspired many of his fellow triathletes and non-triathletes to get the word out and raise money for a disease that does not get the kind of research attention it deserves. 

Anyone who has read “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom knows how debilitating ALS is.  It’s amazing that Stephen Hawking is able to live with it to this day.  As a nurse, this is one of the saddest diseases I’ve seen.  Blazeman fought with his heart and soul to get word out and make a difference in this world.  Millions of more people now know about ALS who didn’t before or didn’t understand the disease process itself.  His spirit will be missed, but never forgotten.  He touched many peoples hearts with his speeches, his career as a teacher, and his ability to not let a terrible disease get the best of him.  I will proudly wear your logo on my jersey as part of my triathlon club uniform for Emerald City Multisport. 

We’ll miss you Blazeman/#179.  

www.alswarriorpoet.com

Didn’t do as much as I would’ve liked this weekend, but did get some training in. Didn’t do anything Sat since I got off of work at 7:30a that morning.  I take that back.  I commuted by bike to work the night before and back home that morning.  Almost forgot about that.  

Went to the swim clinic on Mercer Island with a friend yesterday.  Seems I lost some of my technique in the last month from not swimming.  I found out I’m putting my head under water when I swim which makes it harder in several ways - turning to breathe and going forward efficiently - and angling my hand upward after it enters the water, before I bring it down to pull.  Funky swimmin’.  Easy fixes though.

Today, ran 3.67 miles in 40 mins.  Slow, but not bad for not having run much lately.  Followed it up with a 10 mile bike ride over 48 mins.  Not as fast as I thought I was going.    I tried working on the uphills by actively using my calves to crank the pedals and increase my cadence.  Even though I was trying to spin up the hill, I think I ended up mashing up the hill due to the extra effort of the calves.  That was tough.  There were a lot of bugs out today.  Swarms of them.  Thankfully, I wore my sunglasses.  Definitely ate a few, spit one out and collected the rest on my shirt and shorts. 

I’m having to admit to myself that I’m constantly dealing with my inner demons.  I try to trick myself that I’ve dealt with them once and they won’t return ever again and I can move on (hence some of my posts), which is extremely naive of me.  This is not the case in any way, shape or form.  I have to deal with them in everything I do on a daily basis, as I’m sure everyone does.  Waking up.  Getting out to train.  Doing anything all the way rather than half fast.  Etc.  Today, it was getting out of bed.  So tired today.  Got to the bottom of an uphill on the bike and tried to talk myself into turning around and going home.  Why??  Why say no to getting stronger, faster, fitter?  Why say yes to not becoming the athlete you want to become.  This was my inner dialogue during the ride.  Even before I left for my run, I had to tell myself to not think, just do. Just get dressed for the run.  Don’t think about anything else.  Focus on getting dressed and out the door.  It worked, but sheesh.  I’m really amazed and disappointed that it takes this much to get me out of the house.  I’m fine once I get out of the house, but it’s almost as though the house is magnetized and I have a hard time getting away from it’s pull.  I want to get out and train and know that I should, but I get stuck. 

If you’re reading this, sorry about the rant.  I guess I just needed to get all of that out of my head and into some concrete space where they can swim bedsides in my head. 

Well a lot has changed since the last time I blogged.  THAT was a dreary day.  But after a lot of thinking about life, needs and wants, I’ve decided it would be better for me to stay in the PacNW for at least another year.  Long story short, there is no tri community in NM, nor greenery, or my friends.  When I go to NM I never see anyone out running or riding their bikes, etc.  Here, they are everywhere.  Once I changed my mind I felt a big weight come off my shoulders.  Interesting…

Well May is nearly over and my race season is about to begin.  Sprint tri next weekend, June 2nd - B race.  Pac Crest Half Iron at the end of June - A race.  July 8th, 2 days after my 30th b-day (woo hoo!), my first Oly tri, STP the following weekend and then I think I’m going to do the Grand Columbian Half Iron Sept 15th.  Might as well, eh? 

I haven’t even thought about my race plan yet.  Next weeks race is a B race to prep for Pac Crest, guess I should give it some thought.  Especially since it’s my first tri in 4 years.

List o’ stuff to bring:

Bike

Bike shoes

Running shoes

Race belt

Nutrition

Wetsuit

Water bottles

Goggles

Swim cap

Tri outfit

Bike shorts

Socks

Road ID

Helmet

Sunglasses

Watch

Race Number

Extra tube/CO2 cartridge

Towel

Flexibility for any situation

Fun for the whole thing

Courage for the swim

Did I miss anything?