Triathlon tomorrow?

Today I went on a beautiful bike ride along the Mississippi river during sunrise. The air was crisp and fresh, the sky was clear, and the ride was smooth (for the most part.) The short ride was one of my last attempts of training for my ill-prepared triathlon tomorrow. This will be my fifth multisport race (3 sprint triathlons, one Olympic length, and one duathlon) and about my fourteenth race since I got married (also included 3 marathons and about 6 half marathons). With some previous experience, you’d think that I would also be better trained. But I don’t know if I could really say that I’m more prepared than last year, when I had just had a baby 4 months prior.


Really, I love biking and running outside. And I like getting my groove on in swimming. But I just haven’t been into it this year. I don’t know what exactly is going on. Of course, there are multiply factors. Most obvious is the colder climate of Minnesota, especially comparing it to So Cal where we could run all year long. Having a big break for several months during winter hasn’t helped. And think I am always too slow and late in adjusting. Every August, just when I think that I have a nice summer routine figured out, then cold autumn winds hit again and I am continually surprised. Second, probably the biggest contributor, I haven’t had a running partner more than for one run in the last two years and the lack of buddy commitment and sociality has really been a big deterrent. But that’s not the only thing; having kids and needing to always coordinate with my husband has also been hard. I’m a morning worker-outer and lately so is my husband. So every morning I have to decide whether to work out with him at home or leave him and go out myself. Most of the time I do work out with him because I like our bonding together (and with Tony Horton.) Then I usually say to myself that I’ll work out at the gym or take the kids out in the jogging stroller. But usually pushing around kids or running on a treadmill is won out by just taking a shower and getting ready for the day. When I do run or bike now, it’s usually in that half hour while Reuben is getting ready just after sunrise.

With everything in my life that is now driving me away from any personal time like this, the little time that I have, I always love and am glad that I went. Lately, with the sunrise happening later and later, I feel I actually get up before its light enough to go outside. But I’ve been blessed for going so early, the sunrises have really beautiful. And the multitude of nearby paths and trails that I can take is nice. I can run up the hill by the park, run down the hill and along the river, run on the sidewalks, or I can actually go into the forest and get lost in the woods on a nice paved trail. For all of the things we knock about Minnesota, it really is probably the prettiest place I’ve lived. That is, if you prefer woods to ocean and palm trees or farmland.

But the actual feeling on exercising is probably the best thing. I love the wind passing through, the steady breathing, sometimes going listening to music and other times just letting my thoughts guide me. Of course nobody really likes feeling out of breath, achy knees or ankles, or getting side aches. But even if you do go through the bad, you have to admit that the endorphins are really really good. Running is funny because it is one of the most basic functions and sports; even my 16 month old can do it, but it also one of the most difficult. Who in the world can run without a little strain on their breathing or muscles? When you’re biking, it’s fun to be able to go fast, to see your running trails pass by in mere minutes and go farther and farther than you ever could running. You almost feel like you are part of traffic (though I don’t like being on the actual street much) and feel like you can actually almost keep up with the cars. Even swimming, at the forward crawl, when you know that from the side of the pool any bystanders could walk faster than you can swim, when the pool no longer feels cold and all you can hear is a rhythm of splashing and breathing, it might be strenuous, but it’s relaxing. And when other hard exercises leave you feeling hot, sweaty, and gross, you don’t feel that at all. In fact, you probably don’t even know how hard you’re working until you get out of the pool and realize that you can’t walk straight and are starting to get dizzy. But swimming is great because while at first all I think of is “stroke, stroke, stroke, breath, stroke, stroke, stroke, breath” eventually I get to think about everything else that I want to in a place underwater where I can’t hear or be distracted by anything else at all. A complete sanctuary.

And so, while I contemplate how I am going to do tomorrow in my race and as always, hope that I’m not the last one in my division, don’t drown, blow a tire, or get any weird leg cramps, most of all I just hope that I can enjoy the beautiful scenery, the crisp clear water, and the joy of the race.