Keep your fears to yourself, but share your inspiration with others. Robert Louis Stevenson
It hit me a few days ago... yes, I completed a Half-IronMan... yes, I can swim a mile... yes, I can ride 100 miles... so what? What does that do for anybody? Oh, don't get me wrong - I am very proud of those accomplishments. But they are not important for really any reason other than I accomplished them, or to anybody other than myself.
And then my best friend tells me she is volunteering as a Swim Angel for the Danskin Women's Triathlon. This woman is training hard for an IronMan event this fall, yet it is still important to her to help some beginner athlete friends get through an event.
I am sure there are many people like her who volunteer, who give back to the sport. And I realized how important it is to me that I not only accomplish my goals, but that I give back as well. This friend, and many others, provide the emotional support I need to ride those ugly, windy, hilly miles or swim against those salty waves. I have ridden with Team In Training for a few seasons now, and my goal for the 2009 Tahoe ride was not just to finish the ride myself, but to support those riders who were with us. My friend and I spent the entire season supporting a specific individual, a cancer survivor, to help him succeed in his cycling adventure - and he completed not one but two century rides! It felt pretty good to watch him cross under the finish line banner.
So, I volunteered to be a kayak supporter on the swim portion of the Danskin. And I will support many events in the future. If just one person I encounter in each event supports others in the future, it is worth it... not for my benefit, but for those who follow.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Happy Mother's Day weekend
Don't be so humble; you're not that great. - Golda Meir
No, I readily admit I am not a great athlete --- have I mentioned I hate running?
This weekend was a good workout, and an enjoyable Mother's Day. Saturday, a number of our Team In Training alumni rode the Armadillo Hill Country ride. While the ride offers a 105-mile route, I wasn't sure until we met up in the morning which distance we were going to do. Turned out that nobody was planning on doing the full century other than the two crazies, Shelly and John. But I was happy enough with the 78-mile route (which turned out to be 81.4) given all the wind, and the fact that I was also participating in the Rookie Triathlon the next day. I told the rest of the crew to not wait on me because I wasn't planning on a hard push Saturday. Good thing - there were some turns where the wind was pretty tough. But we managed a mediocre 15.5 mph average.
Sunday was even better. The drive down to New Braunfels was broken up by a few intermittent showers. From the first drops on the windshield, all I could think was "oh, boy, another triathlon messed up by weather!" Fortunately, we only had a few sprinkles while we were setting up transition (really? could you put us old farts any further away from the exit/entry points? And cram us in as an afterthought while you are at it!) So we waited for the start and it felt like it was getting colder, making me re-think the fact that I decided to forgo the wetsuit. But once our wave got into the water, it wasn't too bad. Note to self - don't try to always sight on the buoys, cuz they aren't necessarily the most direct point to the swim finish.
Transition was definitely faster than LoneStar. Come out of the bike start directly into the first climb, down to a sharp right, and then off through the trees. Around the back of the loop there are a number of long rollers -- and a number of "occasional" riders (moms and their kids, mountain bikes that were getting walked up the hills, etc). I might have been able to manage a better ride time, but the course is so short (only 11 miles) and there are 1000 participants so bike traffic and the number of people who don't understand bike etiquette that there were some passes I had to wait on. But the final downhill was pretty awesome - I was hitting 35-36 passing a number of bikes.
The run? Yeah well, did I mention I hate running? I could still feel the 81 miles from the day before. But I waddled through it. I know if I am going to continue the triathlons, I will need lots of run practice. But until after the Triple Bypass ride, that isn't too much of a priority.
A good weekend overall, training-wise. And topped it off by taking the Resurrection over to the previous owners and taking them for a ride on his old motorcycle that had been sitting in his garage for 26 years. What a great feeling to watch their faces light up when I rolled into the driveway. Then it was off to dinner with MY mom.
Happy Mother's Day!
No, I readily admit I am not a great athlete --- have I mentioned I hate running?
This weekend was a good workout, and an enjoyable Mother's Day. Saturday, a number of our Team In Training alumni rode the Armadillo Hill Country ride. While the ride offers a 105-mile route, I wasn't sure until we met up in the morning which distance we were going to do. Turned out that nobody was planning on doing the full century other than the two crazies, Shelly and John. But I was happy enough with the 78-mile route (which turned out to be 81.4) given all the wind, and the fact that I was also participating in the Rookie Triathlon the next day. I told the rest of the crew to not wait on me because I wasn't planning on a hard push Saturday. Good thing - there were some turns where the wind was pretty tough. But we managed a mediocre 15.5 mph average.
Sunday was even better. The drive down to New Braunfels was broken up by a few intermittent showers. From the first drops on the windshield, all I could think was "oh, boy, another triathlon messed up by weather!" Fortunately, we only had a few sprinkles while we were setting up transition (really? could you put us old farts any further away from the exit/entry points? And cram us in as an afterthought while you are at it!) So we waited for the start and it felt like it was getting colder, making me re-think the fact that I decided to forgo the wetsuit. But once our wave got into the water, it wasn't too bad. Note to self - don't try to always sight on the buoys, cuz they aren't necessarily the most direct point to the swim finish.
Transition was definitely faster than LoneStar. Come out of the bike start directly into the first climb, down to a sharp right, and then off through the trees. Around the back of the loop there are a number of long rollers -- and a number of "occasional" riders (moms and their kids, mountain bikes that were getting walked up the hills, etc). I might have been able to manage a better ride time, but the course is so short (only 11 miles) and there are 1000 participants so bike traffic and the number of people who don't understand bike etiquette that there were some passes I had to wait on. But the final downhill was pretty awesome - I was hitting 35-36 passing a number of bikes.
The run? Yeah well, did I mention I hate running? I could still feel the 81 miles from the day before. But I waddled through it. I know if I am going to continue the triathlons, I will need lots of run practice. But until after the Triple Bypass ride, that isn't too much of a priority.
A good weekend overall, training-wise. And topped it off by taking the Resurrection over to the previous owners and taking them for a ride on his old motorcycle that had been sitting in his garage for 26 years. What a great feeling to watch their faces light up when I rolled into the driveway. Then it was off to dinner with MY mom.
Happy Mother's Day!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Another busy week
Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. - Joshua J. Marine
This past week has been an interesting week post-Half IronMan... still got in a couple of decent swims, including another open-water in the wetsuit at a local lake. Did a couple of short runs. Saturday was bike day, in that I rode approx 45 miles in the morning with the team on the road bike, and then another 29 on the tri bike in the afternoon. More wind in the afternoon, and a bit hotter.
Jeff and I rode the motorcycles down to New Braunfels so we could check out the bike route for the Rookie Tri next Sunday. There are a few rollers in it but nothing big. We stepped into the Ski Ranch to see what the swim looked like and our wonderful hostess gave us the guided tour.
I also have the Armadillo Hill Country Ride, a century, on Saturday. I am trying to decide whether I want to ride the entire 105 or just do the 75 in preparation for Sunday... that is the challenge right now.
Train on, brother, train on!
This past week has been an interesting week post-Half IronMan... still got in a couple of decent swims, including another open-water in the wetsuit at a local lake. Did a couple of short runs. Saturday was bike day, in that I rode approx 45 miles in the morning with the team on the road bike, and then another 29 on the tri bike in the afternoon. More wind in the afternoon, and a bit hotter.
Jeff and I rode the motorcycles down to New Braunfels so we could check out the bike route for the Rookie Tri next Sunday. There are a few rollers in it but nothing big. We stepped into the Ski Ranch to see what the swim looked like and our wonderful hostess gave us the guided tour.
I also have the Armadillo Hill Country Ride, a century, on Saturday. I am trying to decide whether I want to ride the entire 105 or just do the 75 in preparation for Sunday... that is the challenge right now.
Train on, brother, train on!
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