So yesterday I was writing part 2 to my "Rough Start" blog. It was a follow up after a difficult race at Texas 70.3. Half way through writing the post my computer crashed for some reason. I decided to just walk away and finish today.
So this morning, thinking about completing the blog and just getting it out of the way, I received a phone call. One of my closest friends, Keith, the person that introduced me into sport and my partner in marathons, had just had his first child. While it should have been a moment of excitement and joy, there was other news that came with it. His brother ,Nick, was killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan 12 hours after the birth of his child. My heart just dropped..... Why oh why do these things happen to such good people?
Going back to writing a sob story on how my race went bad just didn't seem appropriate. Nick was only one of a few people that I knew that always had a smile on his face. He was a loving husband, father, and an overall genuinely happy guy. The life of the party. Mr. Comedian. Having something like this hit home so hard made me realize that writing a blog about my "bad race" was a waste of time. There are much more important things in life than a "bad race". Your family and friends weigh much more heavily than a race that I won't even remember in 20 years. I know parts of what went wrong and will deal accordingly and make changes with my coach. We are really the only people that need to know, and will build strength and learn lessons from the mistakes.
Mostly, what I can't stop thinking of, is how precious our lives are. Most of us take for granted our daily ins and out. I'm as much at fault in getting wrapped up in the inconsequential things. It only takes one thing in our lives to bring us down to earth and realize how lucky we are, and how we must be grateful for every moment, every breathe, ever encounter with the ones we love.
As I conclude to be close with my family tonight, I want to end with this.... I am so blessed to be living my dream every day. I'm blessed to have the support of family and friends. I recognize it and have a renewed love for the process of evolving in sport, my personal life and what it represents for me. I have no way of knowing what tomorrow brings for me, for you, for anyone. All we can do "is be happy for the moment. For this moment is your life."
We will miss you, Nick.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Rough Start to the 2012 Season-Part 1 Costa Rica
I started my season at Costa Rica Rev3 triathlon a few weeks ago. The race location was amazing, and the course a killer......It just took us a while to get there. My husband Rob and I left 6 am on Friday morning from Ohio and didn't arrive to the race venue at Reserva Conchal until Saturday about 3pm. And mind you the race started Sunday at 6am. We had all sorts of travel delays with the airline due to maintenance issues, crew duty, and plan availability. An extra day in Chicago airport was not on my race weekend plans.
When we arrived finally, all of the Rev3 staff were just so kind in helping me get everything done I needed to get done, and helped me try to destress. One of many reasons I love doing the Rev3 series is that they really take care of their athletes and will do anything to make the experience a A +.
So we started putting my bike together and realized that one of my band new carbon race wheels, with zero miles on them, had been broken. So on top of being late, I had bike issues. We got the mechanics to glue the carbon together, as that was the only option at this point. I went out for a short swim and did a little spin on my bike to test myself out on the giant hills right out of transition. It all just seemed so whirlwind. We went right to dinner and right to bed.
By 4 am I was up and getting ready to race. We got to the site on time and I was feeling like I had a good night sleep. I got to the start line and all I could think of was, "how did I just get here?" It was like a blur. And we were off. My race didn't go very well. My training has been great, so I was really hoping to see improvements in my performance. No such luck. As soon as I got on the bike I could tell my legs were dead. I rode hard and did what I could but I knew my energy level was not where it should be....rested. Then came the run. Tough run as the first 1.5 miles are on sand. It got hotter and hotter as the minutes went on. I hadn't been in 95 degrees heat since last summer. I live in the north, ya know. So having like 16 hours of acclimation wasn't enough, of course. It just all did not fall into place for me how I would have imagined. There will always be uncontrollable factors in every race. Sometimes you can do something about them, sometimes you can't.
I slept for most of the day after the race.Sorta funny since you'd think we were in Costa Rica and should do something vacation like, I just didn't have the energy. Rob and I did get a chance to surf and horseback ride the next day, so it wasn't a whole loss of a trip.
Teresa Nelson and I in ice bath
I didn't do document the trip very well, but I did get to make some new friends, and I want to show how Rev3 adds that little touch to every race experience. Real coconut water drinks at the finish for all and the coldest ice baths Iv'e ever been in at the hottest race.
Thanks Krista, Charlie, and the whole Rev3 team for helping me out and also putting on another fabulous race. Looking forward to seeing you all at Quassy. And of course thanks to my sponsors, Power Bar, Blue Seventy, Fuel Belt, and Rudy Project for supporting me this season. However, the BIGGEST shout out must go to HED cycling for getting me back in working order in less than a week after returning to the States and getting my wheels situated for me. These guys really can work some magic. (well as long as they have coffee)
When we arrived finally, all of the Rev3 staff were just so kind in helping me get everything done I needed to get done, and helped me try to destress. One of many reasons I love doing the Rev3 series is that they really take care of their athletes and will do anything to make the experience a A +.
So we started putting my bike together and realized that one of my band new carbon race wheels, with zero miles on them, had been broken. So on top of being late, I had bike issues. We got the mechanics to glue the carbon together, as that was the only option at this point. I went out for a short swim and did a little spin on my bike to test myself out on the giant hills right out of transition. It all just seemed so whirlwind. We went right to dinner and right to bed.
By 4 am I was up and getting ready to race. We got to the site on time and I was feeling like I had a good night sleep. I got to the start line and all I could think of was, "how did I just get here?" It was like a blur. And we were off. My race didn't go very well. My training has been great, so I was really hoping to see improvements in my performance. No such luck. As soon as I got on the bike I could tell my legs were dead. I rode hard and did what I could but I knew my energy level was not where it should be....rested. Then came the run. Tough run as the first 1.5 miles are on sand. It got hotter and hotter as the minutes went on. I hadn't been in 95 degrees heat since last summer. I live in the north, ya know. So having like 16 hours of acclimation wasn't enough, of course. It just all did not fall into place for me how I would have imagined. There will always be uncontrollable factors in every race. Sometimes you can do something about them, sometimes you can't.
I slept for most of the day after the race.Sorta funny since you'd think we were in Costa Rica and should do something vacation like, I just didn't have the energy. Rob and I did get a chance to surf and horseback ride the next day, so it wasn't a whole loss of a trip.
I didn't do document the trip very well, but I did get to make some new friends, and I want to show how Rev3 adds that little touch to every race experience. Real coconut water drinks at the finish for all and the coldest ice baths Iv'e ever been in at the hottest race.
Thanks Krista, Charlie, and the whole Rev3 team for helping me out and also putting on another fabulous race. Looking forward to seeing you all at Quassy. And of course thanks to my sponsors, Power Bar, Blue Seventy, Fuel Belt, and Rudy Project for supporting me this season. However, the BIGGEST shout out must go to HED cycling for getting me back in working order in less than a week after returning to the States and getting my wheels situated for me. These guys really can work some magic. (well as long as they have coffee)
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