It may take more time and patience to produce a recipe from scratch rather than buying the "just add water" mix, but in the end home baked always tastes better. This is the journey I am choosing to take this year to reinvent myself by starting over from scratch and right now I am shopping for the right ingredients and then I will figure out how to combine them into a final product that I can be proud of at the finish line.
I felt broken down at the end of my summer season followed by 6 weeks of forced time out. My mind and body were out of sync. When my mind was ready to get back to work after signing up for my next Ironman, my body gave out and my immune system could not keep up with the demands and then as my health finally started returning, my head was no longer in the game.
I was doing everything in my power to find motivation including posting my Ironman Finisher Picture everywhere, studying books and magazines, cut and pasting train logos to remind me Chattanooga is a coming and living vicariously through my friends upcoming Ironman. My body and mind seemed to be rejecting my efforts at rebuilding stamina to workout and the motivation to overcome the mental and physical fatigue. I felt defeated like I would not be able to return to that place I had gone before where you reach deep within your soul to be all that you can be.
What is the best way to cure a sick triathlete you might be wondering. Just like a dead battery, sometimes we need a jump start. I was signed up for a sprint triathlon in San Diego, so I had to cram for this race in a few weeks. I almost did not even want to go, but these are the times that you need to "JUST DO IT" the most.
So I managed to put in the minimum training to get through a sprint course. I was pretty convinced that 1/8th of an Ironman was going to "feel" like the full distance at this moment in time. To my delight after a relaxing run around the bay in San Diego, even though it did not feel like heaven, my pilot light was reset. I came to terms with where I am at that moment and had hope that I could start this process over from scratch.
By accepting this, it made it easier to go enjoy the "SPRINT" and I was pleasantly surprised that sometimes cramming for a test pays off. It was a great pre-test to assess "where I am" and "where I want to go". I was pleased with the results and enjoyed the opportunity to use the sprint distance to refresh and rejuvenate. The experience reminded me about the spirit of triathlon. It was a great dress rehearsal, transition practice and speedwork all wrapped up in one. Since it was an Esprit de She Event, it was fun bonding with old and new female triathletes. There is something powerful about tri-ing with a herd of women! I ended up pulling off a decent race finishing 11/56 in my age group and 119/417 overall (3/56 in the swim and 12/56 on bike (ave 18.6 mph) and 11/56 on run (ave 9:11 pace). Now that I got a jump start....off to the shop I go for some base training, basic maintenance and maybe a few new parts!
Sometimes you have to clean out the closets and throw away the old stuff to make room for the new stuff that triathletes are made of. Now time to go shopping! What do you think should go into my recipe?
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