Self Respecting Ruminations
Without being too teribly egocentric, I must admit: I like myself.
Not in a self centered, arrogant kind of way.
Not in the kind of "I love to talk about myself" kind of way.
But in the kind of self appreciation that comes after years of being that nerdy, awkward kid who was never asked to school dances and who was teased because of her...
1) vertically challenged dimension
2) unruly eyebrows
3)big pouty lips
In life, so many things come in threes. And in my life, it's not just in my nascent inadequacies. But is it a coincidence that I fell into doing triathlons, something that has changed my life and can be credited with my sense of self empowerment?
Whoever coined the adage "Three times is a charm", I'd like to say I'd agree.
Because much to pinkgurugal's delight, I have another "threes" under my belt.
Three times over the last year, if you happen to be thumbing through those free fitness magazines (I'm not certain anyone really reads them) ... inside you will find me unsuspectingly striking one of my many tri poses.
Magazine Mugs
Here I am cycling my heart out. Only this was taken a few years ago. Notice the bad aero position.
Recently this shot showed up in one of those local health and fitness magazines. I'm not sure which race this was. I think it was last October's Ironstar Half. I know I look like I'm okay, but in reality, I recall I was cursing myself getting out of that cold, rocky Lake Conroe water.
Then, in just the last few weeks, someone showed me this photo. I think this was the Thanksgiving Day Turkey trot. I look happy. I smiled. Actually, I always smile when I see a camera. It's my way of not taking myself so seriously and to remember I am doing this because it's fun
I didn't get paid for these photos. And admittedly, I am far from being a competitive triathlete. I just like doing them. They are fun. And they make me feel good about myself. And I am an endorphin junkie.
And this is payback.
Cheers and happy training!
"If you cannot change your fate, change your attitude." Amy Tan
It was good to be back on my bike. For the first hour of my ride, I listened to my ipod (bad me!) and just focused on riding again. It was windy and there was plenty of headwind, but I simply took things easy.
How fast I was going I have NO clue, since my damn cateye is broken (damn I really hate this thing) and I need to take it in to get another one or have one of the Sugar Cycles guys look at it.
In some ways though, it was nice not being a slave to speed and cadence. I mean, I'm not training for anything in particular. And I was riding to clear my head and be in my thoughts.
After an hour I ditched the music and took in the scenery. I saw the usual number of roadkill and familiar landmarks. Then I thought about all the times I had trained for last years ironman using this country route. This ride is not just familiar to me, but it's also personal.
I've prayed on this route, I've cursed this route, I've almost gotten killed on this route.
Heck, most all of my long rides have been on this country route.
I was on my bike for three hours. Plenty of time to obsess in your thoughts.
I was sore, tired and plain hungry when I finished. But these were also familiar feelings. And in a strange sort of way, I took comfort in these pangs.
But Rob's new bike, the Red Allez.
He needed one for many reasons.
1) He's with me and to be with me, you need to have a bike.
2) Riding is cool and fun and better than going to the malls and shopping
3) Oh, and I signed him up for his first sprint triathlon in May
Saturday we took his shiny new bike out for a spin. I'm not ready to take him to the country in traffic until he feels comfortable. He did fine, considering he hasn't ridden a bike save for spin class at the gym.
'Nuff' said.
'Mo' later.
Cheers and happy training!
