A New Reason To Race!

My First Triathlon (My family & friends to Support me!!)

It has been a good while since I have last posted. I am still in full swing with my training and still competing at Chesapeakman in 6 weeks. Life sometimes takes you but storm and hands you a new set of cards and it’s up to you to decide how to play them.

My training this year has been much different than last year. I had different priorities and time last year than I do this year. I am focusing more on the bike portion, and have really developed that very well. I am riding strong and have developed a new love for the bike.

Being a new homeowner has taken up a ton of my free time, so I don’t have the luxury of coming home from a training ride/run and resting the rest of the day, I know work on house projects with my husband, and it’s exhausting.

Overall I feel strong and very excited to race. Im excited to see what I can do on a flat course. I am shooting for 12hours!!

My friend Larry gave me a book recently on the triathlete Chris, McCormack (Macca). It talks about his career and how the press and other athletes perceive him. He also talks about how the death of his mom affected him and gave him a new reason to race. At the time I read that part of the book, I was on a plane to Florida to visit my mom in the hospital, who passed away a day later. My mom was one of my biggest supporters. She read this blog religiously; even when she knew what my training was that week because we spoke on the phone every day!! My mom died from complications of Pulmonary Fibrosis. She couldn’t breather, so now I breathe for her and race for her. It would be so easy to quit training and racing, but what good would that do for anyone, and I know it’s not what my mom would have wanted. So now I race in honor of her. I know she will be there with me, through all the challenges and successes. And my dad is even flying up from Florida to come see me race too, it’s going to be a great day.

You always read about people who race because they just beat cancer, or lost a leg, or lost a ton of weight, well I race for those can’t, and I race for those who lost a loved one, because we race each day and are challenged with the grief monster. Someday the monster is easy to beat and others it’s not, but you get through it.

I am hoping the rain lets up here so I can get out on the road, but if it’s inside on the trainer, than so be it. At least I have a new bike to ride thanks to Michele and Travis!!

Talk to you all Soon.