It seems like I haven't posted on here in a long time, but it's only been 2 weeks! Well, I guess a lot has happened in that time period...none of it good. First, we lost an local hero in Sally Meyerhoff..she was tragically killed on a bike ride. She was an Olympic hopeful in the marathon, the first local womens winner of PF Changs Marathon (beat me by 25 minutes), and was looking to compete in Ironman this coming year---ugh, just a bummer. On recent solo workouts, I have thought a lot about her, yet I never even knew her.....but I know her. I know that there's this drive when your training to not slow down, never hit "pause." You get a workout that says 4 hour ride...it doesn't say 4 hour ride, stop at every stop sign, red light, ride only where there is a "bike lane," where there are alert drivers...it says "ride." Those rides are supposed to be at the same heart rate all the way through---no stopping, no adjusting for what the road throws in your way. The tragic part about losing Sally is she was 27, and the other: it could have been any one of us people who ride the roads anywhere on the planet. I now stop at every stop sign, look both ways twice when crossing any intersection, and every time I do, I think of her, I think of my family, and I think that I am very fortunate yet very fragile when it comes to being out on the road. I will never take safety for granted, ever. I have a beautiful wife, a fantastic daughter, and a future baby to think about, be responsible for, and return home safely to for the rest of my life. This triathlon thing is just a hobby, and as much as I love the challenge, I love living more. So, to Sally, we all think of you often, and I will say a little prayer for you in Kona when the going gets really tough, drawing from your "Be Relentlessly Positive." Pink is a new favorite color of mine (Sally wore pink compression socks--it was her trademark).
So, not to change the subject abruptly, we also have the events in Japan---we all know, we've all seen the videos. As horrific as they are, I am in awe of what has happened over there.
With both of these events happening inside of the same week, I seem to be feeling a bit edgy, a bit overwhelmed with it all. I think I took some of the "anger" out in my workouts---to the point that I am suffering a bit of a setback by falling into a bout of overtraining (repressed heart rate, a bit tired, a bit unmotivated). Looking at the big picture though, I am happy to have my health, my family, and my happiness. It is what it is...hardly a thing to make into a big deal---like I said, this is a hobby. Compared to the 2 events above---I find it hard to waste a wink of sleep over it. I figured out that I have been pushing in my training sessions while doing a "test" this past monday...I was pushing as hard as I could, and my BPM wouldn't go above 131---sluggish! Chris said not to worry, but is keeping a close eye on my running pace (yes, I've been cheating by running my aerobic workouts a bit too fast). So I am focused more than ever on my pace---not caring if I am the slow guy in the group. This all points to building a strong base for the long year to come!
So I think I'll leave this one at this point...and next post we'll move onwards and upwards, and hopefully post a lot more often with some comedy hopefully thrown in!
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