I got the sweetest email from my mom today regarding tomorrow’s 70.3 race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run):
“Good luck tomorrow and take care of yourself. I know you are prepared and in wonderful shape but I still worry about you. See you around 5. Will make a country rib dinner.”
I think I already look older than my own mother. She’s a beaut.
This email made me think -
In all that we do with our training and races, we have to remember that the people who care about us worry about us. They worry we will exhaust ourselves, make ourselves sick, get dehydrated, get heat stroke. They worry we might fall off our bikes, drown in a lake, get lost on a run. They worry that we will be disappointed in our performance and be hard on ourselves. They worry that we will go on a training ride/run and not come home. But, mostly they worry we will ruin our knees.
They would never say “Don’t do it,” but they worry. (Well, they might say don’t do it, but then we might punch them).
This is no different than how I worry every time my kids are out of my sight. Every time I hear a siren and don’t have everyone I love beside me. Every time my phone rings at an odd hour.
The worry is always there, but we are living to do what makes us feel most alive, and sometimes that involves risk. Hell, just being alive and moving through your day involves risk. I can be unscathed on a 90 mile bike ride, but then come home and fall down the stairs. But, maybe that’s just me.
Bottom line: I am blessed to have people who love me enough to worry about me. And, I am blessed to have so many people I love enough to worry about. And, lastly I am blessed that tomorrow I get a country rib dinner. Have I told you what a good cook my mom is?
That said, how am I feeling about tomorrow’s race? Undecided. Is it normal to feel -
- Terrified/Anticipatory/Nervous – Will I hyperventilate in the water like I did at my last race? It’s going to be 95 degrees. Bitch! Will the heat, hills and wind get the best of me? How will my ham-ass (hamstring + ass pain I’ve been having the past couple of weeks) hold up on the run? And, as always, will I crap my pants or puke? I wish the swim was last to wash nasty things away.
- Excited – I’m prepared. I’ve been putting in lots of training hours. I especially want to see what I can do on my new bike. My biggest saga today is where to put my tire tube and CO2 since they won’t fit in my jersey. I don’t want to be stuck out there without one. Sharpie said just to duct tape to my bike and look ghetto. Okay, then. Like this? Classy.
Well, it’s 6:00 p.m. and I have yet to sit down all day. Rode my bike, sold merchandise at a high school football game, took the kids to the mall…now, time to get freaking organized. 4:30 a.m. wake up call.
As you can tell I’ve done nothing yet.
Whoever decided it was a good idea to do three sports at once must have been a gear whore.
Heidi thinks this is all a joke. Look at her laughing at me. See if she gets any belly rubs tonight.
What’s the favorite meal your mom cooks for you or cooked for you in the past? Mine has always been chicken and dumplings.
Does your family think you are crazy/worry about you with your training? Not a lot, or at least they don’t let on too much. My friend Erika gets a bit freaky about my IM training. I think she thinks I am going to train myself in the ground and not be her friend anymore.
Tell me something to calm my nerves.
SUAR
