Here we go!

It's almost that time again. Training for this year's Big Pool Triathlon starts on May 6th with race day on June 29th. Physically I'm more ready then last year but mentally... well I'll have to work on that.

Let me catch up on what has happened over the fall and winter.

In September I competed in my first, and possibly last, 10K race. I got through it in a reasonable time (for me anyway) but I really aggravated my IT band and the pain in my knee was horrible. After trying to push through it for a few weeks I finally had to stop running entirely in November. I was still able to swim and bike short distances, but running was out of the question. In December I started slowly working my way back into the groove and by January I was ready to start the C25K program. This program takes you from barely running at all to running a 5K in 8 weeks. I made it to week 5 when my back knocked me out of the game. The spasms were so bad I needed Morphine and a muscle relaxer to recover. I literally could not move without help. That put me at the end of February and still not running like I should.

March was better but the weather has been really sporadic with snow one day and record heat the next. And have I mentioned that we have wind here? It's not been hurricane speed but still moving the tumble weeds around. I ran a few races in March and felt better each time.

My friends Meghan M. and Yolanda R. after the Special Olympics Torch Run

Then I was asked to join the Special Olympics Torch Run in our area. It's a wonderful cause and I was glad to do my part and raise some money to help fund their events. The drawback was that it was listed as a 6.8 mile run. OK. I can get that far with lots of walking and a very slow pace. Participants could run any or all of the distance so I felt fine with that. I signed up and raised a fair amount of money, mostly because I pledged to run farther with each dollar raised and my "friends" wanted me to run the entire distance! Then I found out that we would be running as a group. Uh oh. I'm slow. And I knew I would have to walk some. I was so worried about slowing the group down or being taken off the course because I was lagging behind that I was in tears for two days before the run. As it turned out, the route was only 5.85 miles and they were very understanding about my pace. I'm sure they could have run much faster, but we all stuck together and made quite a sight running through the heart of town with a police escort. The pressure to keep running and not walk helped me keep up and for the first 5K of the run I was able to run faster then I have in almost 2 years. I still had to walk a few short jags, but not as much as I feared. All in all I was pretty proud of myself.

But the most rewarding part of the entire day was running around the track at the stadium with some of the Special Olympics participants joining us. One of the participants sang the Star Spangled Banner in his own unique full voiced way and it brought a smile to my face, and my heart. The high fives as we left the field were awesome! I felt like I had actually contributed to something wonderful if even in a small way. It made all my worries about keeping up and being good enough seem petty and vain. I was reminded once again that THIS IS WHY I RUN! I run in support of those who can't. It's as simple as that.

So now I'm bracing myself for another Big Pool Triathlon. It's not as exciting as last year but I know what to expect now. I'm already at distance and beyond for all three disciplines so most of the training will be combining activities and being more consistent. I know I'm slow but that isn't going to stop me from getting to the finish line. Turtle Power!