Something to Work Towards

"All things are difficult before they are easy." ~ Thomas Fuller

This weekend was a good lesson that what I lack in skill, speed and fitness I more than make up for in effort and attitude.



My biggest goal this weekend was to complete my workouts as planned. Getting in the habit of weekends as "long" workout days takes some getting used to. After all, with weeks as packed full of work, training, personal time and all the cooking we do, you feel like you could really use a rest! Yet, come Saturday morning, both Adam and I woke up early feeling strong and looking forward to swimming. We also completed our scheduled run! It's the first run I've done since the 1/2 marathon and while my foot was a little tender, I overall felt pretty strong.

Saturday we went on our biggest bike ride yet. Compared to most cyclists, it's kind of a baby ride mileage wise, but it has a huge hill section smack dab in the middle. A long hill climb. A long, grueling hill climb. After a gorgeous quick-paced half-lap around the Back Bay, we headed out onto Bayside and sped along the seaside paralleling Pacific Coast Highway. We turned out onto PCH at the last moment and enjoyed the beautiful view of the beach before Crystal Cove. We took a quick break before heading left and up Newport Coast Drive.

I knew that Newport Coast was big, but I had no idea how looooong of a climb it would be, nor how ill prepared I was. I am pretty good at climbing shorter steep hills, but my real weakness lies in the long climb. Adam took off and immediately I could see this was going to be my personal battle. Every sport has a weak point for every person, and big hills are mine. The good news is that I finished the hill and finished the ride in pretty good overall time. I also have a clear goal to tackle! The fun part was hitting 30mph on the way down :) That's with occasional estrogen-induced braking.

On a more personal note, I simply cannot believe how much a difference the random decision to sign up for a sprint tri last year could make. I thought it would motivate me to lose some weight, to mix up my workouts, and to learn how to swim. Little did I know how much it was going to change my life, Adam's life, our overall well-being, goals and happiness. I spent years trying to find this sense of calm, health, fitness, drive and strength. Trying to quit drinking, or quit smoking or eat healthier and always pushing it to "tomorrow". I had no idea how much that little choice would create a life shift and allow me to earn the life I love today.