I went swimming today! And I ran! And I raced yesterday on my bike and will race again tomorrow. I’m becoming a triathlete, it seems. My triathlon training plans got put on hold last February when I hurt my foot and decided I’d better stop running, but now they seem to be back on track. My foot is still a little iffy, with some aches and pains now and then, but I’m seeing a doctor who helps tremendously — one who is a triathlete himself, which is a wonderful thing. There’s nothing like seeing a doctor who really gets it. There still is a chance my foot might get bad again, and then everything will go on hold once more, but there’s hope, at least.
The swimming was fun; I haven’t been in a pool to do laps in a decade or so, so I wasn’t sure how it would go, but I was more nervous about figuring out how things work at the pool — rules and etiquette and such — than about the swimming. I found a nice motherly woman who I shared lanes with and who explained everything to me, so now I feel much better, and I’m excited about going back. I hope to take swimming lessons at some point this fall.
Yesterday’s race wasn’t particularly fun; I’m feeling burnt out on racing right now, and with my fairly frenetic schedule of races I’m not really surprised. I’m not enjoying the pack-riding aspect of racing right now — the aspect of racing where fitness, at least once you’re at a certain level, doesn’t matter as much as tactics and aggression do. I’m no good at tactics and aggression, and I’m not really interested in getting better at them. This is where the appeal of triathlons comes in; it’s a much more individualized sport where you’re racing against yourself as much as you’re racing against others.
My goals in yesterday’s race were to not get dropped and not to crash, and I accomplished both of those things without trouble, so that’s good, even if my finish wasn’t that great (12th out of 18).
Of Books and Bicycles 
Wow, great job! I thought of you this weekend when a triathlon was held at my lake. The cycling part took everyone farther afield than the lake and in the late morning when we went grocery shopping we had to cross the cycling route and wait for the police to signal it was okay for us to go. The cyclists go so fast! I know you’ve mentioned how fast you go, but seeing the number on a page is different than seeing it zoom by. I so admire your determination.
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Hooray, you’re swimming!
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That’s great that your foot is doing better. It sounds like you did great in the race yesterday too. To keep up and not crash is a great thing!
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I am very impressed! Sounds like things are going great – meeting your racing goals and trying new stuff as well. (and now I feel so very lazy… )
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Triathlon – wow! Dorothy, you continue to amaze me with your sporting exploits. You are so courageous and strong! And I know just what you mean about the pleasure of finding a doctor who gets it. I really like my GP, after years of not finding one I considered actually helpful. It makes a huge difference.
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Triathlon – cool! What an exciting challenge that will be for you.
I know what you mean about tactics and aggression, it can really kill your enthusiasm for a sport. I used to ride with a road cycle club and totally hated all the machismo and trash talking that emerged as ‘normal’ in the racing. It turned me off so much that I didn’t ride for ages. However I just bought a new bike on the weekend, a Specialised dolce, which I’m totally infatuated with, (it’s so light and fast!) and I’m really enjoying riding for nobody but me!
Btw: are you enjoying the TDF? I’d really like to see Cadel to do well.
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Good shoes and a smooth stride… that’s my advice. I hope you can keep the foot healthy and enjoy a lot of events.
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I think it’s so cool that you might do a triathalon! And I like the idea of racing against yourself, as it would be so much less stressful that competing against the pack. Like Stefanie I thought of you, too, this weekend. When I was walking back from the library on Sunday there was a bike race in our downtown. There were several blocks cordoned off and it made a circular sort of track around several buildings–up a hill and down the backside. It appeared to be just men racing, but it was interesting to watch. They just flew by!
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Danielle – it appeared to be only men because the women had already flown by before you got out. 😉
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Stefanie — oh, I bet that was fun to watch! When cyclists know what they are doing, they can be a beautiful sight to behold 🙂
Chartroose — yes, I am, and it’s been a lot of fun so far!
Debby — oh, yes, not crashing is the main thing, and every time I don’t crash, I’m very happy about it!
Melanie — no need to feel lazy — not everybody needs to be out doing all that hard work 🙂
Litlove, definitely having a doctor who really understands makes a huge difference — I have so much more confidence now that my foot really will heal.
Antipodeanowl — enjoy your new bike! It sounds wonderful. Too bad that those awful racers put you off riding for so long — yes, some racers can be real jerks, although most I know are great. You know, I’m not much of a tour follower — I’m interested in sports only when I’m competing myself …
Bikkuri — thank you! And I like your explanation to Danielle — it makes perfect sense to me! 🙂
Danielle — how fun to have a local race! It sounds just like the kind of races I do. Perhaps they were doing the women’s race later or had already done it. In most races I’ve seen, there are around 7 or 8 men’s races and only 1 or 2 women’s ones.
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Congratulations and good luck! Oh, and I completely understand that worry about the rules of the pool thing. There is a gym across the street from our company apartment that has a pool. We’re allowed to use it, since we rent the apartment. Every time I go up there, I bring my bathing suit. Every time I come home, I unpack a completely dry, unused bathing suit, because I’m just too intimidated to go in there and have to find out about signing in, where the pool is, what the protocol is for who gets what lane, etc. Glad you found someone to help you. And dammit, next time I’m up at the office, I’m going to come home with a wet, used bathing suit.
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