Recently I was asked what at first seemed like a irrelevant question. While out at dinner, my date asked me if I did triathlons and wanted to finish Ironman because I thought it would "fix" me. Kind of deep for a date. I didn't take it offensively, since he was not a runner or athlete of any kind. Had he been, he probably never would have needed the answer to that question. I asked him to give me a moment to think about it before I answered.
We all have our stories as to why we start this journey, and usually those stories have a lot of pain and loss involved. Many times I have asked my fellow triathletes why they got into the sport. Cancer, death, divorce, being bullied, dysfunctional home life as a child, wanting to lose weight, take your pick. It turns out if you ask the question and just listen, people are happy to share. Those stories tend to build on themselves. When others with similar experiences hear how you have overcome obstacles, they get inspired to do the same. It's the best part of endurance sports.
I sat for some time before I answered. There are people in my life who know parts of my story, those that know more, and a select few people who know it all (and seem to still like me anyway). I felt like in that moment I was the representative for all of us, and wanted to make sure I gave the best answer possible. I give the guy credit, he understood this was a big question and gave me the time I wanted to think about it.
We joke about training being cheaper than therapy. There is just something about putting your emotional pain into a physical workout, and tiring out your body so your brain will, for at least a little bit, stop working in overdrive. Endorphins give us a natural boost, and we build confidence as we see our body respond. As our limits become redefined, and we see that we can accomplish more than we thought we could, our viewpoint changes. Life no longer throws us back and forth - we stand strong against what would try to take us down. When things get hard, we turn to training. It is constant, always there for us, and generally doesn't talk back.
It is also a natural tendency to surround ourselves with those who are pursuing the same or similar goals. Those ahead of us inspire us, and those behind us are inspired by us. These people understand why we push ourselves, what sparks our drive, and are willing to help push us on the days when motivation is hard to find. The strongest metals are forged by fire, and each setback or disappointment we face in life refine us as long as we don't give up on the process.
These people see on a daily basis how far you have come, and celebrate the accomplishments with you. They are there on the bad days, when the workouts don't come together, or the even worse days, when life hits you so hard you don't want to workout, and are tempted to give up on your goals. (I had one day like that, and had some great people talk me down from the ledge.) The best training family members come out and get you, kick your sorry butt out the door, and make you workout until you find your footing again.
Realizing there was no way I could convey all of that, I came up with the simplest, most honest answer I could.
I started training because I needed an anchor, something I could hold onto as the storm passed. But I will finish Ironman not because I was "fixed" by it, but because I have come to realize I always was "fixed". Training just helps you sort through all the garbage that covers up who you always were. As you get stronger, those qualities that got pushed deep inside come out, and you see the value in yourself you may not have seen before. You no longer settle to be treated badly by others or even yourself, and face adversity with confidence, knowing what you have already accomplished.
He took that in, and then we started talking about something else. But the conversation has sat with me since then.
In the past couple of weeks, I have been having these periods of time when I am incredibly happy. There is no specific reason for it, no event that triggered it. It has not (yet) happened right after an accomplishment, good training, or when something really good has happened in my daily life. It just sneaks up on me, and I get a big smile on my face. At first, I have to admit it freaked me out. Now, I am willing to accept it, and bask in it. It is the truest form of happiness: not tied to anyone or anything, but because in that moment, I am content with who I am, where I am, and know I will attain my goals. Everything is at peace, and I see who I really am outside of the things I have gone through. One of my goals now is to have that feeling all the time, regardless of who is around me or what I'm going through. I feel blessed to have these moments, and am grateful for them, and for every workout that got me here.
Have a great day everyone and happy endorphins!
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Darth Gator Strikes Back
Javi and I were excited about Gatorbait. For Javi, it was the start of triathlons. For me, it was my first post CapTex race, and I wanted to see how much I had improved. Lake swim, hilly bike, longer run. No problem! (Murphy's Law: when someone says "no problem", you know what's coming)
We got there and started setting up our transition areas. I had broken the cardinal rule of triathlons - you are never supposed to try something new the day of the race. But tired of long transition times because of having to fully change outfits with each sport, I bought a tri suit the day before. You are supposed to train with any new clothes first to make sure you don't run into problems, but I figured the risk was worth it.
I kept thinking I must have forgotten something, since it didn't take me long at all to set up, but it turns out I have just gotten effective at it. Javi had gotten run into by someone's bike, and have a nice little gouge on his leg, but he didn't seem too concerned about it, so off we went to the race meeting.
These are generally very dull, and I pay about as much attention to them as Charlie Brown's teacher (wah, wah, wah, wah, wah) but this time, I was trying to set a good example for Javi - very glad I did. The county had chip sealed the first three miles of the bike course two days before the race, which meant there was no time for car grooves to be created. It was the equivalent of riding through heavy mud. Since it was a loop, that meant the last three miles would also feel that way. We were also told about Heartbreak Hill - aptly named since when people saw it, they wanted to cry. We were told to walk it if we had to, but to be very careful on the way down - you could easily hit 55 mph. My thought was (as a Physics teacher), if it had the steepness and length to create a 55 mph downhill, what was this thing going to be like to climb up??
Instead of a mass start, we had a mini wave start. People were let out at five second intervals based upon their bib number or seed time. I joked with the people around me, trying to keep Javi calm as we waited for our turn.
The water was a little choppy (Javi would say, "a LITTLE choppy?") but I kept good time. Javi was behind me, and I hoped he was having a good swim. About halfway through, I brought up my head to sight and WHOA, there was a kayak right in front of me. For some reason that only made sense to the guy in the kayak, he had crossed my path and stopped to give another swimmer a rest. I had to make a quick decision - around or under? I opted for under, and kept going.
You can imagine my surprise when I got out of the water and there was Javi. Now, my first thought was that while he had gotten stronger, there was no way he had beaten me out of the water. My second thought was to question if he had gotten in. Turns out, he started, but when the waves started forcing water in his mouth, he panicked and got brought it. Happens to all of us at some point, and I'm proud he tried it at all. The race directors said he could continue with the bike and run to get a feel for the triathlon as a whole. We ran to transition together and got on our bikes.
Chip seal - bane of my existence. I kept looking down to see if I maybe had a flat, that's what it felt like trying to bike through it. Once past it, there was a nice little series of inclines leading up to Heartbreak Hill. I was determined (stubborn) to ride up it, no way I was going to walk. I watched my Garmin, Heartbreak Hill was also the turn around point. I came around a long winding turn, and there it was.
Doesn't look too bad, does it? Yeah, it's deceptive that way. Took advantage of a slight decline to gain some momentum, and off I went. I saw others already walking their bikes. I think I can, I think I can, I...think...I...can. Slow but steady, I kept climbing. At about two thirds of the way up, I thought to myself - I am going to do it!
Murphy's Law: you haven't done it until you have actually done it. I looked down at my feet, and my back tire had caught a rock. Unable to get my feet out of the clips in time, I fell over like a tree. Annnnnd, now I'm walking. Later I would find out that little mishap cost me fifth place, but c'est la vie!
The return trip of the bike you flew, since all those inclines now became declines. Except for the chip seal, that still biked like mud. I saw Javi as he was approaching Heartbreak Hill, but I figured there was nothing I was going to be able to say to make the experience any better, and no way to truly express what he was about to see.
The first mile of the run was trail - lots of hills, wash rocks and low lying branches. Not used to trail running, I relied on the tips Mari had given me the week before. I was happy to get on the flat part. This I knew. I concentrated on negative splits every half mile and started checking legs as I caught up to runners for my age category. 56, 29, 48...all good. Near the finish I saw what I thought was a 48, but as I got closer was a 44. There was no way I could lose a place so close to the finish, so I started sprinting. As I passed her, she realized what was going on and took after me, but it was too late, sixth place was mine! :)
As Lisa and I waited for Javi, I began to get concerned. We should have seen him by now. All of a sudden, he passed by the far side of the finish, about a mile away from the end of the course. I asked the directors if I could run with him, and they said yes. So I took off, and Javi and I talked about the race and what the next race would be.
His daughter Chloe helped him run into the finish, and then we were both done!
Javi will need more exposure to different swimming conditions (and just a lot more swimming) before he will feel confident in the water. Considering he could not swim a few months ago, I am very proud of what he accomplished. I know he will conquer the tri, and I plan to be there when it happens. Congratulations Javi!
Now if only my hair would grow out faster so that I didn't look like I had stuck my finger in a light socket...
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Prepping the Bait
One of the best things about coming back into training has been the chance to pay it forward. Everyone knows that running is not my forte, but over time, running has become one of my favorite things to do. That transition would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of those around me.
My friend Javi, and his wife Lisa wanted to learn to swim. While I will never be Michael Phelps, swimming is where I hold my own and was happy to help. Javi had a goal - he wanted to do a triathlon and decided on Gatorbait. Always ready to convert more people to triathlon, his goal became my goal, and we got to work. One thing you can say about Javi, he never gives up. There were days that things just didn't click, but he kept at it. His stroke got smoother, he felt less like he was having a heart attack each lap, and he didn't fight the water anymore. He still had yet to finish the distance, but I taught him the infamous Chavez float to make up the difference.
At our practice last week, I casually mentioned to him that he might want to try an open water practice before Gatorbait, since pool swimming and open swimming are very different. I also wanted him to get a feel for the distance before the race, since suddenly looking at how far you have to go can cause panic to set it. Not exactly prime conditions for starting the part of the triathlon where you can drown.
Things worked out well - there was a run in the morning for iRun, and we could skip over to SPI for the swim after. I asked Javi to bring his bike too, so we could get a lopsided Tri in. He would do the 5k, I would do the 10k (my first 10k race!), that way he could feel the distances out for the run as well.
The weather was perfect (hot and humid). The run went great (Javi, David, Donna and the others did awesome) and Javi kept mentioning how he was getting nervous because he was not nervous about the swim. After I changed, I found him standing near the dock, just looking out at the water. Yeah, sure, he's not nervous. I promised Lisa I would bring him back in one piece, and I've never lost a swimmer, so I was pretty confident he would make it.
See that white buoy right next to the white boat on the left hand side of the pic?
That's where he was swimming to, he just didn't know it yet.
We got in the water, and after a few false starts, Javi got going. When you coach people, you have to figure out how best to do that. Some people like gentle correction, some prefer you wait until after practice. Javi works best when you get after him. So, much to the amusement of the people on their docks, I kept yelling at Javi "KEEP GOING" every time he tried to stop.
Meanwhile, I was having a blast. I swam next to Javi, yelling at him when I needed to, and watching the fish jump when he didn't. I grew up on lakes, fish do not bother me. They jumped next to me, and I even got bumped a few times. It would have seemed like back home if it weren't for the unbearable heat and the fact it was salt water.
Javi did it! He swam 450 meters, more than he would need to in the race. We worked out a good system of swim/Chavez float for him, since I would not be swimming next to him during the race. I left him to rest near the dock while I got a quick swim in to keep my still nagging shoulder loose. Javi and I started chatting when I came back, and we sat in the water for a few minutes talking about the practice. Suddenly, something LAID on my foot. I shrieked like a little girl, and Javi bolted out of the water like a shot. I swear he did not touch the water on the way out. Turns out a flounder thought my foot was a good place to take a nap. Javi had just finished reassuring himself the water was safe - no sharks, no jellyfish when I let out my yell. He did not look back to see if I was okay. I was laughing so hard I couldn't see where he went.
Imagine Javi moving as fast as the dog (couldn't see if he had the same face or not).
Other than a continual need to giggle, the flounder incident did not deter the rest of the day. We transitioned rather quickly, then headed out for a leisurely 10 miles on our bikes. No fish were evident on our ride, so it was relatively uneventful. Afterward, as we set out in search of food, Javi kept smiling to himself. He now had the confidence he needed to face his first Tri. In one day, he had done all of the distances he would need to. He dropped me off at home, and once I got settled, I text Lisa to let her know how proud I was of him. She told me that pretty much within five minutes of laying down, he was out like a light. Guess I should have warned him that three sports in one day could do that to you.
In a week, Javi is going to make his first step to becoming a triathlete at Gatorbait Tri. It's going to be an awesome feeling watching him cross that finish line. Knowing how many people have guided me along my journey, (sometimes gently encouraging me, sometimes yelling at me) it will have been in honor of them that I pay it forward. Have a blast Javi, because I already know you are going to kill the Gator! The bait has been prepped!
My friend Javi, and his wife Lisa wanted to learn to swim. While I will never be Michael Phelps, swimming is where I hold my own and was happy to help. Javi had a goal - he wanted to do a triathlon and decided on Gatorbait. Always ready to convert more people to triathlon, his goal became my goal, and we got to work. One thing you can say about Javi, he never gives up. There were days that things just didn't click, but he kept at it. His stroke got smoother, he felt less like he was having a heart attack each lap, and he didn't fight the water anymore. He still had yet to finish the distance, but I taught him the infamous Chavez float to make up the difference.
At our practice last week, I casually mentioned to him that he might want to try an open water practice before Gatorbait, since pool swimming and open swimming are very different. I also wanted him to get a feel for the distance before the race, since suddenly looking at how far you have to go can cause panic to set it. Not exactly prime conditions for starting the part of the triathlon where you can drown.
Things worked out well - there was a run in the morning for iRun, and we could skip over to SPI for the swim after. I asked Javi to bring his bike too, so we could get a lopsided Tri in. He would do the 5k, I would do the 10k (my first 10k race!), that way he could feel the distances out for the run as well.
The weather was perfect (hot and humid). The run went great (Javi, David, Donna and the others did awesome) and Javi kept mentioning how he was getting nervous because he was not nervous about the swim. After I changed, I found him standing near the dock, just looking out at the water. Yeah, sure, he's not nervous. I promised Lisa I would bring him back in one piece, and I've never lost a swimmer, so I was pretty confident he would make it.
That's where he was swimming to, he just didn't know it yet.
We got in the water, and after a few false starts, Javi got going. When you coach people, you have to figure out how best to do that. Some people like gentle correction, some prefer you wait until after practice. Javi works best when you get after him. So, much to the amusement of the people on their docks, I kept yelling at Javi "KEEP GOING" every time he tried to stop.
Meanwhile, I was having a blast. I swam next to Javi, yelling at him when I needed to, and watching the fish jump when he didn't. I grew up on lakes, fish do not bother me. They jumped next to me, and I even got bumped a few times. It would have seemed like back home if it weren't for the unbearable heat and the fact it was salt water.
Javi did it! He swam 450 meters, more than he would need to in the race. We worked out a good system of swim/Chavez float for him, since I would not be swimming next to him during the race. I left him to rest near the dock while I got a quick swim in to keep my still nagging shoulder loose. Javi and I started chatting when I came back, and we sat in the water for a few minutes talking about the practice. Suddenly, something LAID on my foot. I shrieked like a little girl, and Javi bolted out of the water like a shot. I swear he did not touch the water on the way out. Turns out a flounder thought my foot was a good place to take a nap. Javi had just finished reassuring himself the water was safe - no sharks, no jellyfish when I let out my yell. He did not look back to see if I was okay. I was laughing so hard I couldn't see where he went.
Imagine Javi moving as fast as the dog (couldn't see if he had the same face or not).
Other than a continual need to giggle, the flounder incident did not deter the rest of the day. We transitioned rather quickly, then headed out for a leisurely 10 miles on our bikes. No fish were evident on our ride, so it was relatively uneventful. Afterward, as we set out in search of food, Javi kept smiling to himself. He now had the confidence he needed to face his first Tri. In one day, he had done all of the distances he would need to. He dropped me off at home, and once I got settled, I text Lisa to let her know how proud I was of him. She told me that pretty much within five minutes of laying down, he was out like a light. Guess I should have warned him that three sports in one day could do that to you.
In a week, Javi is going to make his first step to becoming a triathlete at Gatorbait Tri. It's going to be an awesome feeling watching him cross that finish line. Knowing how many people have guided me along my journey, (sometimes gently encouraging me, sometimes yelling at me) it will have been in honor of them that I pay it forward. Have a blast Javi, because I already know you are going to kill the Gator! The bait has been prepped!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Attack of the Post Race Blues
You start training, a specific race in your sights. You work hard every practice. You eat, sleep and sweat your goal. On race day, no matter what happens, you know you have put in all you could. The race ends, there are hugs, congratulations, and tons of pictures posted on Facebook, not to mention some really cool medals. You have this amazing sense of accomplishment.You did it!
By the way, I love looking at everyone's race photos, whether I was in the race or not. Even if you are racing with these people, often you don't see them during the race.
I was warned that after CapTex, I would be hit with something called the Post Race Blues. The high that we get from attaining a goal gets replaced with the idea of "I have to do that all again?" for your next race. If you don't have one in mind, it becomes "now what?". I was even warned that I may be tempted to take the dreaded "time off", which, if you are not careful, can become permanent.
After Recovery Week, I waited for the attack. The workouts were reduced since I had this nagging pain in my shoulder, but I still looked forward to each one. Waiting for my new training plan was akin to a kid waiting to see if he could catch a glimpse of Santa Claus (Is it here yet? Is it here yet?). Heck, Austin Half Ironman is only five months away, and I want to do that baby in style.
Mentally prepared for battle, I waited. And waited. Sneaky little suckers, I thought. Just waiting for me to let my guard down.
These past couple of weeks, I found myself waking up at 4 or 4:30 each morning with this insane urge to go running. This I found to be very funny since during the school year I easily hit the snooze once or twice to delay the inevitable as long as possible - I have a very comfortable bed, and as much as I enjoy teaching sometimes I just want to lay there a l-i-t-t-l-e longer. Now that school is out and I don't have to get up early, my body is getting me up even earlier and it's happy to do so. Weird.
Saturday I'm up and ready to go for my 4 am run, or should I say swim through the humidity and constant battling of gnat swarms. It has become clear I am going to have to learn to breathe through my nose, because gnat is not one of my favorite meals. I start my run, and come to my Aha moment - cue the background music please...
When you place all the value on the race, you could miss the point. It's like the difference between a job and a career. A job you do to see your specific end result - pay bills usually. A career is something you love to do, and don't feel like it's an obligation to do. Sure, you get tired and want a break, but it's simply part of who you are, you do it naturally, and a bad day (race) is still better than a good day at a job. Like the Blues, when you have a job and pay your bills, you look at what's left and think, "man, I have to do this all again to pay next month's bills?". With a career, you look forward to what the next day (training session) will bring.
Allowing yourself to enjoy each workout as something unto itself instead of race day won't even allow the Blues to get any footing. On my run, I looked over the last four to four and a half months (while attempting to dodge gnats), saw how much I have developed physically, mentally, and emotionally, and thought to myself, "that's pretty cool, can't wait to see where I will be after these next five months of training!". After that, my focus became to make each training session as good as possible. Live in the moment - race day comes whether you think about it or not. Before you know it, the next race will come, and there will be hugs, congratulations, tons of pictures posted to Facebook, and some really cool medals.
I leave you with my favorite quote of the week:
"Until you face your fears, you don't move to the other side, where you find the power." Mark Allen (one of my inspirational people). Thanks Farrah! (another person who inspires me)
On a sad note - I regret to inform you that it has come time to retire my first true pair of running shoes, Brooks Pureflow 2's. They saw me through learning how to run (properly) and this first phase of training. They have become a symbol of how far I have come since I made the decision to change my life. In them I went from dreading running to it becoming one of my greatest passions. I never thought I could get sentimentally attached to a pair of shoes (especially hot pink ones).
On a happier note - I found out that VRC has the exact same shoe in my favorite color - purple!! :)
By the way, I love looking at everyone's race photos, whether I was in the race or not. Even if you are racing with these people, often you don't see them during the race.
I was warned that after CapTex, I would be hit with something called the Post Race Blues. The high that we get from attaining a goal gets replaced with the idea of "I have to do that all again?" for your next race. If you don't have one in mind, it becomes "now what?". I was even warned that I may be tempted to take the dreaded "time off", which, if you are not careful, can become permanent.
After Recovery Week, I waited for the attack. The workouts were reduced since I had this nagging pain in my shoulder, but I still looked forward to each one. Waiting for my new training plan was akin to a kid waiting to see if he could catch a glimpse of Santa Claus (Is it here yet? Is it here yet?). Heck, Austin Half Ironman is only five months away, and I want to do that baby in style.
Mentally prepared for battle, I waited. And waited. Sneaky little suckers, I thought. Just waiting for me to let my guard down.
These past couple of weeks, I found myself waking up at 4 or 4:30 each morning with this insane urge to go running. This I found to be very funny since during the school year I easily hit the snooze once or twice to delay the inevitable as long as possible - I have a very comfortable bed, and as much as I enjoy teaching sometimes I just want to lay there a l-i-t-t-l-e longer. Now that school is out and I don't have to get up early, my body is getting me up even earlier and it's happy to do so. Weird.
Saturday I'm up and ready to go for my 4 am run, or should I say swim through the humidity and constant battling of gnat swarms. It has become clear I am going to have to learn to breathe through my nose, because gnat is not one of my favorite meals. I start my run, and come to my Aha moment - cue the background music please...
When you place all the value on the race, you could miss the point. It's like the difference between a job and a career. A job you do to see your specific end result - pay bills usually. A career is something you love to do, and don't feel like it's an obligation to do. Sure, you get tired and want a break, but it's simply part of who you are, you do it naturally, and a bad day (race) is still better than a good day at a job. Like the Blues, when you have a job and pay your bills, you look at what's left and think, "man, I have to do this all again to pay next month's bills?". With a career, you look forward to what the next day (training session) will bring.
Allowing yourself to enjoy each workout as something unto itself instead of race day won't even allow the Blues to get any footing. On my run, I looked over the last four to four and a half months (while attempting to dodge gnats), saw how much I have developed physically, mentally, and emotionally, and thought to myself, "that's pretty cool, can't wait to see where I will be after these next five months of training!". After that, my focus became to make each training session as good as possible. Live in the moment - race day comes whether you think about it or not. Before you know it, the next race will come, and there will be hugs, congratulations, tons of pictures posted to Facebook, and some really cool medals.
I leave you with my favorite quote of the week:
"Until you face your fears, you don't move to the other side, where you find the power." Mark Allen (one of my inspirational people). Thanks Farrah! (another person who inspires me)
On a sad note - I regret to inform you that it has come time to retire my first true pair of running shoes, Brooks Pureflow 2's. They saw me through learning how to run (properly) and this first phase of training. They have become a symbol of how far I have come since I made the decision to change my life. In them I went from dreading running to it becoming one of my greatest passions. I never thought I could get sentimentally attached to a pair of shoes (especially hot pink ones).
On a happier note - I found out that VRC has the exact same shoe in my favorite color - purple!! :)
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Finding New Paths
Post - CapTex brought on the dreaded Recovery Week AKA only slightly less frustrating than Taper Week week. Since you have that sense of accomplishment, and well, you are tired, it's a lot easier to give your body a break. Add in the slightly annoying pull in my shoulder (I refuse to acknowledge it as an injury), and I cut my distances down to rest up.
Something had been niggling in my brain for the past three weeks or so, but it wasn't until this week that it came out full force. After an endurance race, you are HUNGRY for the following few days. After Shiner, if it resembled food, it was a target. This time, something odd happened. I didn't want meat. At the CapTex celebration dinner, I ate fajitas and cheese quesadillas. No disrespect to the chef, the food was cooked great and it was tasty, but it just felt kind of...empty. So yesterday I made a decision to become vegan.
This is somewhat of a radical decision, heck, I grew up on a farm. Eating animals was a way of life. We were told never to name the farm animals, so as not to develop any attachment to them. Later on, the joke when seeing a cow was to name it Big Mac or Whopper. We were allowed to play with the new chicks until they began to develop their feathers, then it was off limits. Meat was a way of life, and we had it sometimes three meals a day.
Making the transition into training again, I never thought this would be a viable choice for me - tried being vegetarian once, for a week. Made it to day four, and found myself at the local McDonald's, chowing down on a Big Mac. So, as far as I was concerned, it was off the table.
But as with many things, the more you are surrounded by people being excellent at something, the more you wonder if you can do it too. Many of my group at VRC are vegetarians or vegans, and I applaud them for not trying to stuff it down my throat. When they talked, I listened. And slowly this idea began to grow in my head - if they were looking so good, being strong in their runs, and didn't seem to be suffering from lack of meat, was it possible?
I'm not going to use this as a platform to tell you everyone should be doing this. First off, that would be stupid (and I pride myself on being fairly intelligent) and second, everyone needs to make their own choice.
I didn't want to try it before CapTex, since you never do anything new in the weeks leading up to a race. But this seems to be the right time. I'll be starting a new cycle of training, and I am on summer vacation which means I will have more time to research. My daughter is somewhat on board - she wants the option to eat meat when we go out. At her age, she can make that decision for herself, I'm not going to risk rebellion by forcing it on her.
So, it looks like I'm trying a new path...again...seeing where it will take me. I hear the detox is interesting to say the least, but in the end I think it will be worth it. I have a goal, and if this decision will help me get there, then it is what I will do.
See you at the starting line!
Something had been niggling in my brain for the past three weeks or so, but it wasn't until this week that it came out full force. After an endurance race, you are HUNGRY for the following few days. After Shiner, if it resembled food, it was a target. This time, something odd happened. I didn't want meat. At the CapTex celebration dinner, I ate fajitas and cheese quesadillas. No disrespect to the chef, the food was cooked great and it was tasty, but it just felt kind of...empty. So yesterday I made a decision to become vegan.
This is somewhat of a radical decision, heck, I grew up on a farm. Eating animals was a way of life. We were told never to name the farm animals, so as not to develop any attachment to them. Later on, the joke when seeing a cow was to name it Big Mac or Whopper. We were allowed to play with the new chicks until they began to develop their feathers, then it was off limits. Meat was a way of life, and we had it sometimes three meals a day.
Making the transition into training again, I never thought this would be a viable choice for me - tried being vegetarian once, for a week. Made it to day four, and found myself at the local McDonald's, chowing down on a Big Mac. So, as far as I was concerned, it was off the table.
But as with many things, the more you are surrounded by people being excellent at something, the more you wonder if you can do it too. Many of my group at VRC are vegetarians or vegans, and I applaud them for not trying to stuff it down my throat. When they talked, I listened. And slowly this idea began to grow in my head - if they were looking so good, being strong in their runs, and didn't seem to be suffering from lack of meat, was it possible?
I'm not going to use this as a platform to tell you everyone should be doing this. First off, that would be stupid (and I pride myself on being fairly intelligent) and second, everyone needs to make their own choice.
I didn't want to try it before CapTex, since you never do anything new in the weeks leading up to a race. But this seems to be the right time. I'll be starting a new cycle of training, and I am on summer vacation which means I will have more time to research. My daughter is somewhat on board - she wants the option to eat meat when we go out. At her age, she can make that decision for herself, I'm not going to risk rebellion by forcing it on her.
So, it looks like I'm trying a new path...again...seeing where it will take me. I hear the detox is interesting to say the least, but in the end I think it will be worth it. I have a goal, and if this decision will help me get there, then it is what I will do.
See you at the starting line!
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