Friday, November 4, 2011

Life After Augusta

It’s been more than a month since I crossed the finish line in Augusta, and I am still sitting here catching up on LAA (Life After Augusta). I learned something about training for a Half Ironman – that weekly schedule doesn’t leave time for much else in your life. Clearly that includes blogging!

For some reason, not having the time or energy to blog bothered me more than the dozens of other things that got pushed aside (things like house cleaning, yard work, appointments…) Why? I guess it’s the same reason I took more than 500 pictures during training and maybe as many during the race weekend. It’s a chance to document the incredible journey, but also to connect with others who have either shared similar experiences or hope to someday.

I can’t tell you the number of blogs I’ve written in my head during weekly three hour bike rides in the hills! And they were good! But by the time I finished riding, drove home, showered and finally sat down at my computer, all I could usually muster was a Facebook update – or a 140 character Tweet! And usually a couple of pictures!

My energy level was definitely at the Facebook and Twitter level after most training days, but the experiences were larger than life.

  • The day my rear derailer cracked in half as I was climbing Sugar Loaf Mountain – and I was saved by my hero in the Prius (Sheri!) and Prince Charming on his Yamaha!

  • Finishing the Puzzle Run 10K and the Moss Park Olympic tri with new personal records…

  • Crossing Lake Conway with Megan guiding me across on the kayak – and returning the favor on the way back..
  • The hundreds of miles I shared with Megan and my incredible team mates – including a very fun Sunday (Sept 4) at Vision Quest singing and dancing while riding our stationary bikes for 3 hours! I recapped that moment many times during the race!
  • And of course finishing 70.3 miles – and meeting my goal of still standing and smiling at the end…(There was a moment when I skidded out on the bike, got run over and had a flat…I think I may have stopped smiling for a few minutes. But the second I was back on the bike – I was smiling again!)

Just recapping each of these experiences makes me miss the routine of training, and the time shared with my teammates. But LAA has a lot of positives to it. I remember minutes before my swim start, my friend and teammate Terri looked at me and said, “if we can do this, you know we can do anything.” She is right! It’s proof that if you put your mind to something, it’s absolutely yours for the taking. That’s a lesson I hope will resonate with my children – and give them the confidence to reach further than they think possible... Leaves me thinking, what's next?