Friday, October 31, 2008

No More Poor Little Speed Racer


The last couple of weeks have been tough. Trish going to Enduracamps. Tim going for trail runs. Various friends calling and texting: Hey, come for a run! Or, let's go ride! And, me, poor little Speed Racer, has to sit on the couch or (as Heather would prefer) on the foam roller, watching everyone else enjoy the sports we love. Alright, fine. I'm entitled to feel a little sorry for myself. Come on, to go from being in tiptop shape, pounding out 60-mile rides like I'd done them my whole life instead of a few months, to the confines of the pool and a whopping 20 minutes on the elliptical is downright depressing.

No more feeling sorry for myself, though. I might not start training til January but that doesn't mean I can't get into my competitor mindset today. Goal #1 for IMOO is to get, then stay, healthy. And damn it, that's what I'm going to do. Every pool session, every 10-minute walk, every mini-strength training session after the elliptical is a step toward getting my ITBs healthy.

I might not get my runner's high and I certainly won't feel the rush of speeding around in aero (relatively speaking). However, I realized this morning, as I pretended to sprint to Papa Roach's Last Resort on the elliptical, that I'm in control of my health and my fitness. Self control now sets me up for stronger, more confident control as I work through training to the big day.

So, I'll put on my KCM jersey and Redman medal (we were assigned costumes at work today - I was told I am Iron Woman), reminisce about how it felt to cross the finish line at Redman, and anticipate just how sweet it will be to cross the line at IMOO healthy, happy and proud of the control it took to carry me there.

2 comments:

Andrea said...

It will be freezing soon enough and then you'll be happy that you don't have loose your nipples on a run like everyone else. :)

Buck up camper! Just think of how fast you will be in the water next season with all this extra pool time!!!

Chelsea Jo said...

Extra pool time? Oh, you mean that big thing of full of water I haven't been in for a week? Oops :) It's been too nice out for indoor workouts! Alas, it's supposed to snow within the week. Back to the pool I go...