Finish What You Started

After being stripped of my timing chip at the end of a difficult and disappointing swim at Ironman Raleigh 70.3, I sat crumpled and crying in my wetsuit while the race volunteers dismantled T1around me.  I watched as each bike rack was broken down, placed into a truck and readied for the next race in the series.

As soon as my tears subsided, I pulled out my cell phone and started scouring the internet for races.

 I wasn't finished.

I had lived in anticipation of this day for nine months and I was crushed to think that weeks of training were all for nothing.

I wasn't finished.

However there was nothing to register for that would be financially or logistically possible in the immediate future, so I settled on waiting to register for a Fall race and maybe add a few shorter races to my summer.  I tried to quiet my anger and sadness by telling myself that I would enter this next training cycle even stronger than I had started the last one, hoping to find peace in that thought.

But then Monday came.

While the hubby enjoyed a well-deserved and needed rest-recovery week, I felt lost.  I didn't need to rest.  I hadn't completed the mileage that I set out to do.  In fact, I NEEDED to run just to get out all of the frustration of not being able to race. So I planned an early morning workout of boot camp and a run on Tuesday morning.

When I returned home from that run and began to get dressed for work, I turned to the hubby and said, "Hey, what if I just go do 70.3 on my own this weekend and treat this week as another taper week?"  I fully expected him to tell me that I had totally lost my mind.  Who just plans their own 70.3?  I went on, "I mean, I don't know what to do with myself.  I'm ready to race.  I'm ready to complete this distance.  I'm NOT finished!"  I continued by telling him that I had thought through most of the logistics on my run that morning  and even though it would be tough and I would need his help to pull it off, I thought we could make it work.  When I finished talking, I expected him to tell me that I was really crazy and there's no way we could pull it off, but he didn't do anything of the sort.  In fact he was fully supportive.

That's when I started making phone calls and drawing up plans--I was going to need some help.  First I called a friend with a kayak to accompany me on the swim.  Since she had been my saving grace when I exited the water just 2 days before, she knew how much completing this distance meant to me and was on board.  Then I texted Coach E.  He knew the lake and surrounding areas and would be able to help me figure out an exact bike and run course.  Coach E knew my triathlon journey and was there for my disappointment on Sunday.  When I asked him what he thought of the idea, his reply was "How soon can we do it?"

For the remainder of the week I did my best to follow my taper plan, keep my nutrition in check, continue to check-in with my support crew and monitor the weather for a Sunday morning 70.3.  Tapering for a second week in a row was more frustrating than I had imagined, but I kept reminding myself of the big picture.  Nutrition was tough due to "End of School Year" goodies and parties, but I did the best I could.  The support crew was all in, calling and texting to firm up plans.  The only thing that could derail this plan was the weather, and it almost did.  On Friday a tropical system came through, dumping rain in the area and we all feared that the lake would be a mess on Sunday morning.  Coach E came through with a quick drive by the lake on Saturday and gave us the green light for Sunday morning, so I gathered my gear, ate my pasta, and went to bed at a reasonable hour, praying that I could follow through and finish what I had started.