Today's reason to get out there: trying something different

So today's push out the door was twofold: to keep a promise to a friend, and to try something new.

Last year I made a commitment to bike more often, so I made some friends who bike, and was recently invited on a 50-70 mile ride (apparently a "short" ride to those who do this kind of thing). It's a bit out of my comfort zone; I know next to nothing about true distance cycling, but I was excited about the new challenge. I'd gone on 15-25 mile rides before, only venturing into 40-50 mile territory twice.

You see, last summer I got the crazy notion in my head to expand my horizons, and so I dabbled lightly in triathlon. I had a few runner friends with experience in the sport, including a college teammate who qualified for and competed in the World Ironman Championships in Kona, Hawaii, and fellow teacher who has cycled across the continent several times. So I asked around, inherited a great bike from a generous friend, and paid a visit to the fine folks at the Plank Road Cyclery. By the end of the summer I competed in a few sprint and super-sprint tri events and truly enjoyed myself. I met some great people and learned so much that I didn't know before. I fully intended on making a return to the sport and taking on the Olympic distance triathlon the following summer. That would be this summer.

However, life happened, as life seems wont to do, and in January we decided to sell our house in Homer Glen and move to New Lenox. Selling and buying homes, as many of you know, is an exciting but time consuming process...kind of like triathlon training. The two processes together devour time like a 9 month old lab puppy, inhaling spare minutes, hours, days, and weeks like so many pizza crusts. Something had to go; if I was going to remain employed and continue to be a mother to two children, one of the extra activities had to take a backseat to the other. So long, exercise.

I'm happy to say that neither the selling nor the buying was as painful as it could have been--once all the pieces fell into place, a beautiful Fairy Godmother of a realtor (Mary Lestarczyk) sold our house in 6 days and helped us find the home of our dreams--but in order for that to happen I took a break from running, swimming, and biking for almost 6 months.

I suppose it was a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things, but the trip back to fitness after a vacation from it always charts a rocky road (mmmm...Rocky Road), and I've been cursing those months spent away from exercise with every slow, plodding step back. But with every passing week it becomes a little easier, as long as I make sure something gets me out the door each day. The things I've mentioned in previous posts--running with friends, joining groups for fun runs, trying new things, even treating myself to a new pair of running shoes--all have helped. I've enjoyed exploring our new neighborhood on runs and rides, and I'm getting to know new potential training partners. With luck and a few blessings from the running/swimming/cycling gods, I'll be back to my old self soon.

So it seems my goal to attempt the Olympic Triathlon may not happen this summer, but at least I can revisit the building blocks of the tri and perhaps jump into some more late summer sprint distance triathlons. As far as that 50-70 mile ride? Yeah, it wrecked me. Laid me out flat. But I made it the whole 63 miles, and hopefully I'm a little further along the rocky road because of it.