Tri-training Update - 5 Weeks to go!

I am almost a month away from my first triathlon and I am feeling good. Let me clarify: my whole lower body hurts, I am exhausted, my hands and wrists are bruised and I think I still have water in my ears and nose from this morning's swim, but I am more glad than ever that I am doing this triathlon.

Last week was a good week for training. My mom and I maintained our morning swims and agreed to get to the gym 30 minutes earlier so we get a full hour in the pool. We also got in a good run/walk. Sandy gave me a baby bike stroller which is basically a tent on wheels that has a bar that hooks onto my bike. My mom and I took Miller out on Wednesday and he loved it. I didn't think of what effect pulling a 28 pound baby in a stroller would have on me, but wow, what a workout! After an hour and a few hours we stopped, me panting and gasping for air. Miller shouted "Do it again! Do it again!". Gee, thanks kid! Joe and I took him out on the bike again on Saturday afternoon. It was hot, I hadn't had any water in two days (ahh diet coke how I love you, ahh how my body wishes it was water) so after only a mile into the ride I wasn't sure I could do it. I was tired, hot and dehydrated but thoughts of the impending tri date motivated me and we finished, just a few miles short of our usual ride. It is hard work having Miller attached to my bike, but it is a good workout for me and it is fun to have him encourage me to keep going or to ask Joe what took him so long and that he needs to hurry up!

Sunday I woke up to overcast skies and 74 degrees and was excited ride my bike in the cooler weather. Instead of driving to where my mom and I usually meet to start the ride, I decided I was up to riding there from my house. I started feeling great, got to the end of my neighborhood and stopped to do some final adjustments. I have clips on my shoes so instead of pedals, my shoes literally clip onto where the pedals should be. This is supposed to be better for you, make you more efficient, blah, blah. I got them because my brother Mike told me to. So I went to push off the curb but didn't get enough momentum and knew instantly I was doomed. I didn't have enough speed to roll; couldn't get my pedal going and couldn't unclip fast enough. I literally came to a stop and tipped over and fell to the ground. Lovely. I caught myself with my wrist but luckily there wasn't a car or person near by to hit me, or see me fall. Now what I should have done at this point was turn around and crawl back in bed. What I actually did was lead my mom on a cursed three hour ride where I got lost in and around the town of Marvin, she fell 3 times and we both ended up tired, with matching bruises.

I feel so responsible every time my mom falls so after the second one I felt like crying. I feel like I talked her into this and therefore it is my fault she is beyond battered. She has two hematomas, one fractured finger, countless HUGE bruises and can't actually straighten her left leg , all results of tri-training. Sure, she has free will and she could quit at anytime, but my mom isn't a quitter and I know that about her. I think sometimes I am in denial that my parents are getting older but there is nothing like seeing your mother laying on the side of the road, fighting back tears, wiping blood off a bruised and swollen knee to remember that she is actually in her mid 60s and this isn't easy for her.

We kept making lefts and eventually made it back to my mom's car. I was still feeling pretty horrible, having a bit of a pity party thinking how guilty I will feel should she have a stroke when one of her hematomas is knocked loose (even though doctors say that is impossible). I waited to make sure she got settled before I started my ride home. She came up, hugged me and then thanked me. I laughed and asked her what for because all I can see is the pain that I have inflicted by talking her into this. She said she actually learned a lot with this ride. She inflated her own tires for the first time, set up the bike rack on her car and learned a key skill in starting. She learned her body can do hills; it is her mind that often talks her out of even trying to ride up one. She said she wasn't that sore, adding that maybe her body is learning how to fall and cope with pain.

I often imagine my life as a movie, filming the pivotal points in my life, complete with soundtrack. The past few months I see as a montage with my mom and I smiling, sweating, laughing at private jokes, me encouraging her to run a few seconds more, my entire family out running and then celebrating with dinner. I can also see a clip of the falls, one in slow motion with me turning and racing back to her, in the middle of the road, bike askew, rocking and grasping her bloody knee; then showing the few moments later, with us huddled and laughing as I wipe away the blood and then her tears. I have to believe that the montage will end with us crossing the finish line, hugging each other and smiling very large smiles.

I am so much like my mom in many ways, from the big nose to the feet to my big smile, and yet we still approach things differently. Going into this I was in better shape and have been helping her get past her mental and physical barriers. But it is because of her that I am enjoying this so much. I am glad that I signed up for this triathlon because I am learning and growing but I don't think I would be working as hard or having as much fun without her there. So I will keep on training, pushing us both to test our limits. We already have matching bruises, but somehow I know we will have matching smiles as we cross the finish line and that is all that is going to matter.