Let me tell you how different my life is now that I am a triathlete. Go ahead, roll your eyes, I know what you are thinking. "Get over it, it was one day!". I will, I promise. In fact, I'm halfway there.
I will admit that the day after the triathlon was pretty fun. I KNOW I was walking with a little more sass in my step. I wore my "Congrats to Me" dress that I bought specifically for that day and I felt pretty hot. Joe took me out to dinner and I was riding high on self pride. That first week I would have shouted it to anyone that listened; "So I did a triathlon last weekend..." I looked at my body differently as well. I haven't lost any weight training for the tri, but my legs have some pretty nice definition now; I might even use the term sexy. I now would rather be fat and fit than skinny and slothy (I know, but you come up with a word that starts with S that means "not in shape"!) Don't get me wrong, I still am pretty proud of myself, but as I get further and further away from the actual date it is becoming less of a big deal. So what? I did a triathlon.
I knew I would be in better shape at the end of my training, but what I didn't expect was how it really did alter my feeling about what I can and can't accomplish. I am hooked on triathlons and want to compete in more next year (my goal is 3, maybe 4). I want to better my time in the Ramblin Rose and I think that is completely doable. Suddenly longer tri distances didn't seem so demanding and were approachable. I was online looking for different races coming up and I noticed a Half Marathon in December. In the past I would have kept looking. I HATE running after all. But this time I stopped and thought "13.1 miles. I can do that." WHAT? I can do WHAT? In April I would have laughed at you for suggesting that. But now, it was do-able. After all I did 4 miles at the Ramblin Rose, so how much harder is 13.1? I can run/walk it and just need to keep up a pace of 14 minutes per mile. Surely I can do that! I haven't signed up, but it is rolling around in my brain, just the way signing up for the triathlon did. I have a feeling I am going to do it; if not this one in November, one in March for sure.
The funny thing about this was how other people responded and how that made me feel. I first told my co-worker Courtney. I convinced her to do the Ramblin Rose and also connected her with Tri It For Life. I told her and her first response was "Do it...I know you can. When is it? I'll do it with you." Now you are talking about two "pleasantly plump" woman who were moderately athletic in April of this year. Now we are talking about doing a half marathon? There is part of me that finds it quite laughable. Next I put it on my facebook page. Overwhelmingly I got positive responses from my fellow friends; people who currently are training for some race, just completed the RR with me, or people who had watched my progress as I learned to swim and cheered me on from afar. "You can do it" was the chorus. Maybe everyone who thinks I am crazy just kept quiet! Then I told Joe that I was seriously considering it and why I thought it was a good idea. He paused...for longer than I would like, but then said he knew I could do it. But he knows just how much I hate to run and I am sure he first thought was not positive. Thank goodness he kept his mouth shut! I almost want to pick a fight with someone who dares to tell me I can't do it. Yes I can....if I want to.
So in one year I might go from casual gym go-er to triathlete to half marathoner. Crazy. That is what doing the Ramblin Rose did for me: convince me that I can do anything. Am I going to win? No...but I will finish, especially if I train for it. I will have to push myself harder than I did for tri training and that actually excites me even though that means there will surely be more puking in my future. I think I am ready though, just not sure if all my friends are ready for how much I will be strutting my butt around once I finish a half marathon! I for sure need to find a cute little short something to show off my legs for the day after that race!
At the Carb/celebration dinner for Tri It For Life we were given little cards that said "As I reflect on my journey of becoming a tri-athlete, I learned......I never thought I could.....I am most proud of......". At the time I didn't really know what to put in there so instead of leaving the card like was supposed to I brought it with me, knowing I would eventually have the words to fill in. I think I am finally ready, almost a month later.
I learned that I can do anything I set my mind to. I have heard that all my life, but now I actually believe it about myself (and others).
I never thought I could push myself to accomplish a physical goal.
I am most proud of doing this with my mother, helping her helped me become a better athlete and person. Seeing her achieve after so much struggling made me want to push myself that hard and to be a role model for someone else.
I am again reminded of that poem, that in the beginning didn't mean anything to me. Now it is echoed in my head at least everyday:
All your life
You are told the things
You cannot do.
All your life they will say
You're not good enough
Or strong enough
Or talented enough.
They'll say you are the wrong height
Or the wrong weight
Or the wrong type to
Play this or be this or achieve this.
THEY WILL TELL YOU NO,
A thousand times no
Until all the No's become meaningless.
All your life they will tell you no,
Quite firmly and very quickly,
They will tell you no.
And you...
YOU will tell them....YES!!!!
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