My Comeback

Since May, I have been preparing and training for a race--called an Aquabike. It is the swim/bike of the triathlon and is a 1 mile swim and 25 mile bike ride. Back in May, I looked up the fastest women's time from last year and told my husband that I wanted to beat that and take 1st place. (Am I crazy or what?!) I knew that it was ambititious, especially after the year I had with treatments and what not, but I really wanted to do it. I guess it was kinda like saying, "Take that cancer!" I wanted it by my own mini version of the Lance Armstrong story (emphasize MINI). And I am a competitive person who likes to win!

So, did I accomplish what I set out to do?? Of course I did, silly! I trained hard (but not too hard, thanks to the advice of my doc) and felt prepared at the time of the race. The week leading up to the race had it's challenges though--we found out 2 days before the race that we had lost over $2000 in fraud (long story, I'll spare you the details). I was so wrapped up in that those 2 days--filing police and FBI reports, gathering all my evidence, etc.--that my head was NOT in the game come Sat. I guess all that anger and frustration prior to the race paid off because I kicked some serious #$%!!! ;) My swim was under 30 min, which is what I wanted and even though my bike was a couple min shy of my bike leg goal, I still ended up finishing 1st place in overall female by a landslide---like 8 min. I was elated, no ECSTATIC that I did what I set out to do. It made me feel powerful and strong and more than that, it made me realize that we really CAN DO ANYTHING WE SET OUR MINDS TO. Like winning this race and BEATING CANCER!!!!


I have one more race in Sept that is a bit longer in distance. I'm excited! I figure, why not do this now when I'm feeling good and myself again? I don't know what a year will be from now and I'm trying to live in the moment. A big thanks to my #1 fan, Eric, who supported me throughout all the training. I couldn't have done it without him. And my kids who keep inspiring me to live life fully and enjoy it!