I have to say that the Strathmore Tri became a huge source of inspiration for me. As I sat around the pool deck waiting for my swim heat all of the hardcore triathlon women were chatting about their kids; in my heat alone all but one woman had a baby under the age of 1. I can’t even begin to explain how amazing this is — especially to those people who don’t have kids. When you are childless and have your evenings and weekends free you can’t even begin to understand what it’s like having a little person dominate every moment of “free” time. In my world the definition of “free time” is usually training time (a.k.a time away from Mak). And yet I was with these women who are rock solid, training for several triathlons, and slipping in a thing or two about how doing a 60-100k ride will make your breast milk disappear for a day or how they are going to complete Ironman before their baby heads off to school.<\/p>\n
I was humbled. I was also amazed by the kids on the pool deck and on the race route who were cheering on mom at the finish line. Every time I think about this I get teary eyed.<\/p>\n
After last week’s foray into the triathlon world I have become an addict; and, if they removed running from the sport I’d be doing Ironman next year. I am particularly addicted to cycling and am looking forward to every breathing second I can be on my bike (if any of you call me a Betty or Bunny<\/a> I’ll give you a shot in the mouth). This is not unusual and has been an obsession that has followed me throughout my entire life; maybe it’s time to do something productive with this love of cycling outside of the daily commute.<\/p>\n The nice boys as Speed Theory (previously Way Past Fast) have agreed to help me onto a racing bike better suited for me. I’m now at the point when I am spending all my time in the largest chainring on my mountain bike and it’s annoying because I can’t go any faster even with slicks \/ 60PSI. I still love my bike — but it’s better suited for winter commuting and climbing mountains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"