this is amazing

A week after my worst race ever, I went to Louisiana to one of my favorite races, River Cities. I went with my friend Monica. This is the second year we have done this trip. This year I was going in to compete against her. I always enjoy a friendly competition. However, this was not really fair, because a week later she was doing a half ironman, so she was not going into this race to compete.

When we got to transistion, we were set up next to one another. Ha, this will be fun, because now we can see where the other person is. I saw another friend of ours there and asked what age group she was in. Bummer, she is in the 45-49 age group too. No way am I beating Lesley. She is a fantastic runner. I only wish to be half as fast as she is.

When we started, Monica knew I was trying to beat her. She was out of the water 23 seconds ahead of me and was grabbing her bike as I was getting to mine. This was wonderful. I knew exactly how far ahead of me she was. It also meant I knew I had to sell out on the bike to either catch her or close the gap. I had another goal on the bike and that was to not be passed by my friend Wade. He passed me last year about half way through the bike. As I pulled into transition I knew I had not caught Monica but I didn't know if I had made up any time until I saw her racking her bike. My bike time was 12 seconds faster than hers. She got out of transition before me on the run. I could see Monica almost the whole run. I would spot a shadow and count to see if she was pulling away from me. Somehow she kept the same distance in front of me. The other great thing about the run is that there are a couple of fingers. Every time I saw her I would ask her to slow down so I could catch her.The funny thing is she was hearing me say "Don't slow down." So she wasn't. In fact, towards the end she had a bigger kick left in her than I did. Her run time was 29 seconds faster than me. She ended up beating me by a minute exactly. It was such a fun race because there were so many friends there doing it.

Just a week ago I was miserable doing a triathlon and this week I was having the time of my life. It reminds me of the verse "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 Sometimes things do not go the way we want or plan. It is easy to get discouraged during those times. But that is not the life God wants us to have. He is with us wherever we go. The good times along with the bad. His timing is perfect. Life isn't always easy. No one ever said it would be. But there is a peace that we can live in if we live it in the loving arms of our heavenly Father.

Complete Disappointment

I have not written for awhile but not for a lack of wanting to. I am going to back track to the summer and hope to get caught up in the next couple of weeks. This summer I raced in Tri Waco. My in-laws live there and my mother-in-law had been asking me to do Tri Waco for awhile. I decided this would be a good year since I had done a full ironman and would still be in shape. I normally run a race a month so I will continue to train. Otherwise I get a little lazy.

I signed up for the Olympic distance because I wanted something a little longer than a sprint distance. I was actually nervous for this race. I have not been nervous for a race in years. However, this time I had butterflies and was a little anxious. My friend Jeff said, "Nerves mean you are expecting something big." I guess that is true because I was hoping to place. I had driven the run course the night before and knew it was hilly. I had heard great things about the bike course. I heard it was on a flat smooth road.

So starting the swim I felt good. It was with the current until the turn point, then it was against the current. When my watch beeped that I had hit a mile I knew I was in trouble. I was only supposed to be swimming 1500 M. By the time I got out I had swam 1.2 miles. That is a half ironman distance. This was not a good sign for placing. My pace was 3:07. My worst swim EVER. Mentally at this point I was a little beat down. The bike course had been altered because of all the rain. It had created a sink hole so they had to change the course. Well, let me say, the course was horrible. It was on newly laid chip seal and the gravel was still really bad on the side of the road. They also coned off the section we were supposed to be riding on and it was not very wide, so cars were very close to us. I saw more accidents than I ever have on a race. I also felt that my teeth had been rattled out of my head. My average on the bike was not horrible but not great 16.9.

I was so glad to get off my bike only to start the run which I knew was extremely hilly. I didn't even get a mile into the run before I started walking. It was extremely hot and humid. I kept thinking how miserable I was and how I just wanted it to be over. My run pace was 12:55. Again horrible. My family was all there but it was my biggest disappointment for a race. I went in with high hopes only to be crushed by the results.

Sometimes I feel like this represents my Christian walk. I have the intentions of having daily quiet times, a more consistent prayer life and daily spiritual growth. Too often though, I miss some days of reading my Bible, and my prayer life seems like the chip sealed road I was just on.  However, I keep on because that is what a relationship is. You don't just quit or give up because you don't feel like it. Christianity is not feeling based. I think we sometimes get bogged down by that. I don't feel like reading my Bible, I don't feel God's presence, I don't feel like praying for that person. When in reality these are the times where most of the growth comes from. I didn't feel like finishing Tri Waco but I did. Growth came out of that. And those days I don't feel like reading my Bible....are often the days God speaks to me the deepest.

Tri Waco, I will be back next year with my husband....but I am only doing the Sprint distance.