Last week, when I was in a bit of a panic about my upcoming race at Mt. Hood, I called Kendra to help me lay out my plan for the next few weeks. I was excited to tell her how great I've been feeling, enthusiastic about how my winter training has paid off. "Now your job is to make sure you stay healthy," she told me. I made sure to take my vitamins, got to bed a little earlier, tried to eat the best possible...
Then Mike came home with the sniffles. And the sneezes. And the coughs. ARGH! I knew it would be just a matter of time before I caught it, and despite my inner mantra ("I'm not going to get sick... I'm not going to get sick... I'm not going to get sick..."), I've managed to catch his cold.
Saturday was 102 miles of easy riding with the Multisports.com training camp, which was fun. I got to ride with Paula Newby-Fraser's group, and we managed to keep everyone together. My job was to take care of any stragglers, which wasn't an issue until we hit the hills. There was a guy who came from Chicago - powerful on the flats, but once we hit the hills he was off the back like nothing else. I stayed back to help pull him back to the group and make sure he didn't get lost. Once we got back to Post Falls, I rode home the extra 8 miles or so at my own pace. While I enjoy the experience everytime I do it, I never manage to have enough chamois cream to make it a pleasant experience!!
Sunday was the Lilac Century Ride. I rode with Mike, Erik, and Gabe. Chrystie, Ken, and Skip joined us for some of it, too. At one point, as usual with those guys, the pace picked up for the 10 miles into the Reardan lunch stop. I tried to stay on, but the ol' heart rate wouldn't cooperate, so I said goodbye. I caught back up about 2 miles from the stop. I felt like I had just dug a little bit of a hole, and jumped right in . . . stupidly. The rest of the ride, however, I managed to keep my HR where it should be. By the end, though, my legs were pretty toasted - not burned, just crispy :) I had forgotten how hilly that course is. It's definitely a HARD century. But I was excited that I'd just ridden over 200 miles in 2 days - definitely good prep for Hood....
But then Monday morning brought the dreaded sore throat. And Tuesday brought congestion. Today I called in sick to work, with a barking cough in the morning, sore throat, fatigue, and general pissy attitude. I'm so frustrated right now, and of course my mind is in overdrive - worried that I'm sick so close to Hood, worried that now I'm going to die, worried that the world is coming to an end...blah, blah, blah. Then I remembered (or forced myself to remember, in order not to go insane from my mind in overdrive) how blessed I really am....
I don't get paid to race. Hell, I don't even want to know how much it costs me every year to do this. I do it because it's fun. Because it makes me a better wife, mother, employee. Because I'm relatively good at it and am passionate about it. Because I've shown my children and other women out there that women can be strong, can be competitive, can achieve things.
I am blessed beyond what most people dream about. I have an amazing husband that supports me in my athletic endeavors. He takes the kids to school. He picks up the kids from school so I can ride right after work. He grabs milk from the store at the last minute. He cleans and tunes my bike and sets me up with the best ride ever (PowerTap...compact gearing...Zipp 404's...Cervelo P2C...disk wheel...aero helmet.... he's the one that sets me up, keeping in mind my strengths and weaknesses, the type of course, the conditions). He sets up my bike on the trainer before a race because he knows I'm in the port-a-potty for the 6th time with my nervous pre-race ritual. He puts up with my nervous moodiness that sets in about a week before a really big race. He listens to what I have to say (most of the time) without butting in. He's my voice of reason and my rock.
I have two smart, beautiful children who are my world. I have a great job that fits my schedule. I have lots of friends that I respect and that respect me. We have a small business that, because of all of Mike's hard work, is really starting to pay off. . . I'm blessed more than I deserve.
So, I've got a cold. I'm worried about what this means for Hood. But, when I slow down to look at the big picture, Hood doesn't define me. Hood doesn't define my season. Hood is an opportunity for me to grow, to learn from the best, to figure out what the next step is in my journey to get even better. So I may go into it a little "behind," worse-case scenario. In the end, no matter what happens, I'll be better off for having done it. . .
And maybe I was supposed to get sick - to slow down a minute to realize how lucky I am. . . at least that's what I'm going to tell myself.
1 comment:
You're right in the fact that Hood won't define who you are, those of us that know and love you already know how great of a person you are and no matter what happens at Hood we will still love and support you. I know how you feel though, it is easy to be mad at the horrible timing of getting sick. You are going to do great though, NO WORRIES!
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