yoga Thursday because the fat lady sang on Monday

Well, not really. The fat lady singing part. I don't want to suggest that whomever sang the national anthem at the Austin Tri was fat! Nor that I am fat...although if I indulge in the food at the place that Gordon caught me speeding by on Monday and given that this was my last tri of the season, I could well be on my way!
Anyway, I went to yoga tonight because on Monday morning I was racing at the Austin Triathlon. Yes, I just used the word "racing" to describe what I did on Monday. Which is a little bit of a shock to me. But looking back on it, I did race it. I pushed myself. I finished off the season with a bang (for me...although I had the slowest transition times ever!). And I had a BLAST. Seriously. This not really training, not putting pressure on myself, not worrying about what I need to get geared up for next, not worrying about how very tired I am going into a race might just be the ticket for me. I went into the race on Monday with a few simple goals: 1) have fun, 2) attempt to PR, 3) push myself beyond what felt comfortable...in an effort to leave it all out there. (In other words "race"...and what I'm discovering is that even when I do feel like I give it my all at the time, there will always be that lingering "could I have...?" pushed it more, run a little faster, biked a little faster, etc... question sequence lingering in my head. Maybe that's what keeps us coming back for more?)
How did I do? On my goals that is...
1) check! I even declined the smiley face on the back of my calf during body marking because I told the volunteer that I'd be wearing the smile on my face...and I did! What fun to do a "hometown" race, put on by High Five Events (simply the best!), with awesome volunteers, friends and teammates cheering you on, on a course that you know and that you've traveled before. I just might have to add this race to my yearly "to do" list!
2) a PR is anything faster than what you did before and while I wanted it to be a 5 minute PR, I'll settle with a 3 minute PR...and I'm settling VERY happily! Okay, maybe that means I'm not settling at all!
and.. 3) I definitely pushed myself. I settled into my swim and decided to put all of those swim practices where my chest is burning to good use. I caught Esther out of the corner of my eye and have to thank her for keeping me honest on that swim. I figured if I could stay at least a stroke or two ahead of her and if she was having a good day that I'd be on my way to good swim. Surprisingly, I did! On the bike, I let my quads and hamstrings burn in an effort to gain more speed than I thought possible - especially on the slick streets. And on the run, well, that is when it really becomes a "race". I was clipping right along (in hindsight, probably "clipping" a little too fast as I think my first mile was in the low 8's), hit the 2 mile mark, and then thought, "All you have left is your fast TL 4 mile loop...get going!" And I did. So happy with how that run ended (and with what I did with it along the way). I said to Logan before the race that I'd be happy if I just had a good run. He replied, "If you think you will, then you will." And I said, "Oh, don't worry. I've already visualized myself going really fast." So...maybe my pace wasn't "really" fast but actually it was pretty darn fast for me! Faster than any of my training runs. So that was fun. And exciting.
Friends and teammates were around from start to finish. Honestly, you really feel like you have an unfair advantage when you know people at the swim start, at the bike exit/entry/mount/dismount, and then all along the run course...and everywhere in between! But I'll take that advantage and play off of it any old day because it really makes a difference. There are teammate "rabbits" to be chased (thank you, Esther and Elizabeth), teammates to encourage and cheer for, and friendly faces all around. The course this year was awesome and although it was a crazy weather day (we had rain, sun, clouds, humidity, breezes, etc...), it was a wonderful way to end my season. I crossed that finish line with Logan appropriately mis-pronouncing my last name and with a big old grin on my face. Not sure what could be better?
Well, what could be better was what happened after that - and, no, it wasn't a beer or a Coke or a post-race massage. Amy had had a horrible day that started with an awful asthma attack in the water. I knew something was wrong when I saw her on the bike. As she said, "When you lapped me on the bike." Okay. Yes. And that is simply not right. We talked for a minute, I tried to get a sense of how she was really doing. Should I encourage her to call it a day? Take it easy but finish the race? Keep her eye on the big prize in November in Arizona? I decided to tell her a little bit of all of that but mostly to say, "Please be smart and take it easy." And you can say that to Amy because you know that she will. Luckily, the bike course means you get to see people a lot so I was comforted each time I saw her. But then I was done and off to the run and I just hoped she finished the bike okay. As I went into T2, I saw Jim, Chris, and Liz. They were cheering me on, telling me to stay strong, encouraging me to keep going. But I stopped. At the entrance into T2 I ran up to them (I'm sure they thought I was nuts) and I said, "I need you to listen to me. You need to check on Amy when she comes in. She had an asthma attack. I'm not sure how she's really feeling right now. If she needs to skip the run, please tell her that. THANK YOU!" Nice, dump the responsibility on Jim, Chris, and Liz! They were great, nodded, and told me to get going. And I did. Out on the run I looked for Amy but never saw her. That was worrisome to me and on the other hand I was relieved because I thought maybe she'd called it a day, giving her body the rest that it probably needed. I half-expected to find her in the T3 tent when I finished, and when she wasn't there, I thought, "Damn. Did she do the run after all?" I decided to throw my flip-flops on and head out to the run course to see if I could see her. Sure enough, just as I headed toward the 1st street bridge, there she was. Walking along. Looking pretty chipper and actually really strong. Folks, I'm not sure I would have been either of those things if I had been in her shoes. As she approached I said, "Hey. How are you? Can I get you anything? Your inhaler? Water?" And she said, "You can walk with me a while." And in those simple words, I somehow knew she was okay. So we walked. Maybe a mile? Me in my flip-flops, people cheering us both on, us just chattering away. I'm sure people were wondering what we were doing. Honestly - we were enjoying the moment. I was relieved that Amy was okay. I think Amy was glad for the company. Overall, I was terribly proud of her. It takes something special to finish a race like that. As Amy said later, you can deal with a bad race time better than you can deal with a DNF by your name. And others had a similar story that day. But others did DNF. And that's okay. But it wasn't okay with Amy. And when she questions how she will do in Arizona in November, it's easy for me to say, "No doubt, you will finish...unless the meds tell you not to. And that's another story. But that won't happen."
So that's how my season ended...with a great race and a moment with a friend that reminded me of her strength and of the strength I hope to have, too. (P.S. I found out later that I was surrounded by all sort of true grit out there on the course that day...as is usually the case...hope it rubs off!)
What's next? Well, Thursday yoga is a start. Lots of yoga (I really want to see if I can master the crow position...mostly because I'm a total chicken when it comes to it!), swimming (as in LOTS and LOTS of swimming to get ready for a crazy idea that I'll write about in a future post), running (trail, road, water...okay, well, I would rather not aqua jog this winter so here's to staying injury-free!)...and a little biking, too. Mostly just enjoying a healthy lifestyle, staying in 1/2 marathon shape because I have a few of those on the fall calendar (fun things with friends...LOVE it) and working toward a PR at the 3M half marathon in January, some trail running (because I really want to!), a long bike ride every now and then just for the heck of it (and maybe some shorter ones, too), sleeping in on some weekend mornings (especially when winter rolls around), supporting my IMAZ and IMFL friends through their training, hanging out with my non-tri friends, reading more books, finishing my project with Granddaddy's war journal, continuing to clean out my condo, volunteering (not for races - although I might do some of that, too - but for Free Cakes for Kids)...just some of the things that I have in store for myself. And maybe a little redecorating/rearranging at home. More time to give to work and SAS-related activities (sports games, etc...) - this feels nice right now. And I might possibly explore a gluten-free lifestyle...just to see. Definitely more cooking...no matter what foods I'm including or excluding. (Farmshare has been great for that!) Oh, and MORE SLEEP. Yes. I'm super excited about that. On that note...sleepy time for me.