For many years, the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon has been one of my A-list events. Not so this time around. Saturday my goals are simply to get a good workout and try not to get beaten by too many large females. I'm sure I will not be totally sucessful on the last point.
A number of factors have changed my motivation and fitness for competing in triathlons. One is (was) my mother's critical illness starting last January. She has been ill much longer, but in January she began to suffer a number of life-threatening secondary issues related to her diabetes and liver disease. She is much improved now and is requiring a lot less attention from me. However, during the winter and spring, I didn't even try to ride a bicycle and rarely ran. I focused my limited training time primarily on swimming and weight lifting.
Not only has my mother's illness impacted this year's triathlon season, but some nagging knee and achilles injuries have kept me from doing the kind of training I need even when I have the time. In fact, I have had achilles issues for three and a half years. Over that period of time, my athletic identity has slowly morphed from runner/triathlete to extreme swimmer. It seems like I can always swim without breaking down from injury. At fifty-six years old, I set a number of personal swimming records this spring. It's been year's since I set a personal running record.
Today I got to the pool about 8:00 a.m. without any real plan and started swimming. I like long warmups, but this morning I felt so good I just kept warming up. I wound up stopping at 7,000 meters because I had to use the bathroom. In the afternoon, I did a major upper body weight lifting session. For supper I made a protien smoothie and ate an apple. Maybe I can drop a pound or two before Saturday.
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