Pain is life.

People often say the key to being an elite athlete is those that are able to suffer the most - the more you can deal with pain, the  more successful you'll be as an athlete.  This statement always explains to me why I'm never the fastest in any race bc I don't do pain well - I have the lowest threshold for pain out of anyone I've ever met.  I've made peace with that - it's who I am but now this constant back problem is really throwing a wrench in those plans.  In the past, I've been in "pain" just from pushing myself I've never had this constant nagging lower back issues.  

I've taken nearly the entire summer off from any sort of exercise hoping to heal my back in order to come back stronger but that doesn't seem to be happening.  Since it seems this will be a constant, nagging issue I've decided to just deal with the pain - continue great treatment and even greater nutrition and continue on.  

My C25K  Run Buddy TARA!

Just last month I started back with the Couch to 5K program which is going well except for the back pain when I get home.  The alternative it more than I can tolerate so I'll just learn to deal with it.  Continue to ice, get adjusted, go to PT, stretch and most importantly EAT CLEAN and GREEN!  The amazing part is that I feel  GREAT while running/walking and that's the feeling I've missed all summer.  Being out with my run friends, in the fresh air - makes me feel alive.  So let's hope for this thing to not get any worse and just keep on keeping on - and toughen up a little to live with a little more physical pain than I'm used to in life!

Rev3 Quassy 2016

First triathlon of 2016 is in the books!  Rev3 Quassy is my all-time favorite race even though I seem to get slower each year.  I love everything about triathlon: the gear, the friends, the people, the Expo at the race, the feeling on race morning, the sunrise, the energy I just love the entire atmosphere that surrounds triathlon.  It's also a great way to not turn into an obese loaf and it's hard to get bored of it since it's 3 different sports rolled into one.  Everyday is something different from the day before.  Even though my love for triathlon runs deep, my love for training does not and therefore I pay for it physically after each race.  As Justin Trolle says, "anyone can do an Ironman it's just how badly their body will pay for it after the race" so if you don't train, you will be in pain.  That's where I am today - 2 days post race.

Saturday was Rev3 Olympic distance race in Middlebury, CT.  I was so anxious for at least 4 days before the race bc I knew I hadn't trained enough although does any athlete ever feel that they've trained enough for any race?

The best part about this race was my girls =)  It was a full race weekend with my favorite teammates and we had so much fun from the minute we got there until the minute we left!  I just wish I was younger or they were older so we could all start together and then I could watch them fly past me!!  The swim was delayed 30 minutes due to the most dense fog I've ever seen.  I was so so so so hopeful they'd call off the swim - my weakest leg of the race and really, just one less thing to get done before the crack of dawn.  But no such luck - within 10 minutes the fog burned off and it was crystal clear - swim on.  I've made peace with the fact that my swim will never really get faster - I just need to get through it and hopefully work on endurance so I'm not so wiped out after a long swim.

The bike course was great - it has steep uphills but even faster downhills and I LOVE downhills!!!  It's really the only reason I ride - it's the closest thing to flying you'll ever come across (although I've never done drugs so that might work as well!).

The Run...well, that was a shit storm.  Something tweaked in my back in the swim and the bike made it a little worse but then the run was just bad.  This run course is so difficult - either STRAIGHT downhill or STRAIGHT uphill - either way it's not pleasant.  I considered DNFing after T2 bc my back hurt but figured I could get through 6 miles somehow and I did.  It wasn't pretty but I did get through.  Finished before the cut off...not much time to spare but who's counting?

In every other race in my past I would have beaten myself up over these times but this race I finally made peace with myself.  I kept thinking on the run course, "remember you are in pain here when you are all pissed next week looking at your times"  so there was that.  Also the week before this race I did a swim race with my friends: one of them stopped half way bc she wasn't willing to risk getting injured and my other friend came in 2nd to last and finished with a smile.  No one cared about either one of their finishes - we were there to swim and be together and have fun and that's what we did.  So this past weekend was just that - a great weekend with great, great friends doing something I love!

The best part is on Sunday I got to JUST spectate and watch Kevin race - I got to repay him as his Race Support for his race.  I can never be as good of a Sherpa as he is but I tried my hardest.  I love spectating and watching him makes it even more fun!

So back to training - back to having fun and continue training with my friends and having fun while being healthy and setting a great example for my children.

Until we meet again next year, Quassy!