Apparently it's been a year since I have posted in my blog so I guess that also makes me the #worstblogger too. Anyways, it's a new year and I am continuing to raise funds and awareness for Team Phenomenal Hope. This year I wanted to do something different, challenging, and not a bike race (that's what Sunapee racing is for!).
Long story short, I started bike racing because I was training for a triathlon. Yup, I was terrible at the bike part so I bucked up and joined a cycling team. Through that I realized how awesome bike racing was and that I didn't have to fight as many injuries, so eventually I stopped doing triathlons! This year, and many seasons of bike racing under my belt, I thought I would try my hand at triathlon again. I signed up for Lake Placid 70.3 in September. I can wing sprint triathlons, but this would probably require a bit more than that. Ok, cool....let's do this.
Many months later here I am. Let's just say that triathlon is incredibly humbling. My year so far has basically been triathlon yelling at me like your "hamstrings are tight, your hamstrings are weak, your hips are out of line, your goggles fog up, you aren't running fast enough, your back really hurts doing anything, you really aren't flexible, you should get to the pool, you should get more massages, you should get a new mattress". Triathlon seems to bring out....the worst in me. HOWEVER! It's really made me realize how important working on your weaknesses is. The bad part, I think Kyle had to hear me say I am cancelling the trip, i don't want to run, I don't want to do the half ironman, I can't do this anymore...several times. Sorry Kyle.
The hashtag #worsttriathlete came about this year because I really am a bad triathlete. I tend to sleep in instead of a morning workout. I skip 3 weeks of swimming randomly. I bought a new TT bike but suffered through the saddle for months before buying a new one (a month before the race). The list continues...but yeah I am really the #worsttriathlete.
I do applaud triathletes because it's like a juggling act. Swim, run, yoga, massage, bike, stretch, yoga, fuel, buy a new saddle because oh. my god it hurts. I struggled all year and it was affecting my bike racing even.
So, I finally bought a new mattress and poof. A lot of my back issues have improved. A lot! Not to mention I've been doing yoga as well to work on my inflexibility. Perhaps, I am a little off schedule...but there's still some time to get some quality training in before September 9th. I am planning on taking these lessons learned into 2019 for whatever the next adventure I go on (perhaps another 5 year retirement from triathlon?).
All through this, I remembered the reason I am training. This is to raise money and awareness for people with pulmonary hypertension, a disease without a cure. I certainly can get through this if everyday they struggle to breath.
Please check out my fundraising page and thanks for checking in!!!
https://www.teamphenomenalhope.org/team-ph/julie-tracy/
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