Believe

It's amazing what the human body can do when we don't let our mind hold us a back.

Last weekend I ran a 10K race in Shelburne, Vermont with my daughter Nicole.  She had never done a 10K race before, having been a sprinter on the track team in high school.  Needless to say, she carried a little trepidation into the race, peppering me with questions about how fast to go, should she carry a drink, what was the course like.  We started together, but I run faster than she does, so I didn't see her until we made the turnaround on the out and back course.  She looked good, chugging along with her headphones on.   I crossed the finish line, congratulated a couple of guys that finished before and right behind me, then jogged back along the course to meet her and pace her to the finish line.

I had to go a little farther than I expected to find her, maybe a mile, when she finally appeared, moving well but looking tired.  She strided out and finished at just over 47 minutes.  This, it turns out, was good enough to win her age group.  What a big smile when the race organizer called her name to accept her prize.  I am very proud of Nicole and when she runs the Vermont City Marathon in just about 7 weeks, I'll be there at that finish line cheering her next accomplishment and marvelling at what we can do when we put our doubts behind us and just go.

How did I do?  Well, I ran the fastest 10K of my life and won my age division as well.  I'm not sure I fully comprehend how that was possible, as each year I am getting older and conventional wisdom says I should not be getting faster.  Nor am I training to get faster; in fact, I am training to go longer as I prepare to compete in my first full distance Ironman at Lake Placid in July.  I showed up last Sunday to run a good 10K, to test my fitness, and to maybe knock a few seconds off of my personal best, which is just under 42 minutes. I didn't think, I didn't plan, I just ran, finishing in 38:03.  The course may have been a little short, but I still greatly surpassed my expectations, proving that the body, even a 48 year old one, is an amazing thing.

This weekend I went for my first long outdoor bike ride.  I met three others at On The Rise Bakery in Richmond and we road US Route 2 all the way to Northfield.  It was sunny and beautiful, although fairly cold and a little windy (both ways, oddly enough!).  On the way out I was getting uncomfortable, my neck hurt, the two other guys were hammering and the woman Amy, who's a pro bike racer, was staying with them, while I was having to work harder than planned just to keep up.  Doubts periodically flushed through my mind....."I'm not in as good shape as I thought, I don't know if I'll be able to keep this up for 70 miles, let alone 112 miles in my Ironman". 

Eventually we made it to Northfield and turned back.  We made a pitstop in Montpelier and then headed for Richmond.  A few miles down the road one of the hammerers went off the back and I didn't see him again until I was changing into my running gear (yes, I ran off the bike when we got back to Richmond).  We were headed into a brisk wind on the way back with each of us taking turns at the front, pulling, then dropping back and drafting as the next person in line took a turn breaking the wind.  Soon Amy said she was bonking and couldn't pull anymore.  I told her to tuck in and John and I pulled the rest of the way back. 

My neck still hurt some, but not as much as on the way out.  My legs were tired, but I still had reserves to do the job at hand.  By the time I finished my run I was feeling tired, but not exhausted.  It was the fatigue in a body that did what it was supposed to, despite the less than encouraging messages in my head.  I followed yesterday's workouts with a long run today and I refused to let my mind distract my body from moving through 15 miles at a strong pace.  I just kept saying you can do this.

I still have a long way to go to be ready to race at Lake Placid, but this weekend encouraged me that I will get there, that I will get to the finish line, and maybe even get to race a little.