Why Do I Do This?

Saturday morning, the alarm rings too soon - 5:15 in the morning. There is no padding with the time set, as I need to meet a bunch of TRIgirls at 6:00 at a Wal-Mart parking lot about 20 minutes away. I sigh, get out of bed, and have my first "Why do I do this?" moment of the day.

Moving quickly, I dress, grab my bags and cooler packed for the day's training. I load up the car, driving in the still darkness. Trying to fight the sleepy feeling that wants to win so badly - I grumble to myself - why do I do this?

At Wal-Mart, many TRIgirls are congregating. I start to feel a little better, but envy TRIgirl KO's ability to fit in time to make a cup of coffee. After Coach G and Coach B arrive, the caravan heads off to Naylor's Beach - for an open water swim practice and trial bike for the Olympic race on September 30th. Which will be the warm-up for the day's goal of a 90 mile bike ride. It is going to be a long day.

We pull into Naylor's Beach an hour or so later. The air is chillier than back home - so I am happy to have the new TRIgirl hoodie sweatshirt that Coach G hands over to me. While preparing our bikes, I hear a few TRIgirls echoing my same thought - "Why do we do this?"

As the coaches set up the swim course with Ironman JW (big thanks to him and his family for coming out on their boat to set up the course and watch us) - which turns out to be a little less than 1/2 the distance than the race swim - we put on our wetsuits and wait. The skies that just saw a sunrise begin to darken again. A morning storm is predicted and seems to be looming right over the Rappahannock River. And the river confirms, with choppy waves and even a few whitecaps. Several more "Why do I do this" type of comments can be heard.

Then it is time to start swimming. The water is warm; the the first leg is rough. Waves slap me in the face when I try to sight. I get to the first makeshift buoy and begin to turn around. TRIgirl MS, who has kindly volunteered her time to kayak to also watch over us (another big thank you!) calls out my name and points to an orange flag quite bit further out. Oh. Grrrrr. "Why do I do this?"

As I battle the water to get to the orange flag, I realize that I am more relaxed with swimming through the choppiness.

I do this because it makes me overcome my fears.

After the first turn, we are moving more with the current - and the swim becomes enjoyable. I pull up on the beach with the first wave of TRIgirls coming in - and we watch the rest of the group. They are finishing strong and come out of the water with smiles.

I do this because I have the honor of being a part of a great group of women that makes sharing the challenges, pains, nerves and accomplishments all the more special.

The skies begin to lighten again as we head off on the bike. I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt and tell myself that I won't be so cold once we start moving. We ride the Naylor's course - and I remember quite a bit of it from last year. Other than one long climb I despise - and still can't ride up all the way - the course has many pretty spots. Tree lined quiet streets, rolling hills, water views.

I do this to be outside and enjoy nature.

Per our coaches' directions, I am not pushing too hard on the bike. We have another 64 miles to do after Naylor's. I finish in the back of the first wave of cyclists and begin loading my bike on the car - the IMFL folks will be heading back to Ironman JW's neck of the woods - the lovely Route 14. I am a little jealous of the girls packing up to go home - their workout is finished for the day. Another "Why do I do this?" tries to sneak in, but there isn't enough time to dwell on it - we are on the road again.

The sun grows stronger, drying up the humidity as we start on Route 14, dappling the streets with shadows. I feel so strong as we start the first "out and back" - only to later learn how much of that was because the wind was with me. Yes, we'd be facing major wind on both of the 17ish miles that make up the back loop.

Everyone finds their own pace - though occasionally we catch up at a turn around to refuel and can ride together for a little while. Ironman JW, Coach B and TRIgirls KB and SK do a few extra miles, being the overachievers of the group. At one point Ironman JW rides with me before passing me again - and tell me he thinks I win the award for most improved cyclist. Coach G had also commented during the ride how impressed she was with my improvement. While I know a big part of it is Patriot Sangria, part may actually be me, too.

I do this because it gives me something to work on to improve myself (quite a few things, actually!).

The ride is long. I dread the last stretch into the wind. My legs don't feel that bad, but my shoulders and neck are very uncomfortable. My butt can't wait to get off the bike seat. I am tense and stressed from dealing with the gusts. TRIgirl KB takes pity on me and lets me draft off her for awhile. She is so fast and I know I am holding her back. I tell her to go ahead, but she says the company is nice - talking makes the miles go by more quickly. Soon we just have a "West Creek loop" remaining.

I do this because it reminds me I am stronger than I think I am.

Ironman JW's house is in sight. I end up doing somewhere around 95-96 miles - 5 hours and 45 minutes riding time. (I took a nice little 20-25 minute break for lunch at the country store - only to find out, the riders I'd been waiting for had turned around a few miles earlier to try to hit 90 exactly). I get off my bike, and though I can't picture running a marathon, my legs feel strong enough to run a few miles anyway. The overachievers and several other TRIgirls are pulling in, too. For many of us, we've just finished another distance PR.

I do this because of the sense of accomplishment with hitting new goals.

And like so many other triathletes have said.

I do this because I can.