Let’s review, shall we?
- 55 degree water isn’t as cold as you might think it is. And, conversely, it’s EVERY BIT as cold as you think it is. Thank god for neoprene!
- It’s always windy in Plainfield. Even if every online weather source says it’s not, it’s windy. Trust me.
- Swimming’s not so bad. I think I’d even go so far as to say that I might be disappointed if a race I were doing had the swim canceled. And coming from me, that’s a compliment of the highest nature for the watery part of triathlon.
- Training makes me hungry. (Of course, NOT training makes me hungry, too. Hmmm…)
- A great training session has a way of rewriting history, making it all seem not quite as bad as I once thought it might have been. Without actually knowing, I think it must be like childbirth — the pain makes you vow you’ll never do it again, but the good times afterward makes the pain seem worthwhile.
- For any tri-related trip, I average AT LEAST two bags per day away from home. I’m the queen of You Never Know What You Might Need, so just give me my tiara and stop bitching about it. Thankyouverymuch.
- My non-tri friends and my family are quite possibly the most patient people on the face of this planet. They endure a summer of me not having a free weekend or being able to stay out past 7:30pm because of training and races. And when the off-season does arrive, they don’t even make me feel guilty about ignoring them for 4 months.
- I’m a bike grease magnet. If I get within a 5 foot radius of any bike, I will inevitably end up with bike grease somewhere on my body. The corollary to this is that I will also miss one of those spots on myself when I take my next shower and find myself clean but for a smear of grease somewhere, usually on the back, hidden part of my leg.
- This summer I have a traveling candy bag, which seems to be a hit with all my friends. I’ve found, though, that it would be best if I could somehow make it travel outside my house during the week since it apparently has magical charms that make me unable to resist it.
- Good friends trump good race times, every time. After a frustrating season culminated in a really bad race, I was overwhelmed with all the friends that were immediately by my side bearing kind words, sympathy, advice and a good dose of humor. It was a good reminder of the main reason why I continue to do this stuff. The training, the racing … yea, sometimes not so fun. The friends and good times, though? Wouldn’t trade them for the world.