Saturday, August 25, 2012

The lure of the finish line

Tomorrow I'm supposed to race the Runner's Edge TOBAY sprint triathlon. Less than 24 hours beforehand I don't know if I'm going to race or not. The plan in my mind keeps changing.

I'm really not ready to race. My breathing issues haven't been cured yet and I have follow up appointment scheduled. The swim in this race is 1000m or so. I might have swam that distance once or twice in the last 9 months. I rode the bike course last week on my race bike and had to walk up a hill (a 14% hill but walking is walking). Running is, well, running. There will be a lot of walking if I do this at all.

Does any of this matter? How great is the lure of finishing?

It will be my daughter's first grown up tri. She will toast me. Most of her friends have bailed. Since I'm a registered racer I get to go into transition to help her set up so I will be at the race anyway. If I don't race, I will cheer her on.

If I do race, the wetsuit should help my swim knowing I'll be in the drink for a while. I can bring my old man road bike that has lower gearing and the course should be ride able. If I walk the 5k, so be it. I might come in last but there are 1500 racers so I should finish before a few - not many but a few.

So the plan now is to get ready to race and see what tomorrow brings. Maybe I'll race. Maybe I won't. I need to realize the lure of the finish line will be strong. Can I resist that temptation? Should I?

Stay tuned.




7 comments:

Ransick said...

If your breathing issues aren't resolved I vote no race, not that I have a vote :-). Go cheer your daughter on and have a great time instead of an iffy, nervous day. Have fun!

TriMOEngr said...

Not knowing the full extent of the health issue, I'd lean towards agreeing with Mike. But I know the lure of the race/finish is strong. Best wishes to your daughter on her debut.

Unknown said...

You sound like me this year (with the notable exception of the health issues - I'm not contending with that) in that I've failed to get excited about many of my races. I think you should go with your heart, have everything ready tonight, and go race tomorrow if you're feeling it, cheer if you're not. In either case have a great time!

Unknown said...

I have had a few times when my head wasn't into racing so I just canceled it. When my heart is not in it, for whatever reason, I just can't wrap my head around doing it. I don't usually feel bad about it. I have done some that I really wasn't quite sure about doing them and the results reflected it.

Unknown said...

Hard call. Sounds like you'll be there no matter what, either as a participant or a spectator (and your daughter's #1 cheerleader).

Best wishes either way!

Big Clyde said...

Proud father or determined athlete - you win either way.

Big Daddy Diesel said...

So did you race? I am thinking yes