The start of the May training cycle.
This month marks the first month of crunch time for the training. All the base stuff is done and my body seems set to start of the serious work involved in getting ready for a 5 hr plus race.
So……………
This past Sunday was the 2nd progressive long ride of the season. I did a 70.5 mile to Nyak NY and back. I went out to the first real incline, climbed it then turned around and headed home. To say it rained the entire ride would be an understatement, but I am very used to training in the cold wet spring of New York. At least the green of the hills have fully come in, which made it feel less cold.
I felt really good during the ride. It is nice to have juice back in the tank. The only bad thing about the ride was how my left knee felt after. During some of the climbs my pedal stroke technique got sloppy, which caused some irritation on the inside ligament of the knee, but by yesterday evening it was back to normal.
Yesterday, I did swim/ bike where I pushed my intensity on the bike really high after swimmming hard. I felt strong!
Well, I went to the studio on Wednesday to work on painting my aero helmet and by Friday evening I had all but ruined the helmet and the original paint job. The long short of it is…. because I rushed the drying process it started to flake off in spots, so I rushed to fix it before it was ready to be fix and made it worse.
BUT!
I learned a lot about a process that I have always wanted to get better at and now know that patience is key, when doing a project like that.
My plan now is to turn this helmet into my first triathlon sculpture and buy another helmet to race in. Some may say I wasted the money, but I think I invested in my creative process. Now, the question is, do I take what I’ve learned and attempt to paint the new helmet? The jury is still out…….
As the girls get bigger by the day, older by the minute we have been discussing our future here in NY and asking, what would be better for the girls during the coming year. The prospect of packing up this summer and moving south is incredibly frightening for me, but I am coming to terms with the fact that it is a possibility. As I rode through the hills in the rain I thought about what this would mean for me. I know what it means for the girls, but I have worked so hard here for so long and I feel I would be starting again.
However all things happen for a reason and if it is meant for us to move then it will happen. If not, it won’t.
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Unscared of Hills
12 years ago
4 comments:
That's right, if it is meant to be it will happen. We, especially me, need to b open to all possibilities so that we can make the right decision for all four of us. Though in the big scheme of things, mommy and daddy will always come second.
I don't know how you are continuing to train and help me with the girls. I guess being able to have some "thinking time" while training helps to energize you physically and mentally.
Now, maybe I can voice this through my comments and get through my thoughts without too many tears. As I came across Roxy's memorial picture the other day (for those of you who don't know Roxy, she was a very special professor in Jason's undergrad career), I thought about her life as an artist and teacher. I wondered if she ever came to the crossroads that you are right now as an artist. Then I thought about yours and Sara's comments about her funeral. She never made it to live in New York (that I know of). She never had a big show in Chelsea. But her life mattered. She impacted so many people, artists and nonartists. So my question is this..... What makes one matter in this world? Is it the ability to be in magazines and have people write articles about you? Is it having your work displayed so the art lovers as well as random people can judge your work? Or is it what people will say on the day of your death about the decisions you made in life and how you treated people?
faith--very nice parallel to roxy. not only did her art career exist (and thrive) outside of nyc, but she didn't even start making art until later in life, after she'd raised her family. without getting all proverbial ("where there's a will, there's a way...") the point is: what you make and how you make it are much more important than where and when you make it (and with what frequency). i haven't *officially* made a finished (read: editioned) book in, gasp, five years...but i still consider myself a book artist, albeit a (temporarily!) lapsed one.
lately i daydream about someday spending time in my home studio, babies and dogs chilling in the background...
and as for the crossroads, i'm sure she came and went many times...
hi to l & l! (and h & s & w!)
Faith,
After reading your comment, I wish to say that I had the answer, but maybe it is only the answer to me. We all have the answer, but it looks different to each of us. For me, everything finally broke, and the house of cards fell to the ground in a messy pile. While I have not given up triathlons, I had to give up the mentality I had about racing and my training. My family was suffering, badly. My mind was consumed.
So, "what makes one matter in this world?" Hmm. For me? It is realizing that my family deserved so much more than I was giving them. That when my life is over, triathlons will mean absolutely positively nothing whatsoever...but being a good mother and a good wife and a good daughter of God? Yeah, totally matters.
-B
Faith, why you got to be right!
Sarah my co-hort, thanks for being there through all this!
B, thanks for listening and chimming in!
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