Life lessons - highs and lows

Well it has been a while since I wrote anything here, I know I should try and be more committed =0). The past few weeks have seen many changes. I started working with a new swim coach in April and can now officially say I can swim without a nose clip. I have been working really hard in the pool and on the bike with the occasional run. I made it out for the morning of Jack's bike training camp a few weeks ago and learned a great deal about bike maintance and how to actually ride outside, apparently you cannot use training wheels when you go outside. I can now officially change a tire and have had some practice in the past week. I discovered that I need to build up a whole lot of confidence on turning corners and going down hill but I can make up a lot of lost time on my up hill climbs (of course science would say it is better to save the energy and just use the momentum from the downhill instead). Hopefully a few more outdoor rides (assuming the weather cooperates) will allow me to build my skills and stay in control as I gain speed.

My first race of the season was the Police half marathon at the end of April, thankfully I met the goals that I had set despite my lack of running and entered into my summer racing season on a high note after being awarded the prize for the fastest police service female. Thanks Kirsty for keeping me focused =0). After completing this I figured I should probably enter some triathlons in order to help prepare myself for the half Ironman in August. I chose to enter the Try this triathlon which was held at foothills pool this past weekend.

So how did the race go? Yesterday I was feeling great! I finished my first triathlon!! and I did not drown or even stop swimming for the full 500 meters (which is a whole lot more than I could say 4 weeks ago), and I even managed to stay on my bike for the whole ride (sorry Liz!), despite falling off twice on my training ride on Friday. Today I looked at the results and although I am happy with my bike and run I can't help but feel upset with my results in the swim. After several weeks of hard work I did successfully finish my swim, but did so coming in dead last (It is a good thing I was able to make up time in the other areas so my overall results do not look so bad). As they say life goes on and hopefully we can learn from our experiences. I can certainly say that after having gone from being first in one event to last in the next that just finishing requires a significant amount of recognition! It requires at least as much effort, if not more so, to finish last as it does to lead the pack.

My next challenge is to complete the Chinook triathlon at Lake Midnapore on June 20. I will need to improve my distance (as I am required to swim 1500 meters) and time (for obvious reasons) while at the same time face my fear of deep water head on as this will be an open water swim. I cannot say I am not nervous (or even terrified) but I am trying to stay focused on the bigger picture overall and hopefully this will help in pushing me to weather the road bumps ahead.

So as I look ahead I have to say a quick thanks to Laurel, Amanda, Liz and everyone else who has offered their support (especially my hubby), it does make a difference, especially on those days when it all seems impossible! I can now say that I have accomplished one of my life goals which was to finish a triathlon, which would have been impossible for me to consider just a few months ago. So here is to a few more bumps and bruises...nothing a wet suit won't cover!