Luckily, the weather cooperated, and this time we did not have to race with soaked gear. There was heavy cloud cover but no rain or thunder. Just like in Grand Rapids, I wore my Team Endurance Fusion kit and my Biscay Green ENELL This time, instead of an Olympic Distance Aquabike, I did a sprint triathlon.

With my teammate Michele

I have been doing a lot of swim training, an adequate (barely) amount of bike training and very little run training. I wasn't taking this race very seriously -- I was thinking of it more as a timed workout than as a real race.

These steps are killer!

I killed it on the swim, coming out of the water in just a few seconds over 10 minutes, though my official time includes the run up from the beach. I finished in the top half of the field for the swim.

I did pretty well on the bike, especially considering the wind, and finished just behind the middle of the pack.

Then there was the run. My feet were cramping as I got off the bike and my legs felt tight. I think this is a consequence of doing a midweek race after a day at a desk job where I spend a lot of time sitting. I was having a very hard time because my legs felt stiff and painful. I was toughing it out the best I could until the last half mile, where I must have hyperextended my knee on a downhill -- I felt something pop and was in a lot of pain. I hobbled in the best I could, convinced I had ruined my season. Not surprisingly, I was in the very back of the pack when I finished. It was a sad end to what had started out a fun evening.




After a few days of resting and recuperating, I think it's going to be okay, though I'm going to have to take it easy at first. I don't think I'm out for the season like I feared. I'm proud of myself for finishing despite the challenges.

This look says it all: Pain and determination

Finish line

With my teammates Megan, Michele, and Rebecca

Added my pretty new medal to the collection

It's coming up on one year since I made my leap from my academic faculty position to the corporate world. It hasn't turned out like I had hoped so far.

When I took a job as a contractor, it was with the belief that it wouldn't take me long to find something more permanent in the company, or somewhere even better. I was sure I'd land an important position with a big salary and prove myself right for leaving a position that I once loved, but was starting to change in unacceptable ways. That didn't happen. I've had some great job interviews with other employers that seemed like great places to work, but nothing has panned out so far.

In the last few weeks I had been really second-guessing myself for leaving my faculty position behind without more commitment that I would get a salaried position. This is, after all, what we're all told never to do. I was also focusing on the things I missed about my old career and all the things I'm not liking as much about my new job. I was feeling like a failure and a loser.

Racing this weekend helped me to reset a little. Somehow I gained some new perspective on the situation. Maybe the best thing I can do right now is to stay available until the right thing comes along. I have a paycheck, but I am not tied down to my position. I've learned a lot of new things and have met some great people.

Racing also helped me to remember that there is more to life than just work. I have worth no matter what I do for a living. I really am grateful that I can participate in triathlon. It lets me show that I am determined and focused and gets me out into the beautiful world. I love almost everything about my life, and eventually I'll get that last piece of the puzzle in place. I have a lot to offer, and someone will realize that.

Let us imagine that life is a river. Most people are clinging to the bank, afraid to let go and risk being carried along by the current of the river. At a certain point, each of us must be willing to simply let go, and trust the river to carry us along safely. At this point, we learn to “go with the flow” — and it feels wonderful.

Once we have become accustomed to being in the flow of the river, we can begin to look ahead and guide our course onward, deciding where the course looks best, steering the way around boulders and snags, and choosing which of the many channels and branches of the river we prefer to follow, all the while still “going with the flow.”

This metaphor shows us how we can accept our lives here and now, flowing with what is, and at the same time guiding ourselves consciously toward our goals by taking responsibility for creating our own lives. 

-- Shakti Gawain, Creative Visualization

I'm going to let go for a while and see where that takes me, watching along the way for a better path.

The night before the race, after a great dinner with some fellow Athena athletes including the impressively accomplished Leslie Battle, (who won the Olympic-distance championship again yesterday), I did the traditional obsessive packing and repacking of the gear until I got into bed exhausted at 11 pm.

My kit matches the Biscay Green ENELL Sport perfectly!

I was sound asleep when my alarm went off at 4 a.m. I was a little crabby about eating a peanut-butter sandwich with a lukewarm bottle of water and crappy hotel-room coffee when I wanted to go back to bed.

I took the "God Light" in this photo as a sign that we would have a good race.

After this photo, I stowed my camera in my backpack and headed to the beach.  I was not taking this race as seriously as I usually do, but I still wanted to do my best. We missed our friend Angi's start and we had to start swimming ourselves before she got out of the water. Once I was out on the course, I was all on my own, other than the great support from all the volunteers and fellow racers.

I felt strong in the swim, but I knew it wasn't going to be my fastest time.  The water was cold but after I got used to it, fairly pleasant. It felt like there was more room to spread out than usual, so I didn't get kicked and swum over as much as I usually do in these races.

The swim course map

This guy greeted us at the end of the swim.

There were two brawny guys helping people out of the swim. They had to be exhausted at the end of the day. I really appreciated the lift as the steps were a little slippery. There was a fairly long run to transition, which was longer and narrower than most -- it was a tight squeeze for me to get by the athletes who were leaving with their bikes.

The long and narrow transition area.

There isn't much to say about the bike. As usual, my bike computer decided not to work, so I couldn't figure out how fast I was going or what my cadence was, so I just had to go by feel. I felt like I was going pretty slow -- I hit the 5 mile mark and was really disappointed that I wasn't further. I also felt like I got passed a lot. There was a headwind at times and a few steep hills. Then it felt like I was suddenly at the finish -- and because it was an Aquabike, I was done. My time stopped when I crossed the bike in mat, and I could take a leisurely mosey to the finish to run across the line, get a photo taken, and collect my medal.

I took dozens of selfies to get one I liked.

  I felt a little guilty being done while everyone else was still racing. I went to watch for my friends to come in on the bike. I didn't notice Rebecca until she was right at the finish because she had added a purple tank to her outfit, and then I lost her in the crowd. I got to see Angi come in on the bike and leave for her run. I went in search of Rebecca, couldn't find her, and so returned to take more medal selfies.

You can see my mint-and-white bike in this picture.

Rebecca wasn't as lucky as me -- they had run out of medals by the time she finished. All I can figure is that a lot of people switched from the Half to the Olympic at the last minute.  They apologized and were taking names and phone numbers to get them their medals later, but I know from experience how disappointing that is, so I loaned her my medal so she could make her finish Facebook Official.

Her first race of this distance! It's easy to underestimate the step up it is from a sprint.

Got Rebecca to take a picture of me in my ENELL gear. Note the excellent support...

We had a long time to wait for Angi. We packed up our stuff, changed clothes, and moved the car.
We were able to get some post-race food and check out the afterparty, which was already starting to wind down.  I found the results and was pleasantly surprised that I had hit 16.6 mph on the bike -- I thought I was going much slower.

The first 12 Aquabike finisher results.

I love these results printers.

 We even got to meet 1988 Olympic Racewalker Gary Morgan, who had brought the torch he carried in the Salt Lake City torch relay for the kids to see and take photos with.  I couldn't resist -- I knew I would never be this close to an Olympic torch again.

Totally staged medal photo. Then they realized they gave her the wrong medal...

With the proper Athena Nationals race medal

This was such an emotional day, plus a physically demanding one. It felt like an extra leg of the triathlon just to drive home, not to mention unloading the car. I was ready for bed at 9.

For the last few weeks I had been letting my as-yet-unsuccessful search for a permanent job get me down, but today I felt content. Permanent marker seems to have mood-lifting qualities. I went into work today, strategically wearing long sleeves and a long skirt to cover my numbers, but I still knew they were there.