Hit the Brick Wall…

“A little slow out of the gates, what happened to ‘Look out 2013’…suck it up princess,” sighed Moll.  “It’s the price of aging…older, greyer and slower and its nonsense to try and keep up with the thirty something’s.  Why can’t you accept that your mind is willing but your body is aging?”

The continuous year-round training has taken a mental and physical toll.  Athena is going to quit the bike/swim/run.  There is no inspiration to train, no motivation to enter events and most notably no aspirations to do anything physical.

To quit anything is a hard decision…it means giving up, it means not living up to self-proclaimed expectations it means closing the door.  There is a certainty a final realization of ‘ending’.  There is also guilt and regret.  Guilt that there wasn’t enough work put into the decision to quit and regret in that there will never be the knowledge of what happened if ‘quit’ had not occurred. 

“The agony is the most difficult part, “whined Athena “and I’m so tired of whining to Stephanie about how discouraged I am.  I can read her thoughts in the emails…she’s tired of my complaining and would prefer that I made a decision to commit or not commit.”

“I promised myself that I would continue the workouts until the end of May and then I’ll decide.” explained Athena.  “At least I would have given it my best attempt and I will not have any regrets.”

Promises, Promises...

Promises, promises, promises…I promised that I would blog more consistently but life gets in the way. The year that was (aka 2012) was eventful but not in a sporting sense.

 April 2012 proved to be the start to a long recovery. On April 17th I was on a BC hydro transit bus, I paid the fare then moved to my seat. Before I could get to my seat the bus lurched forward sending me ‘flying’ through the aisle. The result was a severe injury to the already osteoarthritic left knee.

 Twelve weeks later and finally without crutches or canes I was able to walk Max-the-dog. Coach Stephanie created a workout schedule of swimming, walking and cycling. Running was an absolute No-No! I did manage to complete the following events:

 • Sasamat Lake July 1st swim – 1 km - approx. 27 minutes – good time considering I’m afraid of cold, deep dark water
• Victoria GranFondo - June – 50 km – this was my first event after the accident…finishing was the accomplishment
• Vancouver Biennale – August - 110 km – finishing was the accomplishment
• Levi Leipheimer GranFondo – San ta Rosa California August - 110 km – 5th place (out of 26) in my age group.

 I was thrilled with the Levi Leipheimer GF – the cycle was spectacular …cycling through the Napa Valley was beautiful. The hills on the Coast Route were difficult – some of the shorter climbs were at the 10 – 12% grade.

The start of 2013 was difficult. On Jan 9th, all consultants on the IT  project were ‘let go’…that included some 106 folks including me. In February, I caught a cold that turned into pneumonia that resulted in chronic asthma. The asthma is the main concern; gaining adequate control has been difficult. Swimming and Strength training has been a consistent reminder that I’m still training. Coach Stephanie will have me back on a walk/run program soon.

Look out 2013…I’m back…