From Beach Bum to Tri Addict

Though the clock reads 12:10AM on Thursday morning, my body still thinks it is 3:10PM on Wednesday. There is no logic happening in these muscles right now. Yes, it is 12:10 AM and I am writing a blog. Why are you writing a blog so late at night, you ask? Well, I'm wired. I literally just walked in the door from a gnarly 35-mile bike ride. Bike ride in the dark, you ask? Yes, but don't worry... I was indoors watching Beyonce dance and listening to ACDC... the combo doesn't go together so well.

I once wrote a blog about defining one's life. It was when I was in Wyoming and had come to the conclusion that family and friends were more important than getting that extra 10-minutes of training in. That's when I gained 15 pounds. Mmmmm delicious. I'll tell you what was delicious: Those bags of dried mango I bought by the dozen on my food buys. Not to mention Anne's zucchini muffins... there are reasons I work out so hard: I love my sweets.

Back to defining one's life... These past couple of months, I have noticed that my life comes and goes in time blocks. When I am in one block of time, I am totally committed to that block. For instance, there was a block of time where I was obsessed with surfing. I owned every issue of Surfing, Foam, Surfer, etc. and wore only Roxy, O'Neil and Billabong brand clothing. I knew every surf shop in San Diego and practiced pop-ups in my bedroom every morning. I owned more movies with titles like Endless Summer and Step Into Liquid than anyone I knew. In my senior high school year book, I was voted Most Likely to Become a Beach Bum. I went to college in California specifically so I could be next to the ocean and study the waves more than I studied my Anatomy text book ...You get the idea.

Easter morning surf sess with Rebecca and Torrey

Maui

Surfing defined me. I was the surfer girl; but a funny thing happened. One morning I woke up and I was no longer the surfer girl. Other things took priority and my ability to paddle into a lineup slowly faded away. Did I say slowly faded? I meant crashed and burned within a day.

As I look back at that block of my life, it feels like I'm viewing the life of someone else. I don't recognize that girl and I don't relate. I want to, but I just don't. The same thing happens when I think about ex-boyfriends; it feels like they dated one of my friends and I know the story of their relationship, but I wasn't actually a part of it. It is as if I phase that block out of my life completely. I guess you can look at this as sad, but I prefer to see it as a girl who just keeps on evolving.

For the past two years, my life has been defined by the sport of triathlon. Sure, I've ventured out and tried ultra running, cooking and rock climbing, but triathlon keeps sneaking back into my life. It has become more evident now than ever before. My coach has me doing 2-4 workouts a day, which requires getting out of bed between 4:50-6:30 AM every day and hitting the sack somewhere between 11-12 every evening, depending on the day. I'm not complaining; I truly love it. I still try to make time for friends, too, so I haven't totally gone off the deep end. On Tuesdays, I have coffee in the morning with Jameisha and Lara after my run. Later in the evening, Kristine and I have begun a tradition of an hour-long swim followed by cooking a new recipe we find on Pinterest (thank God for Pinterest). Saturdays are my "day of rest", so I sometimes make an appearance with a friend then as well... okay... so maybe my training does take a front seat... but I have made a lot of new friends. Karen and I ran an extra 5 miles after our Tuesday morning track workout last week and this Tuesday, Jay and I went for an extra 6 while he told me about his introduction to running. Plus, it's great when Kristine or Jameisha join me in the pool.

First at Scott Tinley long course

Practicing the Wildflower bike course with Sloan last year

Delicious Tuesday evening meal with Kristine

I sincerely hope this block of my life lasts for awhile. I will be sad to see it go; to see the goggles disappear from my shower and the books by Dave Scott and Joel Friel get pushed to the back of my bookshelf. But I know the next stage of my life will be just as exciting if not more exciting than where I am now.


Cheers to good things yet to come and great things happening now (aka to blocks of life well spent)!