River and the Dwarves

At the end of Serenity, River Tam heroically stands with sweat dripping from her brow, catching her breath, her body held tall, looking down at the pile of Reavers she just took out single-handedly.

When the dwarves and Gandolf are captured in the orc cave in The Hobbit, they are surrounded 1,000 to 13. Somehow, they fight with such poise and skill that they defeat the orc king (who looks strangely similar to Jabba the Hut) and escape the dark pits of the earth.

Obviously, I have been watching too many Sci-fi and fantasy films lately (ehhem... nerd alert). The thing that stood out to me about these films though was the characters' skill at defeating their opponents. It was beautiful watching the gracefulness in the dwarves' movements as they dodged and killed their enemies. It was as if every move was planned. The orcs had no logic to their attack; they attacked with all they had, but never stopped to look at the situation. The dwarves had a cleverness behind their form. They never killed their own, they were able to pick out the bad from the good. Every movement had a specific purpose.

My past races have been sloppy, much like the fighting of the orcs. Wildflower was the only race I really worked for; I designed and followed a training plan, watched my nutrition, created a pre-race plan.. everything. My other races have been very sporadic with no pre-designed plan of action.

I don't want to be an orc. I want to be hardcore like River Tam and the dwarves. Wildflower was the only race I really worked for; I designed and followed a training plan, watched my nutrition, created a pre-race plan... everything. My other races have been very sporadic with no pre-designed plan of action.

I don't want to be an orc. I want to be hardcore like River Tam and the dwarves. My A-priority race this year is going to be the National Age Championships in August. The next 9 months are going to be exactly like the 9 months preceding having a baby. My nutrition will be carefully monitored, each workout will have a purpose, I am going to start stretching and foam rolling more religiously. Once again, I am choosing to make triathlon my life (didn't I swear this off last summer?). No drinking alcohol, no late nights, no missing a workout... this is my life once again and I'm actually very excited about it!

Just like River and the dwarves train to be master murderers, I am going to train to "murder" the competition. Hello, month one of nine. Time to meet your maker!