Fresh

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I’m in a new place. I’m doing new things. I love it. Even the old things feel fresh. Since arriving in the Springs I’ve done four runs that have been at least 98% on dirt trails. Getting off the roads and the bike paths I frequent at school and at home has proved to be invigorating. Even the change in atmosphere in swimming has proved to be fun. All of the resident triathletes, regardless of their program, swim together in the mornings. This means I have many new training partners to switch things up with in the pool. I surprised myself with some good swims this past week and I look forward to making continued progress in my swimming.

This is not to say that everything is coming easily. Biking is a challenge. Although I’ve only done drill based rides indoors since arriving at the OTC, I did take my bike to a park near my home the night before I left to practice clipping in and clipping out. After about an hour, a lot of frustration, and the first bumps and bruises of my fledgling triathlon career, I was able to consistently clip in and out of my pedals. While the Summer of the past might despair and get mentally blocked at a challenge like this, the Summer of today is quickly learning that being bad at something can be a good thing. As USAT run specialist Bobby McGee mentioned at a run drill session, if you are bad at something it means that you have another thing you can improve at, which should give you confidence. Never in my life have I been so happy to discover that I am bad at so many things. I’m quickly learning that that a little patience and a lot of discipline will make the difference in the long run. I don’t know what kind of potential I have as an athlete, but I know that I haven’t reached it yet and nothing is more encouraging to me. After all, I’ve come a long way from the three year old little girl who refused to brake while riding her bike with training wheels, forcing her dad to run behind her so she wouldn’t crash. 🙂

 

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