This week has been draining, so I took a vacation day today to re-adjust my sleep and decompress. It's my own fault- I put lots of extra projects on my plate and they all seem to hit at once. I'm trying to get better with prioritizing.
Since I didn't have to go to work today, I was able to meet up with my half-marathon partner Holli to ride bikes! I haven't ridden a bike since I was 15 – so 15 years – and I was terrified. What if I couldn't keep my balance? What if I fell? What if I broke my bike?
A few years ago, I won this bike at a company picnic. Can you imagine how awkward it was to be the 400+ pound person from the entire company who won a bike? I tried to look excited, but inside I was mortified.
In the back of my mind the past few months, I've thought about doing a triathlon. With Mary and Millie loving them so much, I really wanted to do one! I used to be a competitive swimmer, and know I can do the distance easily. I have done multiple 5Ks, so know I can do that distance as well. The cycling part? Oy.
The one thing that has surprised me about this journey is that I haven't died yet from being a complete klutz or failing miserably at whatever I've tried. Between Zumba, jet skiing, bikram Yoga and running a half marathon, my confidence in my body is slowly growing.
While on our LONG training walk/jogs for the half marathon, Holli talked about the American Lung Association Bike Trek to Shakertown, a 3 day bike ride. Instead of “girl, that's crazy,” my mind said “ooh, I want to do that!” Talk about a non-scale victory!
One of the local bike shops told me the bike frame was too large for me, which made me hesitant to ride it. Thankfully I did it anyway, because it really feels completely fine.
I finally had another excuse to wear my maxi-pad-lined-bike-skirt-thingy that I wear to spin class.
Holli coached me through shifting gears (and then fixing the chain as it came off during a couple of shifts) and braking. We went through a portion of the Legacy Trail.
I was seriously worried about popping the tires or a spoke or something on the bike. The local bike shop said they filled the tires, however when I ride it, they nearly flatten out. Not sure yet if it's due to air pressure, or just my weight (it feels like the latter as they're firm to the touch). Thankfully, the bike and I survived.
For whatever reason, Holli's Runkeeper said we went 6.53 miles, while mine said 5.82… no idea why they were so different! We certainly didn't break any speed records, but we stopped a couple times to fix my chain, and there were some monster hills (in my amateur opinion, LOL)
Anyway, so is there a triathlon in my future? Maybe the Bike Trek to Shakertown? In any case, it's great to know they're possibilities 🙂
