Should I or shouldn't I?
With some of you being my facebook friends, you know what's been going on with me. My mom passed away last Friday after her almost year-long battle with lung and (more recently) brain cancer. Her funeral is this coming Friday, 3/12.
Luckily I was able to make the trip out here in time to see her - including one day of 19hours between El Paso and Paradise, and am SO glad I did. She left painlessly, and all my siblings and my father got to say our goodbyes before she left this earth.
This is ON TOP of all the other personal issues I've already faced this year, so let's just say it's been a BANNER year in the Alexander household thus far.
Now onto the fun stuff...I anticipate being out here in NorCal at least until the end of March, so I brought my road bike with me. In Paradise, where I'm at, there are LOTS of hills and I've found some local riding routes, they're pretty hilly-which I like. I know of some shorter routes (1.5 hours), so I'm still trying to find some longer ones that are safe. In addition, I have a nice set of running trails (without water fountains) near my house. I can carry or stash a bottle for long(er) runs. I'm going to call tomorrow about pool access at a local gym pool, an outdoor heated pool. I brought all my workout clothes and gear with me, so I came prepared (except multiple WKO+ copies).
I got out yesterday and rode almost 2 hours, and it was an amazing therapeutic experience - and a great workout to boot. I feel so better because I haven't done it in a while.
Well, if I'm not going to be back to Dallas (into a somewhat-normal routine) until April, and NOLA70.3 is 4/18, can I realistically be prepared for it? Should I just wait until I get back to Dallas to make that call? I'm going to try and concentrate and get out EVERY day for both some biking and running, at least to make it a "tri camp" type of experience, even if I don't decide to race.
Whatcha all think?
Comments
wow, Scott, our prayers are with you and your family.
To answer your question, I would say that it is a function of your goals. You're already quite fit, and there's no question you could get to NOLA 70.3 and have a fun race. Could you arrive at the best peak you're capable of? Maybe so, maybe not. But there is time to get fit enough to have a good day out there, and then it's all about execution.
I'd say go for it!
Mike
Scott,
Again, I'm very sorry to hear about your mom passing away. I'm glad that you were able to say goodbye in person.
As for NOAL, I don't see why not. You don't have to have a perfect 12 HIM training program under your belt to have great race. Do what ever you can in training and race for fun.
You know your body better than anyone else. Watch your "LSS" score and be sure to be extra good and nice to yourself. But if the training is good the training is good.
Also -- what's your racing experience and do you have set expectations for NOLA? Those are things that may make sense to think about in a few weeks.
Scott, sorry to hear about your mother. I would agree with everyone and say go for it.
The bigger question however is how you feel about training & racing given all the stress you've been facing this year. Sometimes triathlon gives people a nice place to get away from their troubles, but sometimes it can just be another "to do" that weighs on your mind and becomes too much. It's OK to walk away if you need a break so you can deal with the loss of your mom without distractions. But only you can really make that determination.
PS- we've had a lot of folks deal with family loss around here over the past year - don't be timid about reaching out to them through PMs for a little support.
Scott, so sorry to hear about your loss. How great that you and your family were able to spend time with such a wonderful lady before she left.
As for NOLA, do it only if it's not a chore, a burden. If it helps you heal, then go for it. Just like what everyone has said.
So sorry to hear about your mother.
I would plan on doing the race, and if as the race gets closer you feel like it's to much, just bail. Perhaps just plan on doing a Swim/Bike day and take it easy on the run and look at it like catered training. Just don't stress yourself out about it.
Once again, my deepest sympathies.
Scott,
My sympathies, losing someone is always difficult.
You mention the training being good and helping out, ... like therapy. So as others have said continue to train and hit the race if you feel like it. No need to follow a training plan if you don't want to and as has been mentioned if you have extra time on you hands and are getting lots of workouts in watch the fatigue level.
Gordon
Scott -
Thanks for including us; we are all reaching out to you with prayers and thoughts. From my experience (n=1), a passing of such magnitude has a deeper toll that we first realize. You could be planning now only to need more time later (or someone else in your clan needing more from you). As such, I would keep all commitments / goals off the table for as long as you can. Just do what you love, do it as well as you can, and then just race.
P
All,
I decided to back out of NOLA70.3 this year. Just haven't trained nearly enough (5 bike rides, ~10 runs, and 4 swims in the last month) and I need to try and get my life back in order.
It's now 100% ToC training (see other post in ToC forum)!!! So excited for it, I love my bike.
I just got back to TX yesterday. Made it 1850 miles in my car only to have it break down 45 miles from home. Luckily I've got AAA and a good group of friends to taxicab my arse back to my house. The added expense of car repair also means my budget takes a hit, so something has to give - and it's NOLA this year. I will email the race folks to see if I can defer my registration, given my situation, but I'm not counting on it.
Also, my sponsor Tribike Transport got me into Vineman 70.3 in July. That'll be my post-ToC focus!!!
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. It's been REAL tough for me. I'm forever changed, and my life will definitely be changing for the positive I hope!
Welcome back to Dallas Scott. Any time you want to go for a ride (or run), I'm ready!
Scott it sounds like a good plan to not do the early season 70.3 and you have enough with TOC and and vineman to keep you busy.
Gordon