I know this is a post that I have to write, but I really don't want to. For anyone who may not have caught my Facebook posts on Sunday, the triathlon that I was going to compete in was cancelled due to dangerous weather conditions (namely lightening and high winds). As if that wasn't enough, the initial race delay did not come until we were lining up at the George Wyth Lake boat ramp ready to head into the water. A little less then 3 hours, and several updates, later they finally called it and sent all of the athletes home.
Even with a couple of days to process, I still am not quite sure how to put in words the way I am feeling. Disappointed and devastated just don't seem to cut it. I have been preparing for this race for months. Day after day, grinding out my training runs, putting miles on my bicycle and racking up laps in the pool, all leading up to this day. I had spent countless hours preparing mentally and going through every scenario that I could think of. I showed up on race day at 6:00 am, 2 hours before my swim wave start time, just to make sure I was ready to go. Somehow, in all of that preparation, even as they called for the first delay, it never crossed my mind that there was a chance this race might not happen.
Obviously, nobody can control mother nature and I will give kudos to those who were putting on the Accel Triathlon as they did everything in there power to put on what appeared to be an excellent triathlon. They were very well organized and did great with communication throughout the delays. In fact, my heart goes out to all of the organizers, volunteers, as well as all of the other athletes, especially those like me who were attempting their first triathlon.
I did power through a workout Sunday evening as well as a run on Monday morning in hopes that I would work out some of the emotion that I was feeling. After not finding solace in those, I made the call to take today off entirely to feel sorry for myself with the plan that tomorrow morning I will wake up refreshed and ready to get back after it.
Now I realize, I probably sound silly to many of you reading this and to an extent, I agree with you. I mean, it is just a race after all. Besides, I'm signed up for several more this year. However, training for and competing in races has become a large part of my life. I put all of my energy and a lot of time into planning and preparing for these races. It has become much more then a hobby or a means to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle, it is part of who I am.
Enough of that, I need to end on a positive note. I'm a big fan of the moving "Silver Linings Playbook" for several reasons, but the overall message is a good one. Even when things seem like they couldn't get worse, you need to look for the silver lining in everything. The silver lining was easy to find this weekend, as it was a chance to see many friends and family that I don't often get to see. Sometimes when I get caught up in life I forget how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many great people. The best part is that all of them are genuinely excited to see me, no matter how long it has been and we seem to be able to talk with each other like we never missed a beat.
Lastly, I will mention that my next race is the BIX 7 on July 30. It is a 7 mile road race in Davenport that is known for starting with a large (for Iowa) hill as well as being run in the hottest and most humid part of the summer.
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