Happy New Year! I have been negligent in writing a blog update for a while now, so here goes.
First, if you have been following you know my wife, Angi is battling breast cancer. She has completed two of six chemo treatments, and all things considered is doing pretty good. My observation of fighting cancer is that it is the ultimate endurance challenge, as it tests, and depletes the body as the fighter battles for a scheduled six month fight, and that is if all treatment goes as planned. That said I still have pink tape on my bikes.
A big thanks to Cyclewarrior, Moonkinrunning, and SugarMangnolia70[1] for joining me in rocking the pink bar tape.
Yesterday was the SD Randos 200K (124 miles). I signed up as usual, and rolled out at 7:00 AM. It started raining about 45 minutes in. I have ridden and completed many long rides in the rain. Several in far worse conditions than yesterday. I had an issue I could not work out though. I couldn’t see. Yes, I wear glasses, and they spot bad, they didn’t fog, but I just couldn’t adjust. Wiping them didn’t work. So, I DNF’d. I just didn’t feel safe. I can only remember one other time when I felt like that and just had to get off the bike. It was on a 600K two years ago, when exhaustion hit about 11:00 PM and I had a hard time keeping the bike rolling in a straight line. By the way, a note of apology to our RBA Dennis for not calling in my DNF, I had seen a couple of riders, so I made the wrong assumption that he would be notified, and I just didn’t think about it.
After getting home yesterday, and warming up, I was looking at my 2012 plans. I have three events that I am registered for as of right now. The Fiesta Island Time Trial on February 5th, Super Seal Olympic Distance Tri on March 18th, and Super Frog 70.3 Tri on September 30th. I think I am running the Rock and Roll half marathon for Angi as well.
I have three double centuries on my schedule, but I haven’t registered yet. And I’m thinking seriously of dropping them from my plans this year. We are four weeks from the kick off double, El Camino Real, and I am not looking forward or excited for it. I am excited and looking for triathlons. The more I think about it, the more I think 2012 might be dedicated to triathlon.
So, fellow enthusiasts, what do you think? More triathlons? Will I be sorry if I skip a season of double centuries? Please feel free to opine in the comments.
[1] Used Twitter names for privacy.
Well, I'm not a cyclist....but I say go with your heart. I love triathlon, and the training, but even more I love running...which is why I have 5 half marathons on the books for 2012 and so far only one triathlon (yes, I will add 1-2 more I'm sure). If you're not EXCITED about the double centuries then it's clear you shouldn't do them. This is all about fun. This isn't a job. This is for fun---to keep you fit---to keep you healthy. Go where the fun is...and you can always go back to ultra-cycling in 2013.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sugar! I did a bunch of tris last year and thought about doing more this year up to a 70.3 ... but I HATE the swim and suck on the bike. I decided to focus on tackling the bike this year, and then see if I hate the swim less. In the end running is my true love so why not dedicate more time to that? I dabbled in tris for a challenge, but I find going after a PR on the run a rewarding challenge too. Good luck with your choices!
ReplyDelete