Physically I'm Good; Mentally It's Questionable

(I wrote this on Sunday but posted it today, Tuesday).

Guess what? I'm up to my old tricks again. Well, not exactly tricks, more like, recurring compulsive behaviors.

A few weeks ago while I was in the locker room at NorthPointe, a woman asked me if I was training for the triathlon to be held in June. She said she'd seen me working out quite often and suspected I was going to compete in the upcoming event.

"No, I'm not," was my reply. "I've done a couple triathlons in the past but I've no plans to do another one. Been there, done that."

That brief conversation started the gears in my mind turning and spewing out thoughts of swimming, biking and running, all activities I've not been doing for many, many months. I've been exercising regularly but not in those particular forms.

I decided to pretend I'm going to participate in the triathlon. I started running on April 27th and swimming on May 2nd. I rode my bike once on May 9th for a distance of about 16 miles. I initially used thoughts of the triathlon as motivation to get me back into running, swimming and biking.

Much to my dismay, my pretending has evolved into seriously considering taking part in the event. Listen to this craziness. I toted my bike on the back of the truck to NorthPointe this morning and with the route map in hand rode my bicycle on the 17-mile triathlon route. After I accomplished that, I couldn't resist attempting to attack the 3-mile triathlon run route. After the first mile, I walked occasionally and made it through the entire 3 miles. At this point, the pool sounded delicious. The cool water felt so good that I rather easily completed the 14 lengths which is equivalent to 350 yards.

Thus, I know I can accomplish the demands of the triathlon. Now I must decide if I really want to do all three activities again, back-to-back. Running and then swimming or biking and then swimming is a good workout, but swimming, biking and running the distances mentioned above becomes quite grueling at best.

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Regarding my age, I see that I'm nearly beyond the age groups listed on the entry form! Do you think once I turn 65, they'll refuse my entry form, ban me from the event, tell me I'm too old and an unnecessary liability risk, or will they, perhaps, add a rocking chair relay?

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I suspect it's likely that if I participate, I'll be the only female competitor in the 60-64 age group. If that's the case, I'd earn an award even if I floated for a while on my back in the pool, stopped and ate a picnic lunch during the biking portion and took a refreshing nap in the woods beside the running path. I'd miss the award ceremony but who wants to see an old lady wearing a medal around her neck anyway?

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The last triathlon I entered was two summers ago. I spent six months preparing for it. I'm quite astonished that I was able to go the distances today after less than 4 weeks training. Granted, I did walk some but still, my recent training is slight in comparison.

Good grief! I just took the entry form off of my bulletin board to photograph it for this post. What in the world!!! I'm off my rocker regarding the triathlon date. The entry form states it will be held on June 12th, not June 5th as I thought. In other words, I have nearly three weeks to deliberate over the matter. I wonder how many times I can change my mind in the next twenty days.

I'm really screwed up in my mind. To tell you the truth, besides erring on the event date, I also mistakenly thought that June 5th was this coming Saturday. I must be going freaking mad!

Thus, in summary, physically I'm good; mentally, it's questionable.