Triple B weekend

Saturday RUN 6.1 miles in 1 hour on the TTT run course
Sunday RUN 8.3 miles in 1:30 on the course, 3 hill repeats

There's too much to be said about this weekend, much of it I'll only mention in passing. And even more that I'll never get to put into writing. Or maybe I will later as I absorb it all.

First off, the weekend reminded me of why I love triathlon so much. It seems to apply to ultrarunning too. That looking-out-for-everyone aspect. Does it come from shared pain and suffering? A respect derived from the knowledge that this other person is just as involved in the self challenge as you are? I can't put it into words, that feeling that others don't "get it" and that we bond from that.

Whatever it is, the support from friends, team mates, and fellow athletes left a mark on me this past weekend. I'm so proud, lucky, and honored to be a part of this culture.

Second, those same people provide the greatest inspiration. Sometimes you see another athlete who makes it look so easy. Other times it's an athlete who looks to be suffering it on the course. Either way, and for all who fall in the middle of that spectrum, I often wonder why they are doing this. What drives them? And what drives me to do the same to myself? The answer to that is the same as theirs. I don't believe so much that we are "finding ourselves" out there as much as we are "creating ourselves". And I think that is why we bond and why it's so inspiring to see it in others.

This weekend, I saw so much inspiration that I might have finally lifted out of my post-race slump. It's hard to admit to this slump, but it's there. I just kept feeling like my A race was over and I'm "done". Done? In April? Oh, to the HELL NO. But up to last week I was still in the slump and trying to dig out. Trying to find the oomph needed to hit the registration button. Trying to find the motivation needed to drag my ass to the pool a few times a week. Seeing my friends this weekend reminded me of why I love this so much. From a redeemed athlete who fixed problems from last year, to many doing their first like this endurance event, to a particular inspiration who relished the individual joys of each race, to one who pushed to the limits and recognized the need to quit, to one who pushed through a wall into an ER visit, to two who sacrificed their race for another, and finally to one friend who experienced the worst--I have more inspiration than I can handle right now.

They gave so much of themselves this past weekend each in their own ways. How can a bee not give back? I had so much fun and would do it again :)