They say when one door closes, another one opens...
This statement couldn't be any truer than it is in my case, right now.
Lately I've been doing something that seems vaguely & strangely familiar...
I've always been in love with "fluff" and gymnastics montages. In the past it has always been the documented gymnastics interviews that caught my attention. They held onto a deeper part of my heart that made me yearn to be like all the young gymnasts at the top in elite gymnastics. I was meant to be in one of these so called "fluff" interviews, or so I believed. When I was a young girl, around the age of 10, I used to watch the interviews over and over on recorded tapes. I could and still can say every line that Tim Dagget, Elfi Schlegal and John Tesh said in some of the early 90's interviews. Here's an example of a fluff peice from 1996 that I can say every single word from...
And this is just one of like 50 fluff peices I can recite every word from...
Needless to say, I have begun watching fluff peices again. I have started listening to them over and over again. I have begun to learn all of the words. But for the first time in my life, they are not gymnastics fluff interviews... Instead they are triathlon documented interviews, also done by John Tesh I believe...
Is this a new path I am being led down? I believe so. All of my life I have always wanted to do the impossible. That's why I became a gymnast. I believe the hardest sport in the world. But there are still things out there that challenge you beyond the extent of anything you thought possible. Triathlons do just that. A sprint triathlon being approximately a mile swim, a 13 mile bike ride and finishing with a 3 mile run. That is not a sprint by any means. How about the ironman though?
I mean we are talking about some hardcore stuff! 2.4 miles swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run. I mean we are talking about like a double or even marathon basically! Am I out of my mind to even consider ever doing one? Possibly... But that's exactly why I am considering it.
I am starting at the bottom of course. Meaning a sprint triathlon or quite a few before I start inching up. And that would be if I don't burn out before then...
I've been watching a ton of these "fluff" peices and I think what calls to me about this sport is how deep and strong the emotion of it is. That's something I love about life. I love feeling powerful emotions. I believe this is my favorite montage because of that.
When I watch her cry, I just start crying too! It's just something about training and putting so much of your life toward something that when dreams don't come true... It's gut wrenching...And good gawd, I can definitely relate!
Anyhow, after watching these fluff peices, I naturally became increasingly motivated. Maybe that's why I did that with gymnastics interviews. The more I watched, the more hungry I became for the sport. Either way, it took one montage that drove me to begin my first day of training.
Not only do I like feeling strong emotional feelings, but I think I am also driven by pain and struggles in life. I can't tell you any other reason why it was this final montage that would make me want to begin working toward this sport. I think many people would be turned off and disturbed by the montage. It did the exact opposite for me. I became enthralled...
And so began my first day of training. A hard one at that too...
I hopped onto my mountain bike, fortuantly. The trail I took would have killed my road bike within minutes. I rode only 3 to 5 miles to my old high school, but the trip took a good 20 to 25 minutes. I am willing to put some blame on the terrain. The rocks and sage brush made the bike ride increasingly difficult. Plus I really do need a different bike. I have owned this current one for 11 years since I was an 8 year old girl...
The ride was fairly easy. A bit of burning in my thighs but that was it. I found myself on my old highschools track. The idea of running was not appealing and my body fought the idea. I jogged one lap that pulled myself toward the bleachers to stretch my sore and tight muscles. After 3 minutes or so I was back out on the track. I ran 3 more laps to complete a mile. Even with the stretching, I made the 4 laps in 11 minutes. I took a walking lap to slow my heart down. That took forever. 7 whole minutes for 1 lap. I began running again. My second mile took about 9 minutes. Instead of walking another lap, I instead did the routine Mv and I do when we go for barefoot runs. I did 26 lunge walks forward and backward. Why the number 26? Because the length of the area I was doing them, 26 equaled the 1/2 way mark. I dropped down and did 2 sets of 10 push-ups. My arm muscles are sore from weights earlier this week so I choose not to do 20 in a row. I then did 26 side lunges, on each side. And another 2 sets of 10 push ups.
I decided the weather was nice and my feet needed to start getting callused for summer. I tore off my shoes and socks and began to run. After one lap, my feet were really feeling uncomfortable. I think this track is fairly new so it's not as smooth as an older one. I put my socks over my toes and folded them in half and did one more lap. I decided to call it a day so that I could find some strength to bike back toward home.
Naturally, by then, the wind had picked up and I was riding straight into it. My legs felt somewhat shot and my face felt hot. I peddled hard but didn't seem to be making much headway. I reached the canal bank I had taken to ride down to the school and took a few minutes to breath and stretch out my legs. The rest of the ride went a little more smoothly but the 3 to 5 miles back this time took about 30 minutes or so.
All in all, it was a great first training day!
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