Challenges.

 I find the sport of triathlon so amazing... many things  can occur that are outside of my control,  I have to take each day, each race, as an unique moment in time....sure it would be great to do this sport in a bubble, where every day/race the conditions (water, road, wind, stomach/body) are exactly the same...I guess that would be one way measure your improvement or skill.  However, I find the unknown is the part that gets the butterflies fluttering....that possibility that anything can happen and being excited about what challenges could be put in your way.  That unknown is what used to motivate me toward different race distances...could I do an Ironman?...could I really bike 180km and then run a marathon?  Could I go faster at the Ironman distance?  This uncertainty of what I could or could not accomplish is what led to registering for Ultraman...could I really compete over 3 days (10km swim, 419km biking and 84km of running)....it was probably the best and worst year of my life...the 6 months leading up to that event was a roller coaster, emotionally, physically and mentally...but through it all I kept Ultraman at the front of my mind...using it to help get me moving forward and knowing that even if I wasn't able to do everything that I had planned to do training wise, the fact that I wasn't giving up was just as valuable for my "training" as any long bike ride or run.  I went into that race under trained and not 100% ready compared to where I thought I would be when I registered the year before but I altered my plan...focused on breaking the swim record and just trying to get to the finish line...realizing that life had happened and rather than beat myself up for not doing everything that I had planned to do, I was happy with the fact that I had made it there and having the opportunity to make a dream a reality.  In the end it was one of my favourite race experiences of my life. I met some amazing/inspiring people and was able to spend 5 days with 3 of the best friends any girl could ever ask for.
I no longer have that need for the unknown in terms of distance...very happy knowing that I can/have done the Ironman/Ultraman distances, but now I like the challenge of finding out how hard I can push myself...the uncertainty of knowing if I can push myself to the point  that my lungs feel they are going to burst...trying to find another gear/speed and pushing myself to the point that it hurts like hell and holding on, not giving up regardless of what challenges come along the way.
So even though I no longer do the "ultra" distance events, I continue to focus on reaching my goals knowing that anything is possible and even if something unexpected happens,  all I have to do is adjust, modify my training and realize that it is an opportunity to improve in other areas, an opportunity to push myself in a way I may have overlooked  All of this has been helping me this last week as I have been faced with the challenge of my body protesting when I pushed too hard...I have adjusted my training and have given my body the rest that it was demanding and even better than that, I didn't beat myself up for missing workouts or get stressed that race season is quickly approaching...I have been looking at this as just another challenge...one to overcome and more importantly to not give up.