Paying it forward

Training, racing, success, failure, health, lifestyle, friendships... there's so much that I love about participating in endurance sports.  I'm a better person for having picked up running & triathlon and I can't imagine life without either of them.

That being said, there is nothing more gratifying than giving the gift of endurance sports to another person. I know that running, cycling, swimming, triathlon, etc... is not going to mesh with everyone.  However, my feeling is that it doesn't hurt to spread the love around.  If someone decides that they love it enough to stick with it, then fantastic!  If not, maybe they'll be motivated enough to find something else that inspires them to step up to a healthier lifestyle.

One of the most gratifying experiences that I've had since I began all of this did not come in the form of a race PR or a distance milestone.  It came from teaching my best friend how to swim.  I do not consider myself to be a natural teacher.  I tend to be a bit on the shy side when it comes to social/verbal interaction with others, but my love for endurance sports helped me to overcome this obstacle and allowed me to reach out to someone.  In the process, I gained a wonderful friend (a major accomplishment for an introvert like myself) and felt a sense of personal satisfaction that rivaled only my graduation from Air Force Basic Training.

A few weeks ago my mother declared war on her body.  She told me that she wanted learn how to run.  I was so overjoyed that I nearly cried!  I immediately envisioned her healthy & fit;  the two of us doing local races & relays together.  I told her that I would set her up with a program that would get her ready to run the 2010 Turkey Trot.  I could have just provided her with a training plan, but I wanted to guide her every step of the way.  So, I committed myself to coaching her through all of her runs.  When she informed me that two of her neighbors would be joining us, fireworks went off!  This was going to be great!

With the ladies before their very first run.  L-R: Jackie, Linda and Joanne (mia madre)

Our first training run was awesome!  I'm using the C25K (couch to 5k) plan as a guide, but intend to modify it along the way to suit their needs.  The three of them did awesome and I saw a lot of smiles underneath the sweat and heavy breathing.  I paced them through their intervals; making sure that they did not try to run too fast (like I did when I started out) and that they used the recovery period to actually recover.  They all made it through the workout and were surprised at how quickly 30 minutes went by.  Yes!  Success!

Finished!  All smiles!

The ladies completed a second run on Wednesday and a third this morning.  I'm so proud of all of them!  These women are coming directly off the couch!  They are motivated and believe in themselves.  My mom even tossed in two short bikes rides this week!  I'm going to make a triathlete out of her someday!  So, I am loving this new adventure.  It brings a smile to my face when I think about how these beginning steps may permanently change the lives of these three women.  I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

ON THE AGENDA
My bestie is finally having her much needed surgery next week.  She's had to wait longer than anyone should have to wait for surgery and has missed an entire season of racing.  I have no doubt that she's going to bounce back pretty quickly, so watch out 2011!

Of course, a proper "send off" is in order and we have decided to do an impromptu century ride this Sunday with our hubbies and 'hopefully' a few other friends.  None of us have ever ridden longer than 80 miles at a pop, so if we make it, this is going to be one of those endurance milestones!  I know that it's in all of us to complete the distance, it's just this dang Florida weather.  While the North has cooled off very nicely (jealous), it's still HOT down here.  Riding a century is difficult enough; but, doing it when the heat index is close to 100F is probably insane!  We're going to give it a good 'go' though!  Slow and steady!  I plan on taking A LOT of pictures.

As a side note, my average pace for my LSD run yesterday (a 10 miler) was faster than my ridiculous 5k performance at last weekend's sprint tri-- which is oddly humorous & so very sad at the same time.  Oh my.  I've been tempted to find another sprint tri to do, just so I can prove to myself that I am capable of eating properly and pacing appropriately on the bike.  Then I sit back and remember that I already proved this to myself at my race in July and that I need to just let last weekend go.  We shall see.

I took this picture on a ride a few weeks ago.  Beautiful!

We will never forget.