NEW BIKE!

Do you like my new bike?!? It isn't the best picture because it was taken from my phone, so it doesn't nearly do the machine justice.

It is a Giant Aeryn, women-specific triathlon bike. I think it's about 5 years old, but it's been well handled and well cared for by its one and only owner, Karen Czuba. She is a doctor, turned nurse practitioner (because she wanted a lighter work schedule) who works with my father-in-law, Mike Elliott. She and her husband, Jimmy, are cycling and endurance sports enthusiasts. They've participated in many triathlons together, including at least one Ironman. And they're over 50!
They recently decided to buy new tri bikes for themselves, upgrading to Specialized carbon bikes. (The name alone makes me start to drool.) They also decided, in their ever philanthropist nature, not to sell their old tri bikes, but to simply give them away to two very lucky (and perhaps undeserving) amateur athletes on the one condition that the blessed recipients continue doing triathlons with the bikes. Jimmy's bike went to a nice, tall lady who lives in their neighborhood and whom Jimmy had been training to do tris. She was probably well-deserving of such an awesome gift.

And Karen's bike went to me.

I don't deserve it. This bike can probably do triathlons better than me, without me. It's light and fast, small and quaint. It has recently been equipped with a new chain and rear cassette. It's a serious bike, and it's beautiful.
So again, I feel I don't deserve it. Once I brought it home from Jimmy and Karen's house, I tentatively guided it inside and just stared at it. Then I prayed a prayer of thanks, for a gift as unexpected and awesome as this can only come from God. It's as if he was saying, "Happy Birthday, Heather! I love you!"

Such a serious bike comes with serious implications and forces me to ask myself at least one serious question - Do I want to continue participating in athletic events such as triathlons just for fun, or do I want to start training seriously and truly compete in some races? I made a deal: A free bike in exchange for the promise of continuing my athletic ventures. I won't go back on my word. I will train and I will try some tris. But do I have it in me to push myself to the next level? Do I have the necessary self-discipline to get out of bed every morning and force myself to strive harder, to get better? Is winning my age group in a sprint triathlon a feasible goal for me? And is it worth it?

As you can see, I'm not taking this idea lightly. I have this one last week to decide if I have it in me to be seriously competitive and whether or not I'm actually willing to work for it. I'm weighing my options, and the result of this Saturday's 10k may have a strong voice in my decision.

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This weekend was a long one, but it was good. I ran my second event of the year on Saturday - the Habitat House 5k at Wofford College. It was a small event, consisting of maybe 50 total runners (and one dog) - a stark contrast to the Reedy River 10k Run I have coming up in less than two weeks where hundreds, if not a thousand or more, runners will clog the streets of downtown Greenville. Still, a 5k is a 5k, and this one wasn't exactly a walk in the park.

I have to admit that I wasn't as prepared for this event as I should have been, I haphazardly, unintentionally took last week off from training because I felt weak and sick for many days. (I blame it on being female.) I ran 3 miles on Monday, then didn't exercise again until the 5k itself. Fortunately, my body was able to adapt and push through it; but it didn't do so easily. I'm still paying the price for a week of slacking off in the form of sore legs.

For the record, I wish they wouldn't start a race by saying "On your mark; Get set; GO!" because it triggers some unstoppable adrenaline gush inside that completely nullifies all logic and reason within me and causes me to sprint from the start line to try keeping up with the front of the pack instead of remembering that - at least for me - it is an endurance race and not a 50-yard dash. Obviously, as I am taking the time to write about it, this is what I did on Saturday. They yelled "GO!" and I went! My sprint lasted for approximately two minutes before I realized what I had done. I began wondering why my legs were getting tired so quickly, and, when I figured it out, I slowed way down. The next 30 minutes probably would have been easily bearable if there hadn't been so many hills. It seemed like every corner we turned provided either an uphill or a downhill. Descents are a lot of fun on a bicycle - you just hold on for the ride and let the wheels do all the work. It's not as much fun on your feet. If you don't try to control your speed and body position, you could go sprawling on your face. (I've actually done that sort of thing on a bike before. It's not as fun as it sounds.)

Long story short, I finished the run despite being undertrained for the week and having to tackle many hills. It's hard to say how my timing was because I believe their timer was wrong, and I forgot to set my own stopwatch. I'm going to guess, though, that I ran just over a 10 minute mile. That's decent enough for me, especially with so many hills. I'm sure my average will be much lower for the 10k, but I'm okay with that too, since my goals for that race are to (hopefully) not stop running, and to make it to the finish line in one piece.

I did not do this race alone. My gallant husband, Frac, and fearless friend, Crystal, ran it with me. Frac even ran an extra few tenths of a mile to Krispy Kreme because there wasn't an aide yet stationed at Wofford's entrance to direct the runners the correct way. (He still beat me by several minutes.) My faithful mom was also there to take pictures, along with my mostly-precious nephew, Zeke. I think events like this are always more fun when you bring an entourage of people to enjoy it with you and support you.

I wanted to write about the rest of my weekend, including my new bicycle, but this entry seems long enough on its own. I guess it will have to wait 'til next time...

Grrrrr

I am very frustrated with myself right now. Firstly, I'm disappointed with myself for not writing something on here last week; but that's not all that important.
I'm actually frustrated with many different aspects of my life, but especially with my health. I am a living example of Romans 7...

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. Now, if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it." Romans 7:15-20

A little confusing, perhaps, but true. This goes for obeying God, for relationships, for finances, etc. And for my physical well-being.

I am well enough educated to know that it is better to eat a grilled chicken salad than a cheeseburger and fries. I also know that my body is made up of at least 80% water, which I should drink regularly and continually. And Cherry Coke, though tantalizing to my taste buds, holds no nutritional value whatsoever.
However, given the option between the salad and the cheeseburger, I will inevitably choose the cheesey, greasy goodness 9 times out of 10 because - let's face it - it's at least 90% yummier in most (if not all) taste tests. And I will eat the french fries with it, wash it down with Cherry Coke, then probably top it off with a brownie or some other chocolatey delight.

Sigh. (*Sidenote: My husband hates it when I write out the word 'sigh.' Sorry, Frac.*) I wish I had the same self-discipline with eating well as I do with exercising and training; but, I don't. It's a real struggle for me. Exercising comes fairly naturally. I like the way it makes me feel, I like the euphoric sense of accomplishment when I am done, and I enjoy getting out of the house every once in awhile to do so. But healthy eating isn't so innate. Despite knowing that vegetables, water, whole grains, and lean proteins are good for me and are the best kind of fuel for my body, I usually end up letting my taste buds make all the decisions. Bad decisions.

1 Corinthians 6:19 says to honor God with your body. Of course, this verse could be applied to any number of temptations or stumbling blocks in our lives; but presently it reminds me that I don't have this body for very long and I need to honor God by treating it well and perhaps even setting a good example for others. Daniel recognized this when he was put in the king's court. He refused to eat the king's select feasts and insisted that he be able to eat his healthy diet of vegetables instead. He told his immediate supervisor to just let him try it out for a few weeks and he would prove that his way of eating was better. And he was right!

I'm trying to be better. Sort of. I'm not doing a very good job, though. I feel much more enabled and disciplined in this regard when I'm playing Game On, where I have constant encouragement from others. Without someone staying on top of me about being consistently healthy, I fail quickly.

So, I'll encourage you if you'll encourage me.