A triathlete is born

I am still recovering from some kind of nerve damage issue in my left calf and foot, so I don't have much to report except that I am working hard on rehab with a doctor to alleviate the pain. I am hopeful I will be able to race my first Tri in Owensboro this coming weekend. I would just like to be healthy enough to complete the race, so we shall see.

Speaking of first races. My awesome wife Rebecca did her first Tri this weekend. I had the privilege of being race support. It was a super sprint at Taylorsville Lake State Park. It consisted of a 375 meter swim, 5 mile TT, and a 2 mile run. Becca has been training hard and putting in the hours and I think it is starting to make a difference.

The race started with some excitement as the men's and women's waves entered the water for the official start. Just before the whistle, a water snake decided to make its way through the middle of everyone. Needless to say, everyone exited the water quickly. The snake moved on to better things and the whistle was sounded for the start. The men started first with a one minute delay to the women. Becca looked like a champ as she maintained a smooth steady pace and stayed in the middle of the pack throughout the entire swim.

She exited the water and made her way to the transition without any issues. She quickly was out on her bike for the long climb out of the lake. The bike portion was difficult for many athletes because it was a mile climb from the start. Becca was strong and gained some positions as this is her strongest area. I was so happy to see her smiling throughout the first two portions of the race.

She dismounted the bike, changed in to her running shoes and headed right back out to tackle the big hill again..........with a big smile on her face. I knew this would be a challenge since her knee still gives her problems from time to time since the ACL surgery. Like a true champion she just kept slapping one foot in front of the other and before I could blink I could see her coming back down the hill. She had headed out with a smile and I knew she had this wrapped up, she was still grinning from ear to ear when she passed me and headed for the finish line banner.

She was so pumped up after she was done. The entire ride home was filled with the post race stories we all love to share about the "would of" "could of" "what if" scenarios of competition. I enjoyed being a fan and the support guy for a change. I think we both learned a lot. Next week we are both competing in Owensboro and Cole with be running the support operations. This is going to be a fun trip because we get to race and hang out with Claude and his beautiful family. Hopefully we all have smiles like this when we are done..........

L3: Live, Learn and Lead.

Schmidty