Two Encouraging Things I've Noticed

It’s Wednesday and the skies are clear and blue. That could only mean one thing here in Alabama, it’s hot! There’s no cloud cover and no rain in sight. Due to the current drought, there’s no watering on Wednesdays in my area either. Sorry grass, sorry flowers, so green shrub that I’ve yet to identify. There’s no water for you until tomorrow.

Yeah, it’s hot here. We had a 10 minute shower if you can call it that last night that only served to make it very humid on my ride. I need to invest in some good riding gloves. My hands were so sweaty that they kept slipping on my handlebars. Not good while riding in a pack.

Last night during the ride I passed on some good will to a fellow rider who’d left without a tube. I gave him my tube and pump as I was in the same situation this past weekend before the race. My buddy Brent gave me his extra tube when I discovered I had a flat before the race started. Somehow, I left Birmingham without mine. So given the chance to return the favor to a fellow rider I jumped at the chance. Last thing I needed was having bad karma on my side. Bad thing is due to helping the guy out I got dropped by the group. No worries, I was able to go aero riding on my own and picked off several riders who’d gotten dropped for not being able to keep up. I always get evil stares from the true roadies as I pass them on my TT bike. For some reason triathletes aren’t quite accepted in certain cycling circles. These guys wouldn’t know what to do without a pace line to hide behind.

Back on topic. So, here’s what I noticed today. I made it over to the local Y for a swim during lunch. The pool was packed with youngsters and mamas. They only had 3 lanes open for laps so I spent the better part of my time sharing a lane. No worries. 12X100 in 1:30 or less with 30 second breaks in between then 10X50 in 36-40 seconds with 24-20 second breaks in between. Yeah, I know Coach you want to see me averaging 35, but dang I was spent! But here’s what I noticed – I didn’t hate the swim session today. I didn’t hate it on Monday either. What? Has my love-hate relationship with swimming taking a turn for the better? Maybe. For the last month or so I’ve struggled in the pool. I’ve struggled with motivation and drive. Maybe that’s back now. Who knows?

Here’s the second thing I noticed, and this didn’t strike me until later. While I was changing in the locker which I next to the pool, two little boys came in and used the restroom. They couldn’t have been more than 4. Four years old! And they took the time to get out of the pool to go to the restroom! Wow. That’s so encouraging. Most of the time I just accept the fact that I’m swimming in some kids pee while at the “Y”. Now, I have hope. Now if we can only get the adults to do the same!