I have a lot to be thankful for. A wonderful wife. Two wonderful boys. Two, well, let’s just say odd, cats. Excellent health, especially for someone my age. I do like our house. Convenient, a patio for grilling and eating, a million dollar view. It does lack two things, a place to use as a yoga wall, and a place where I could set up one of those fancy indoor trainers that let you ride online -- Swift, Rouvy, etc. Of course Mike would like a bigger kitchen and a huge refrigerator, but then I need to stop eating his wonderful desserts. (I wrote “so much of” but deleted it.)
What is bugging me right now is the sad feeling of knowing that 2021 will probably go by with no racing for me. I did manage to get in a virtual half marathon back in April. Three laps of Elepaio to the Aloha gas station and a loop around Diamond Head. But, all alone, no cheering crowds, no aid stations, no celebration at the finish line. That was how 2020 went, even up to a full Ironman in October. So, yeah, I did a full marathon back then. Do I really want to do another one now? Last year the idea of going virtual was novel. That shine is wearing thin.
It helps to think of what I do as a healthy lifestyle. It is, and I have no intention of becoming a couch potato. I continue to be a devotee of Joe Friel and Dr. Stacy Sims. I have been messing up my diet, but I am on the road to improvement there. Dr. Sims’ book Roar has some terrific meal planning suggestions, and I just bought a copy of Feed Zone Portables by Biju Thomas and Allen Lim. Good stuff to eat on the bike. Now all I need is for the hospitals to get back to normal so I can get back to riding on the road.
What is really getting me down is the idea -- call it a realization -- that I may not get the chance to do another Ironman race. I signed up for Honu 2022, but with Kona postponed and no end in sight to this pandemic, well, I have doubts. This year’s race, which I did not even consider doing, was severely curtailed. That is not the race I want to do. If it is on, I’ll go, but if it is on this year’s course I doubt I will feel satisfied.
Then there is the goal of doing a full Ironman. Besides all the training, which I did last year, it requires a lot of travel. To be honest, I still have concerns about my back. I know that is normal. The memory of one's frailty remains long after the body has healed. Will my body get me to that level again?
Last of all, there is that relentlessly ticking clock. I am already 71. I feel like 40, maybe 45, and my sexy side still thinks I’m young and attractive. There was a time when I would not hit on that pretty barista because I was married. Now, well, that too, but also because I would look pathetic. There is still a part of me that wags its tail, and I have to remind it to sit and behave.
Which part of my brain is so infatuated with triathlon? Is it that young guy who wants to hit on the barista? Nobody wants to be that pathetic old guy way off the back. At what age will I be satisfied saying “I always wanted to do an Ironman?”
I’ll start by reminding myself that age is just a number. But, no hitting on baristas!
No comments:
Post a Comment