Humbled Twice In One Day

I have been some what of an athlete my entire life. I have been in some kind of team related sport since I was 5 and enjoy athletics. Most of those years have been spent doing a form of baseball or softball. When I began to run my senior year in high school I had a small learning curve but was able to pick that up pretty well and in the last 3 years have been running a lot and competing in various 5K and 10K events.

Well.....today I felt weak, non-athletic and just down right crummy for the first time since I was probably 5 years old. I swam and rode my bike and I have to say that shit ain't easy. Swimming is the toughest cardiovascular thing I have ever done and I have a new found respect for the Michael Phelps' and Darra Torres' of the world. The water just gets in the way, unlike the air in running, and causes you to work harder and I am gonna have to really work on my swimming stroke.

After work I rode my bike 12ish miles and it kicked my ass. My legs were burning and the wind made it really tough to go up a hill not to mention I was sweatin' like a clown. Again....new found respect for Lance Armstrong and Greg Lemond. I will have to really work on my cadence and just keep focused to make this work. Luckily I have just under 3 months to prepare.

Getting back to main point. I am deeply humbled. I feel like I have been fortunate in my life to have been able to easily adjust to whatever athletic activity I was doing. Today made me realize what I have in front of me and I can only hope when I get done it will have made me a better person. I admire those who have already done what I am starting and hope that it gets easier because my old body may not be able to take it for 3 months.