Triathlon

Swim. Run. Bike.

A couple of weeks ago, I completed my second indoor sprint triathlon.

300m lap swim- this is actually only 6 down and backs in our local Wellness Center’s pool. 78 laps done in the previous weeks before I completely fried my hair with the chlorine and purchased a swim cap. Pink swim goggles and my navy one-piece- I felt pretty official! I managed to cut 1.5 minutes off my previous race time in swimming.

2mile run- Running is my jam. I like to get into a rhythm and just go for miles. However… sprinting is NOT my jam. Nerve pain and numbness in my leg plagued me most of the winter. My mileage was dialed way back. I didn’t expect the time to be good. Vomit was close to erupting, but I beat my previous two mile triathlon sprint by about 20seconds.

12mile bike- After the fall sprint tri, the organizer decided to add 4 miles to the challenge. My spinning seat wasn’t set correctly… my fault. Shredded legs and a little rub discomfort. About 2:10/mile.

Overall, I took 3rd female. I thought I would feel proud of my physical accomplishment.

Upon reflection, all I felt was humbled. Two days before this, I laid in the tube for two and a half hours. My annual MRI: brain and thoracic spine, with and without contrast- a yearly peek into my neurological system.

All stable. Nothing new. I’d have loved to hear that my lesions miraculously healed themselves. Same white dots in the same spots.

Randomly, I’ll have weird nerve and muscle symptoms. For years, I thought everybody did. Apparently not. MS does odd things.

Have you ever considered how fortunate you are to have working legs, fingers that feel, and a spine that doesn’t “buzz?” This isn’t for sympathy. These truly were not situations that I’d considered prior to about four years ago.

Humbled to be able to swim. Amazed at running. Grateful for biking.