Team Effort

Happy beautiful Saturday, everyone. I would like to present Erin's "Reframe of the Day."

The schedule: 70 mile ride (43 miles + 28 miles at Rosedale) + 40 min run off the bike

The setup: Perfect. Map/directions? Check. Appropriate nutrition? Check. Correct clothing? Check. Mental attitude? Good (for once!) Check. Riding partners? Check. And... so it was meant to be a great day.

The actual: Hooked up with Nancy and we were riding strong until... rain. At that point, Nancy remarked how slick the roads were. Within minutes we arrived upon a mass of the T3 fasties - surrounding poor Logan, who had crashed and perhaps broken his shoulder. Poor, poor guy. We restarted, tentatively, and BOOM - headwinds & crosswinds from hell. On slick roads. Our speeds dropped big time and my shoulders, back and triceps went into lockdown. We hit the parking lot, and even though I'd decided I was gonna go back out - most of the team decided to call it a day and move on with the run. When the coaches say "Bag it - just go run," I say "OK!"

I was disappointed, because I really felt like today was going to be a good mental hurdle. I tagged on to Elizabeth, Blythe, Yvonne & her friend and set out to run. I'm unsure why I was surprised at how painful it was - I mean, it's always painful. But being slow and hurting... that just did a number on me. By minute 23, I was walking and near tears. Seriously, what is my freaking problem? Everything negative thought that could possibly enter my mind showed up. I started jogging once I saw that Blythe & Elizabeth were waiting on the corner. For me. Crap. Better move it.

I ended up finishing 40 minutes with Elizabeth, and frankly - I'm exhausted. (Of course, I realize this pales in comparison to what Logan must be feeling.) However, I ended the workout smiling. Probably the combination of marking our territory in some bushes, being done and eating one of E's peanut butter squares.

I was bummed about this workout though. I alternate between getting upset that I didn't go back out and finish the ride with being upset about how poorly I'm running. So... time for the reframe...

The reframe: This is one hell of team effort. Nancy pushed me during the ride. Katherine (and many others) came through for Logan. Kevin helped me get ready to run when I couldn't feel my hands. Elizabeth got me through the run. But Blythe... man. What she said today was awesome:

E: "Why are you waiting for me? Go run! Let me be!"
B: "Are you okay, Erin?!"
E: "Yes, but it's much easier to have breakdowns when you guys can't see me!"
B: "And that's why you're sticking with us."

Ah yes, the subtle reminders of how awesome our T3 team is. (And people in general.)