Sad Beautiful Tragic

[Taylor Swift]

Spudman...

What can I say about Spudman?

It was... hmm.. interesting? lonely? tough? reassuring? disappointing? strengthening?

Basically.. it was all over the place. An emotional rollercoaster.

It's one of those races I am glad to have behind me.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed myself... mostly. But, I had a number of hurdles to jump through to finish.

1. For one reason or another, I ended up taking the 3 hour drive to Burley, ID to stay and compete alone.

2. I didn't have a tent or anything, so I slept -- rather uncomfortably -- in my car. [Luckily, I was so tired that it ended up not mattering.]

3. The pinky toe wasn't healed. Ya... ugh. The biggest UGH of them all. It didn't impact my swim and run much, but my running was S-L-O-W. It wasn't even the toe so much. I was compensating for the hurt with my ankle, which caused WORSE hurt. So I had to back off to prevent REAL injury.

4. I didn't take the day off to drive up there, so I was late coming from work. I rushed to dinner and then to setup my bike transition. Since I was in a hurry, I forgot to setup my Garmin watch. Decided I'd go back in the morning, but never made it there.

5. The morning of the race, I was running to start line zipping my wetsuit. And just barely had time to ask a girl to zip it up after it got caught on my singlet.

6. I didn't get on the podium... [failed New Year's resolution].

But....

1. I had a great swim. Learned a couple new things for the next race, too.

2. My bike was -- for me-- amazing. I am NOT a cyclist. It's my weak area. But, I kept nearly a 18mph pace! Incredible for me.

3. I finished the run under an hour, even with the injuries.

4. Overall I PR'ed by about 10 minutes!

5. I was reminded that I am independent and can make it on my own.

6. There was accomplishment in just getting there, starting the race, finishing each leg, and then crossing the finish line. So much, that I broke down in tears.

Life was trying to break me. But, I am in control of my life. And I'm not giving into the hard times. I am positive about the future and know, from experiences like this, that I can get through and fight whatever comes my way. I love when running can teach you those lessons.

“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!” -Dr. Seuss

What lessons have you learned from/while running?

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