False flats are for the birds

There is no question that my weakest leg of triathlon is the bike. I had a bike when I was young, but up until 2 months ago, I had not been on a bike in a while (20 years). This is the part of the triathlon that almost prevented me from signing up. I will admit it. The bike SCARES me. I don't really know how rational it is, but I am still scared of it. I think I am afraid of falling off of it, or getting hit by a car, or getting chased by dogs...it's just a scary process. So, when I started riding on a regular basis, I had a few freak out moments...but it was nothing like I thought it would be. I found myself actually enjoying it. I enjoyed the speed of it, I enjoyed the diversity it brought to my training. I have not been hit by a car, I have not fallen off (well, nothing major) and I have not been chased by dogs. Instead, I have developed a whole new set of things that rattle me on the bike. First of all, WIND. UGH. I just bought a mountain bike for this first triathlon, so riding aero is impossible...therefore the head winds are killing me. I have found myself actually talking smack to the wind, and it helps. :) The thing that makes me fighting mad are FALSE FLATS. I will be riding along and I'll look ahead and think, "what a nice flat stretch of road"...only to get to it and find that it is indeed an incline and my legs are on fire. Now, I can't really justify griping about inclines in Texas. They are nothing like the hills that most triathletes train on. That doesn't make me hate them any less. The good news is though..these inclines are getting easier. I am able to cruise up them for the most part now. Turns out, I am beginning to really love the bike. Life is all about perspective and attitude. I am trying to keep that in mind.

I started back to school yesterday so my training hours are going to have to adjust. I am excited about it all though, my brain functions best when I have no down time. That is how I am wired. This is my first sememster as a business major, I just made the switch from education. I am taking Financial accounting and macroeconomics. Luckily my husband has a degree in global logistics so he can help me study. My triathlon is in a month and I am really excited. I am ready to "tri", I'm ready to conquer the fear of uncertainty that I have right now. It doesn't get much better than this. :)

Thought for the day:
“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you?'”
— William A. Ward