Just gotta do me....

I'm not fast. I'm not slow, but I'm not fast. My training friends, they all seem to be fast. My mother warned me about hanging around fast people, maybe I should have listened.

Monday nights are group swims. I'm either one of the slowest ones or I am the slowest. And it sucks. It sucks swimming to the other side of the lake knowing that everyone has been there 3-5 minutes ahead of you and is waiting on you. It brings back feelings of being picked last in school or not at all.

As long as the fast kids keep letting me play, I'll be there!

I always seem to be the slowest. Often, it is by design. I used to have a run group we referred to as Thursdays with the Fast Kids. I had put together a group of friends to run with me on Thursday mornings and it helped me get my pace work done. I know my running improved because I was always trying to keep up with someone else. I treasure my runs with those faster than me because if I feel like pushing pace, I know they will be right there beside me. When I don't feel like pushing pace, I often get a little encouragement to give just a little bit more.

 

There is this guy I ride with and he's been riding for YEARS! He just spins away, barely breaking a sweat. But he'll ride with me at my pace. He was on my 60 mile ride and I apologized for slowing down. He said not to be silly, I may be going slower, but I never give up. Can't get faster if you quit.

I'm hoping my swimming will improve as well as I chase their wakes on Monday nights. But this is the real truth as I was reminded last night by Matt who was manning the kayak: Don't worry a bit about them....this is Ironman, you worry about you.

I finished dead last Monday night, but check out my progress:

From my first open water swim last year in June to my last of the season I improved my pace per mile by 2 min 50 sec. From my last swim in 2013 to my first of this year I've improved my pace by 1:56. So from first to first that's a 4 min 45 sec IMPROVEMENT! (My seconds may be off, I've never been awesome at math.)

So as another friend reminded me,"You just gotta do you, and let everyone else worry about themselves." Happy training to you all. I'll see you at the finish line.