Caution: Crisis of Faith Ahead

What the hell was I thinking?!! A triathlon? I'm no athlete, this is crazy!! I am never going to be able to finish it and I'll be laughed out of New Jersey (and that takes some doing, have you SEEN Jersey Shore?).

OK, let's back up a bit. Yesterday was my first day of commuting to work on my bicycle. To be exact, I took the train into the city, then rode to the bike trail, took the trail into the neighborhood where I work, rode the mile straight uphill to the street where my office is and then on to the office another half mile away.

The ride was beautiful. I loved it so much I bought a train pass and scheduled in the next few times I can do it again. The ride along the Schuykill river was flat, smooth and populated with runners and bikers, I felt like I had entered a foreign country.

So why the crisis? The last leg of the commute is a long, long steady hill. I thought I would have to walk it but it turned out that I was able to put the bike in "Granny Gear" and pedal my way all the way to the top. I was thrilled. I felt great when I got to work, a little sweaty but energized and proud of my accomplishment. After I got changed I sat down to look up the mileage of the ride.

IT WAS ONLY 8 MILES!!!! The triathlon is 17 and is preceeded by a swim and followed with a run! With no scone break in between! How on earth am I going to manage that? So, I started thinking back to when I started training for the 5K. I'm still no speed demon and may never actually place in a race, but I have never finished dead last and have never been laughed off a course. I start my training plan for the tri next month. These past few months have just been about getting a base level of fitness so the training doesn't do me in. And I know that, just like that couch to 5K training, I will be amazed at my progress as we get closer to the race.

Still, I anticipate a few more panic attacks before this thing is over.