I'm in a Triathlon

I’m tired, but it’s a good tired. I went to the Y today and took a yoga class. My grace and skill probably was noted on the national news. I am officially a member of the Silver Sneakers. There were fourteen of us clutching our chairs as we bent, reached, stretched and flexed. It was a good class. I was able to hold my own since the average age was probably a couple of decades older then me.

After that, I did my exercises, rode the recumbent bike and even walked a half-mile on the track. You could hear me singing, “I am woman. I am strong.” Well, I might as well have been singing it out because I got the unusual looks of quite a few Y members. The large exercise room filled with the noises of bouncing basketball games, spinning bikes and loud music convinces my vertigo to introduce itself to the many people around me. I tried to show off my newish white tennees, but they really weren’t interested as they did a fast peek and rushed by me.

I was so proud of myself for finding my toes that I signed up to complete a triathlon. After all, I look pretty cute in my exercise clothes. I know the verbiage and can blend in with the best of them. I even tossed a basketball over to a couple of hunky athletes. I’m sure that I will be able to get some assistance if needed. I don’t plan on completing any speed records. I just want to finish. I need to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and finally run/walk for another 26.2 miles. We even get a t-shirt for completion after paying a $12 registration fee.

You should have seen Bob’s face when I came home and told him my big news. It matched the tone and silence when I gave the news to my daughter. I guess I had forgotten to include a portion of the description. This race is labeled the 8^th Annual Lazyman Triathlon. We need to complete the above tasks, but we have a full six weeks to finish them. It starts tomorrow, and I need to be finished by June 6. I’m not sure if I can make it and am curious about the difficulty of swimming in one lane at the pool. That has nothing to do with my vertigo; I just have major problems swimming straight when I paddle more than six feet.

Wish me luck. Stephanie did mention that this was the first time that she could hear excitement in my voice in a long time. I’m determined to do my best as I finish this whole thing on my own. My daughter won’t be able to complete the swimming, and my son-in-law won’t be able to transfer his distances spinning to my feeble attempts. I’m sure that I will have many more stares and questions, but it will feel so good to actually complete a goal.

One of the difficulties with chronic pain is that agony creeps up your body and strangles your brain. It’s easier to give it all up and go to bed. I will need to put new challenges on my out-of-shape body. (That’s a silly expression. I have a shape – it’s round.) I will fall in front of strangers. That’s a fact. It will take long hours to finish this triathlon, but I need to try. I’ll do my very best to transform my form (yep, that round one) and reduce a little of this blubber. Wish me luck. I will keep you posted.

Today's Benefit of Having Chronic Pain as Part of My Life:

• I get to introduce myself to new folks as they stop to peer at my body stretched out on the floor.