It hit me yesterday morning as I was panting up a hill on my bike. The obvious. There is no Shelly Athlete, hiding inside, just waiting for the right moment to break free. There is no piece of this that I am going to try and find I have an undiscovered natural ability. There are no “Holy Shit! I’m fabulous at this and it’s easy!” moments coming my way. Not the running. Not the biking. And, although I haven’t tried yet, I’m pretty sure not the canoeing. It is all going to take hard work.
Now, you may be laughing at me and thinking, “What an arrogant dope!” and you would be right. But I really was hoping that I would discover that I have natural ability to be more then a beer drinking slug. I mean, seriously, if this had been a beer drinking endurance challenge that idea would not be so far fetched. Hell, I’ve been training for years. But it isn’t. This is a physical endurance challenge and in the scope of endurance challenges, this isn’t even a really intense one. I have been reading a lot about endurance events. The site, Beginner Triathlete has been really helpful, it has also underscored how amateur this event actually is. But I am whatever comes before beginner.
So, I know that when I do it, how hard this is will make it more of a victory. And I do tell myself that. But it is still a little disappointing not to discover that there is a super hero lurking inside. I guess the determined bitch took up all the space.
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