My triathlon team is my family. I see my coach more than I see anyone else in my life except my dog.
This holiday season, while I am sidelined with an injury and depressed by weight gain and surrounded by sweets and made sleepy by short days, I am reliant on my team even more. And not just for keeping me going in the pool on the bike and on the track... but for keeping me going in life.
This week I celebrated my 38th birthday, and my friends from my tri team were right there to celebrate. It started with a 6 am pool workout where everyone was wishing me happy birthday and cheering each other on in my honor. And my slow lane swim buddy gave me a new pool buoy! I then took myself to therapy (which is always a gift to myself) and then cooked for my brunch party.
The party was an interesting mix of my pre-tri friends and friends from my tri team. Fortunately, we were all able to get along! But I will say that the moments where I felt most comfortable and was having the most fun was when we were taking about running shoes and swim practice and bike rides. And when we did an impromptu screening of the hilarious YouTube classics (you must watch if you haven't yet -- especially if you or anyone you try to love is hooked on this sport):
So TIP OF THE WEEK for the bipolar athlete -- JOIN A TEAM! Not only will they help your training, but they will be there for you when you can't get yourself out of bed or to remind you that you are a badass when you don't believe it.
Oh.. and Congratulations to my team -- Team Z -- for winning the 2012 Competitor Magazine Tri Team of the year!
On an unrelated note ..these are a few of my new favorite things from the past week:
1.) Altra Intuition -- zero drop, natural toe box. I haven't run on them yet since I can't run for about three weeks yet, BUT I went for about a two mile walk yesterday -- with my Correct Toes on of course -- and I had ZERO pain. None. Wearing even my Dansko clogs without my Correct Toes I can still feel the pain in my foot. I have a feeling these will be game changers.
2.) Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo and Me - a graphic memoir by Ellen Forney. If you are bipolar or know anyone who is, this is a must, must, must read. I tore through it on Friday and don't think anyone has ever articulated better what it is like. AND she is a swimmer who did a Danskin Tri.
