A season of slaying dragons

This dragon is on a circus wagon at the Circus World Museum

 What are my dragons?

For me, a dragon is something I consider "unfinished business."  For instance, the biggest one I have probably ever dealt with is my Ph.D.  My daughter had her accident about halfway through my course work and I ended up taking a leave of absence with no expectation in my own mind that I would ever go back.  I assumed it was over, but after about a year and a half I went back (oddly, Glenda and Melanie both always assumed that I would finish..I did not).  I didn't meet my goal of a degree by 50, but I was only a few months late.

That was huge...but there have been other little dragons. Most recently they have had been athletics related.  There are only 3 races that I ever started and didn't finish: A half marathon in San Antonio, The Door County Tri and the Screw City Du.  San Antonio never became a dragon for me, for reasons I won't go into here. But those other two...or more particularly, PARTS of those other two became dragons that popped up to taunt me now and then. 

Why did they need slaying?

Well, strictly speaking, I don't suppose they had to be slain.  There is some virtue in just letting it go.  Oddly enough, though, only some of my unfinished business becomes something that needs finishing...but when something does get in my head, I do need to get it done.

The two races that were stuck in dragon mode were both multisport.  At Door County on the first try, I had been pulled from the swim, finished the bike strong and blown up on the run.  The conditions were not great in the swim that year and many people were pulled...that didn't bother me particularly. But not finishing the run, even though it was the right choice for that day, just bugged me.  I needed to know I could finish a run after such a relatively long bike.

Similarly, the first time I attempted the Screw City Du I got through the first run...and it was soooo hot and miserable I stopped there and dropped to the 2 mile run category.  I wanted to go back this year...not to do the whole race but to run more than 2 miles for sure.  Technically there was a 2 mile run division so I finished the first time, but it did not satisfy me, I wanted to finish something there that I actually set out to do. So I set out with different expectations. 

How did I do it?

In both cases, I chose to close the book on this unfinished business...to slay these particular dragons...by setting out to finish relays. And I did them just 8 days apart!  It was my short season of slaying some old dragons. 

When I did Door County the first time in 2019 as I mentioned above,  I was pulled from the swim (I didn't argue, the conditions were not good for me, and several people were pulled that day). I went on to have a really good bike, and I'm proud of that still, but in the end I pulled out of the run about 1.25 miles in.  Partly that was mental (having been pulled from the swim I couldn't claim a finish so it was hard to care enough to push through) and partly physical (I had biked frustrated and pushed too hard). I didn't feel any need to do the swim again, so I signed up for a relay.  Glenda swam and I biked and ran.  

I knew I could finish the bike, but didn't know I could do it as fast as I did

So I started with the bike, and I tried not to go too hard, because I wanted to have enough "legs" left to get through the run.  Even so, I biked it 3 or so minutes faster than in 2019...a big surprise to me!

I might possibly have walked most of the run (OK I did), but there was some run left at the finish!

I felt pretty good off the bike, but I was fatigued and it was getting hotter.  I started out trying to run more, but in the end it became more of a slog...lots of walking. I kept telling myself that if I just got through this it would done and I would never have to do it again. About a third or quarter mile from the finish Glenda met up with me and I told her I wasn't sure I could do it.  But she reminded me that I had come that far and it would be silly not to finish.  She came with me from that point, and I even mustered up a run at the finish. 

As for the Screw City Du, it was one of the only races that we did live in 2020, so I had a stake in doing well.  But it was also almost 90 degrees that morning.  I couldn't even face the bike after the first run.  So I dropped to the 2 miles run and called it a day.  Good enough, I suppose...but I wanted more.  Not necessarily the whole race, but more.  So Glenda and I decided to do the relay...I would do the 2 runs and she would bike. 

Pre-race at Screw City Du in our Ciao Bella kit

I ran the first run, and though it wasn't fast in usual terms, the first mile was the fastest I had run in quite a while.  The second was mostly uphill and slower, but overall it was faster than expected.  I sort of blew it out.  Glenda killed the bike and sort of blew it out too.  We then muddled through the second run together.  About 3/4 of a mile in, I tripped and nearly fell...which probably would have ended my day.  Fortunately, however, I managed to save it and we managed to muddle to the end. 

Yep, definitely finished!

And I definitely left it out there!

Having spent a couple of weeks putting these dragons to rest, I am moving forward to other things.  I am sure there will be other dragons, athletic and otherwise, but for now, it's on to more fun stuff