Would I Be A Wet Dog in 2014?

People started talking about the weather for Wet Dog about a week before the race.  I did my best not to look.  I heard it was going to rain, but really, who cares?  I knew I was going to show up for the race and if it wasn't cancelled, I was going to do it.  That simple.

Well...not quite that simple.  Getting to the start line is generally speaking the REAL journey.

After my surgery in January, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do this race or not.  It was only six months post procedure, but it's also "just" a sprint.  When I went to my last doctor visit I asked him if I would be able to do it and he told me "register for it and train"...he didn't say "YES, of course you'll be able to do that then." But I remember going home and looking at the Wet Dog registration and thinking I might need to wait until I could swim 400 again without stopping.  Then I saw a FaceBook post that RACE PIN was coming to Wet Dog!! (More on this later.)  And I remember registering right then.  I remember telling my husband what I had done and why (I HAVE TO GET THAT PIN!).

Then the training began...but it didn't happen like I expected it to.  I never swam as well as I wanted to.  My run wasn't coming back like I had hoped it would.  I wasn't pain free on the bike like I thought I would be.  And, I've been busier than I ever imagined.  This last week my shoulder was hurting so bad I started wondering if I could finish the race.  Not so coincidentally (since I believe in a God that cares about the details of our lives and one who interacts with us in ways that are meaningful to each individual), I had numerous conversations with various people about not being attached to an outcome in a race.  Just go and do what you can on that day and be happy that you are out on the course enjoying this sport you love.  Well...okay then...I got my brain ready to race as hard as I could (because that's what I ENJOY about this sport, the act of racing, even if I'm not super fast).

And yet I found myself slightly regretting that I had signed up.  Don't hate me for saying this, but there is an aspect of racing mentality that thinks, "what's the point of racing if you aren't in top form to race as hard as your body is capable of going?"

The day before the race there was a lot of talk of storms.  Again, even if it stormed that morning I was going to drive the 30 minutes to Decatur to get my packet and to wait for the official word about what would happen.  And, I was going to get the pin to remember this race.  Then people started talking about an email they got.

I didn't get an email.  

I looked at the website the race uses for online registration to "make sure" it was listed as one of my activities...it wasn't there.  I frantically started searching my email (all the accounts I have) for a confirmation.  Nothing (well, I found a confirmation for 2013, but that wasn't going to help me.  I started searching my various methods of payment for races.  Nothing.  But I just knew I had registered as soon as I found out about the Race Pin....

All of the angst I was feeling about racing (or not being able to race like I wanted to) vanished into sheer disappointment of not being able to do the event at all.  I had the chance to jump into a relay, but I didn't want to just bike...I wanted to TRI.  Within minutes I was reminding myself that I thank God for all the things that seem to go the way I think I want them to...I have to thank Him when things don't go the way I think they should as well.  I'm not going to say the disappointment completely vanished, but I can say I completely let it go and decided it would be fine no matter what.

The Tree

The Forrest

Maybe I was registered (I didn't see that as a possibility since I couldn't find any evidence of that).  If not, I would race on the relay.  And, maybe the race would be cancelled because of storms.  My shoulder had been feeling really bad all week, so maybe this was a blessing in disguise.  I know sometimes I can't see the blessings through the disappointment (the forrest for the trees).  And I will never see the really big picture from God's perspective.  But I do know that "all things work together for good" and I trust that God has a plan for my life.  That plan is less about what I DO than about who I AM.

"Bird's Eye View" From Above

Miraculously, I found out that day (from someone who went over early to pick up the packet) that I was in fact registered!  I'd like to say I kept the lesson I just learned and didn't get anxious about the race.  I can at least say I was less anxious.  In fact, I can probably honestly say I wasn't anxious, I was nervously excited.

Race report to follow...

Until next time...
:D