Tuesday, June 29, 2010

42 tri

my 42nd birthday is just a little over a month away. there are a lot of things i haven't achieved yet, but there are a ton i have.

years ago i would never have dreamed that triathlon would be a part of my life. i was active as a little kid, but as soon as puberty rolled around i got sorta doughy and put my focus on the boys, the booze and the smokes. but just before turning 30 i decided to do a marathon and since that day it's pretty much been "game on" and pursuing my passion for sport has been life changing ... to say the least.

for the past 8 or 9 years i have celebrated my birthday by doing some sort of challenging physical activity ... either a race or a hard ride in the hills. physical activity has become my way of life so it seems only fitting that it's how i celebrate the day if was given life.

this year i want to honor what i have accomplished in the best way i know how, doing the sport that has challenged me more than anything and made me grow in ways i'm not sure i can even articulate.

so to that end ... i'd love it if you would join me, either in person or virtually, on august 1st (my actual birthday is the 2nd, but it's a monday and i want people to be able to play along, so we're taking a little liberty here) for "42 tri".
i'll be swimming 4200 yards, biking 42 miles and running 4.2 miles. lest any of you think this isn't a challenge for me ... in the past 6-9 months my training volume hasn't been nearly what it used to be. i haven't swum more than 3000 meters in forever, my rides for the last 6 months have topped out at 30-35 miles and recently i've had an injury that has prevented me from running. SO i'll spend the next month upping my distances and look forward to it being a challenge.

now on to the extra fun part ... i posted my idea on facebook and a lot of awesome friends agreed to do it with me. that being said, about 50% of my female friends have either just had a baby, will have just had a baby or are pregnant. 25% of my male friends are suffering from lack of sleep due the recently birthed babies and another good chunk have been injured ... so we're getting creative with distances so all can take part.

#1 choice -- do the whole 42 as outlined above, but if there is a reason you really can't ... i'd rather have you do what you can than not do it at all. the only thing i ask is that each sport somehow factor in 42 ... how you do that is up to you ... i just ask that you share with me (either here or on FB) HOW you're gonna do it ... that'll be a lot of fun for me!

some ideas:

swim 4 x 200
bike 42 minutes
run 42 x 100

if my crazy ultrarunner friends (yes this means you, josh) want to run 42 miles and swim & bike for 4.2 minutes each ... have at it!

this thursday marks a month until "42 tri" ... plenty of time to get ready for it. i'm committed, i hope you are too!!

^..^

8 comments:

Beth said...

Coolest idea ever!!! I will be so excited to read about your 42 tri! And your 43 tri and 44 and... ;) Active lifestyles rule. :)

Michelle Simmons said...

You know I'm IN. I may have to do it on Monday though bc our pool isn't open on Sunday. Or maybe I'll swim in the ocean but then I'd really be guessing at the 4200. I may have to do 42 minutes bc that would be more accurate. :)

Charisa said...

This is awesome CAT!! LOVe it!!

Jennifer Harrison said...

AWESOME CAT...I will make something work in honor of you being older than me (errr...I mean for your bday!)!! :))) HAHA.

Liz Waterstraat said...

As long as I'm not giving birth, I'm in for 4200 yds!

ADC said...

Great idea. Hopefully I am in, unless Jen says otherwise :)

Josh said...

very very cool idea! as i was reading, i was thinking about how I could play along. even 4.2 minutes on the bike these days would be a lot! But, that is scheduled to be a big running weekend for me... and I should be able to work in some bike and swim. thinking, thinking.

Lisa T said...

Sorry I missed it. How did it go?