46 Days to Race

Less than two months away!! I can barely breath when I think about it. But I must say that after the last week I'm beginning to feel better and better about this whole triathlon-thing. Molly and I both seemed to go through a down time. We'd been pushing so hard for so long and all we could see in front of us was more work. We were training together less and less and since I couldn't swim because of my shoulder, it made it even more difficult. Something about last week really kicked us into high gear again and we realized how much we need to train together.

Our brick on Saturday was a riot. We had so much fun and laughed our asses off. First of all, this was Molly's first day out on her *NEW* snazzy-ass bike. But more importantly the very first time she was ever using clipless peddles (the name is misleading; because there is no strap over your foot they are considered clipless, when in fact you do lock the bottom of your foot into a clip). I've been on clipless for years, and love them. Once you realize how much more efficient they are, you never go back. She had been anxious to ride alone and so this was a very exciting day.

We met up in at our favorite spot. She practiced riding around the parking lot and really got the hang of it. Once she was comfortable clipping in and out, we were off. If only we knew...

As we were riding down the path around Boom Island Molly was working her way there her gears, trying them out. She down-shifted all the way and then realized that she couldn't shift back up. She kept clicking the shifter, but nothing was happening. So we stopped, I hopped on her bike to try it out and the same thing, no shifting. Of course her fancy new bike has the shifters on the break levers, very new-fangled compared to my bike, so I don't know what I was thinking trying to help. So we both just looked at each other dumbfounded and of course laughing. This fancy-ass new bike that doesn't work. GREAT! We rode along a little further when I looked down and realized that I had a flat tire. Poop! This was a good time for Molly to call the bike shop and ask them how to shift, just thinking about it makes me laugh. "Hi. I just bought a bike from you and it doesn't work". So Molly's on the phone with Free Wheel (great Minneapolis shop by the way) and I'm changing my tire. People are strolling along the path, enjoying the day and some dude says to me, "Want me to time you?" The bike shop asked where we were and offered to come down and meet us, but we decided to ride over there because we were only about a mile away. Once we got to the bike shop they quickly showed Molly that nothing was wrong with the bike and instructed her on how to shift. I took advantage of their floor pumps and pumped up the rest of the my tire and we were off! Thanks Free Wheel you guys rock!

We leave the bike shop and head back toward our path, ready to ride! As we begin to turn the corner I hear Molly behind me "Oh sh*(^!*&, crap, I can't!!......" and BOOM down she goes. I circle back around and she's down on the ground laughing her ass off. It was like slow motion. She had tried to clip in on one side and was turning from the other, lost her balance and fell. Thank goodness she was laughing, because that told me she wasn't hurt too badly. She got up and rolled over to the sidewalk. At this point we're both hysterically laughing. Everyone falls at least once on clipless peddles. She had been nervous about it and hadn't wanted to ride alone because of it. But having been on a roller derby team, this girl knows how to take a hit. Her bruises were quite impressive I must say and the next day they were the most beautiful colors of greens and yellows, but she was fine. The brick we did that day was a little over a twenty mile ride immediately followed by a three mile run and we loved every minute of it, because we were together.

I've said this before and I'll say it again, I would not be able to do any of this without Molly. She pushes me when I can't go any further, she makes me laugh my ass off, and she is just as human as I am. I love her and I'm so lucky to have such an amazing friend. Its hard to imagine that there was a time where I thought I could lose her. I remember the day Molly was diagnosed with breast cancer, like it was yesterday. I was so scared. To think that she came back from something so horrible amazes me. She inspires me in ways that I can't even put into words.

Along with the other training we did over the last few days I really feel good about the next month. Tonight we'll be going for a ride, the same route we took on Saturday, I'm hoping that its a little less eventful.