This was a tough race but one that left me with a lot of valuable lessons, both in the sport of swimming but also in the sport of life. I’m super thankful to be part of such a great community that encourages these lifestyle shenanigans. The Dwight Crum Pier to Pier race is a 2-mile swim that starts at the Hermosa Pier and ends at the Manhattan Pier. It’s a great family and community event that dates back several decades. This was my second time participating.
For all of my hours spent in training, I forget that I’m still pretty fresh when it comes to actual racing. Yesterday I finally raced my first 10K.
For anyone who followed my Tahoe saga, you can imagine how crazy this whole weekend was for me. In 2014 I spent the majority of the summer training for a race that I just wanted to get over with, and then had it cancelled moments before the start. It sucked. I signed up for some rebound races that I quickly lost interest in and bailed on. I took time off. I wrote a novel. I danced on stage with Bono. I traveled the country and took pictures during the 2016 election. I kept swimming and running when I felt like it, but let my bike collect dust. Then, for some reason I decided to get back into it and finish what I had started.
This was a nice way to throw myself back into racing and smooth out all of the kinks I had been worried about. None of my LA training partners had heard of the Big Rock Triathlon, and from what I’ve been able to learn, the event has lost some of its popularity over the last few years, but it was still an amazing experience.
WARNING: Rambles Ahead!
I’m a couple days away from my first triathlon in just under three years. My last tri event was the Santa Barbara Triathlon way back in 2014. I came into that race overtrained and undermotivated and managed to slog through the distance. This time around, I’m much more excited, but of course, much more nervous.
This weekend I did something that I’ve only done once before. I woke up early, loaded up the car and took a pre-dawn drive down to Oceanside to watch my fellow Tower 26 teammates race in the Oceanside 70.3 Ironman.
A lot of people were surprised to hear that I had signed up for the half Ironman at Lake Tahoe this year, and assumed that it was a last minute decision. I had actually signed up in April shortly after the 70.3 race was announced, but I didn’t tell anyone, save for a select inner circle of need to know personnel. I like to think that I kept it under wraps because I tend to be a fairly quiet and private person, preferring not to draw attention to myself. But the deeper truth is one that I’m ashamed to admit — I didn’t think I could do it.
When I was little and wanted to quit something, my mother would say, “There will be things you won’t want to do at West Point, but you’ll still have to do them.”
Even though I ultimately chose not to follow in my father’s footsteps and attend the US Military Academy at West Point, the lesson was still learned—that life would present obstacles that, while unappealing, I would have to find ways to persevere through.
Ever since moving here almost 3 years ago I’ve wanted to run the LA marathon because Los Angeles the first city that has felt like my own — my streets, my friends, the first town of my choosing. I’ve run this city for 3 years and now I have a day to run for miles and miles with nothing to stop me but myself.
I did it. I survived. Earlier today I had the chance to complete my first Olympic Distance Triathlon — a great accomplishment working up from my very first sprint just 3 months ago at the beginning of the summer. For those who don’t know, the traditional Olympic (also known as International) Distance consists of approximately 1-mile Swim, 25-mile Bike and 6-mile Run. It was a grueling and arduous process but as always I learned a lot about life and about myself.
