With a Little Help From My Friends

This is where I'd normally write a wrap-up of the year, adding up all the miles I ran and posting pictures of all the t-shirts, medals, and other swag I collected.  But 2015 stopped being about all that for me on April 23.  It instead became about the sustaining love of God, and the amazing support of my family and friends.


I have always known how blessed I am to have such a great family.  I'm so close to my parents and sisters, I have a wonderful relationship with our kids, and I have many extended family members that I enjoy staying in touch with too.  But I have really been awed to discover just how many wonderful supportive friends I have.

There's no "I" in Indy, just US

Friends back in Canton, friends here in Indy, and friends all around the world.  Coworkers, former coworkers, church friends, runner friends, SMOMS, bootcampers, friends from grad school, neighbors.  Friends I've known almost as long as I've lived in Indy, and friends I just met this summer.  It's no exaggeration to say that for all the tears I've cried in sadness over losing Kevin, I have cried just as many in humble gratitude at the support I've received from so many friends.  It's also no coincidence that yesterday when I started working on this blog post, some friend or friends anonymously sent flowers to me at work.

We have other talents besides running

I find myself starting to say "I don't know what I've done to deserve all of you."  But then I think that's kind of the point.  When God pours out his love on us, whether through the people He puts in our lives or some other way, it isn't because we deserve it.  It's just because He loves us.  So we just accept it as a beautiful gift.  And then we go out and love each other in response.

Babes of Bootcamp

And so that's my goal for 2016: to be grateful and to give back.  I'm know I'm still going to have lots of bad days; days when all I can do is go home and put Kevin's clothes on and cry till my head hurts.  But on the okay days and the good days, I'm going to try to give back some fraction of the support you've given me, and love you and encourage you on your journey.

Closed eyes, warm heart?

Of course I can't resist posting one pic of race swag.  I call this the Cuss Word Trifecta.  I was joking with Laura the other night that we could make this our motto for 2016: Do Epic Shit Every Damn Day, Badass!  And with that in mind, here's some of the epic shit I have penciled in on my calendar:

Do Epic Shit Every Damn Day. Badass!

• The Indy East Race Series - I hope all my Indy friends will join me at as many of these as you can.  Four 5Ks for only $60!  That price is good through January 15th, so sign up soon.
• Pacing the 13-14 min/mile group with the Indy Runners Spring Training Program - I'm pretty excited about this!  I'll be helping other runners reach their goal of a spring half marathon.
• My second full marathon and first destination race: Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas!  Kevin & I always wanted to go to Vegas, but we never got to make that trip together.  So this one is for Kevin.  I'm going to run the strip, see all the sights, and take everything in that I can.  Several of the FBG are going too, so I know it will be a blast!
• Lots more fun new things I hope to try: ReFit, Barre Fitness classes, possibly a triathlon in late summer, possibly a 50K in December (or January 2017), hopefully going to summer camp with the FBG in August....

Tricurious

Sweet SWAG from Endurance House today

I'm sure being in Heaven with Jesus is so wonderful that Kevin's not paying much attention, but if he did happen to peek in on me today I know he was rolling his eyes.  I know that because last spring as the Carmel Marathon got pretty close, I was already talking about the next goal and I mentioned possibly doing a triathlon next year.  And he rolled his eyes.  And said something like "As if you don't already have enough to do."

Sometimes Kevin would call me ADD and ask why I had to always be doing something, chasing some new goal.  Well I don't have to, but trying new things, learning new things, having new experiences just for the sake of having them; that's all fun to me.  Kevin just wasn't wired that way, so he didn't understand.

I don't know much about triathlons and I'm not a very strong swimmer so I definitely will have to work hard if I decide to do one.  Endurance House was having an informational session on their tri training program today, along with viewing the Kona Ironman Championships, so I went up there to check it out.  I talked to the program director and I came away pretty impressed.

The training program seems kind of expensive, but it also looks like you really get a lot for your money: training program targeted to your goal event, group training (including open water swims), bike fitting, videotaped swim analysis, 15% store discount, practice on transitions, team support at all the local events....  If I decide for sure I want to do a tri next year, I will also do the training.  That way I know I will be prepared and will enjoy the event.

The tri I'm considering is the Go Girl at Eagle Creek in August.  It's just a couple miles from home and I'm familiar with the park; and I hear from lots of people that it's a really good one for first-timers, with lots of support.  If you've been reading our blog for a while, you'll remember that my friend Kathy did this tri as part of a team last year.  She and the rest of her team guest blogged about it for us too: Team Badass Librarians.  Very inspiring!

I know I've already mentioned that I might try an Ultra next year, but I don't think these goals are incompatible.  The tri is in August, and if I did an Ultra it would probably be late fall/early winter.  Also, if you've been reading our blog since year one you will remember I did a month-long Ironman challenge and felt like the biking and swimming really improved my running.  So I think I would come out of this event strong and ready to train for a 50K.

All fun stuff to think about.  I'll let you know for sure what I decide around the end of the year.  And roll your eyes if you want to Kevin, but I hope you're proud of me too.

The Unlikely Triathletes or Team Badass Librarians

by Guest Blogger Kathy Helmond

My first (and likely only) venture into the world of triathlons came last Saturday at the Go Girl Triathlon at Eagle Creek.  This all-women event provided a great way to try something new and be surrounded by inspiring women athletes.  Long a fan of the Kona Ironman specials on television, the triathlon is a challenge that this shaky swimmer will probably never attempt, but I love to watch others giving their all to this three event race.  I am always moved to tears watching the men and women in the Hawaii heat and wind overcoming obstacles and persevering to the end.

 A co-worker (Penny) of mine competed in some triathlons with Team in Training some years back (pre-knee replacement) and we sort of fantasized about doing it as a team “someday.”  One day during one of these conversations another co-worker (Carrie) joined in the conversation and revealed that she was a swimmer in high school.  That was all we needed to decide that the idea could become a reality!  Before we could talk ourselves out of it, we signed up for the Go Girl Triathlon and Team Badass Librarians was formed!  The name was obviously tongue in cheek for this 2/3 middle aged, past our prime team.  But we had a lot of fun anticipating it all summer.  As life usually does, things came up for all three team members and training was not what it should’ve been!