Mother’s Day swim, bike and run!

I had a perfect Mother’s Day. It was so perfect that at the end of the day I actually started crying when I was thanking Greg at dinner.

I remember my first Mother’s Day waking up exhausted to a hungry baby at 5 a.m. and then being over-scheduled and traveling… it wasn’t the perfectly indulgent day I’d dreamed my first Mother’s Day would be.

Yesterday was.

I slept in, Greg and the boys made gingerbread waffles which we had with coffee.

It started raining, squashing our plans to play outside as a family and making me afraid an afternoon bike ride I had planned with my neighbor would get cancelled.

SWIM

So Greg and I went to the pool together so I could get some type of workout in even if biking didn’t happen. We dropped the kids off in the play space, and shared a lane! It was his first time seeing me do a full length of crawl stroke.

I loved watching him swim a few lengths now that I can appreciate how good his form is.

And it was REALLY fun when we had a head on collision a few laps into our swim. I mean it, it was actually hilarious. Both of us were being a little more casual with the lane divide since we knew the person we were swimming with, and I was backstroking (which I never do when I lane share because I can’t see where I am well enough to feel comfortable I won’t hit someone) when BAM, suddenly my head was underwater with an elbow on top of it. We disentangled, we were both fine, and I learned to keep a much better eye on the buoys next to me.

I loved running into him because I collided, and survived. Now I’ll carry that memory with me on race day to ease the tension when I’m suddenly in the ocean surrounded by other swimmers.

After swimming we had a great lunch, and then the day cleared up and I was able to go for my bike ride with my neighbor!

BIKE

An experienced cyclist, she offered to go for a ride with me since I’m new to outdoor cycling and was really nervous about riding my new bike for the first time on the busy roads down here. She took me out, showed me some scenic, quieter roads, scouted ahead before turns and called back when I should prepare to unclip, pointed out obstacles in the road, checked behind us for traffic, and made it easy for me to focus just on pedaling and gear shifting and getting comfortable on the bike.

With her to navigate and call out traffic, I was able to relax and enjoy the entire ride. We went slow (which is great because I was in the wrong gear most of the time) and I never fell over – came home from a 17 mile ride without a scratch! Such a gift.  I can’t begin to describe how it feels to coast down a long hill past budding trees and green grass on a sunny afternoon in May.

I got home from the ride, and realized that because I swam in the morning and biked in the afternoon, if I just ran 3 miles I would have completed my race distance for the triathlon in July. Sure, it was backstroke at the pool and there were hours in between the swim and bike… but wouldn’t it be neat to see if my muscles could manage it all in one day, and to see what my run would feel like after my legs had done all that kicking and biking?

RUN

I only had to mention the idea to Greg and he was instantly throwing on his running stuff and putting the kids in the jogging stroller. “I’ll run next to you! Let’s do it!”

I never would have gone without him, I had spent too much time away from the family already. But he made it something we could do together, and he pushed the kids next to me for a scenic 3 miles through nearby neighborhoods and past the local pond.

And I did it. Without stopping. 3 miles at the end of a 17 mile bike ride on a day that started out with a 40 minute swim.

Whatever happens on race day, I’ll carry these memories with me. Lane sharing with Greg in the pool. Eunice calling back over her shoulder to tell me I was doing great and there was a right turn ahead. The boys laughing underneath their blanket on the stroller ride by the pond, water glistening in the late afternoon sun.

I started the day with tentative plans for a bike ride, and ended up completing my race distance over the course of the day with no pressure… just a spontaneous sense of adventure.

It was fun.