I am the most consistent with exercise if a) I sign up for a class and/or b) sign up for a race. The races I sign up for vary from 5ks, half marathons, and sprint triathlons. Honestly, sprint triathlons are my favorite – ¼-1/2 miles of swimming, 10-15 miles of biking, and 3.2 miles or running. Sprint tris give me a little bit of everything without getting too bored during my training. I’ve done 6 of them over the years and
2018 was going to be a sprint year, but I let my schedule get the best of me. It didn’t happen. I did my best to squeeze in some cardio 2-3x/wk with 1-2 at home yoga sessions. For me, I need that external carrot of a race to truly stick to an exercise routine
During a local triathlon years ago, I witnessed members of Team Phoenix take off as the first wave of swimmers. This group of breast cancer survivors were the first group in the water to allow them maximum time to get out of the water and a head start on the other participants. I always get emotional at the start of any race because everyone ready at the starting line has invested so much time, energy, and planning into training, but seeing this group of women with their loved ones and absolute strangers cheering them on created an extra tug on my heart.
Team Phoenix was started by a Milwaukee area physician to provide female cancer survivors the opportunity to train for a sprint triathlon while being supported by a physician, a physical therapist, and triathlon coaches. A phoenix rises up from the ashes, and the name seems so fitting for cancer survivors who say farewell to their pre-cancer life and to create a new normal.
I reached out to the coordinators to see what the requirements were and when training would begin. The coordinator quickly responded to my inquiry letting me know that participants need to be able to walk and bike 100 yards and be willing to learn to swim. A physician’s approval would be needed in order to participate in the training that would begin in late April for the July tri.
Since I’ve been hoping for surgery in early April, Team Phoenix 2019 will not be part of my training plans. My community has a tri in early August, but it is an Olympic distance. Since my goal is to always finish without injury and the distances are longer than I have trained for (particularly the bike leg), perhaps a 2019 tri is out. Here’s to a 2020 tri. Bummer.
