Tri 2 Inspire - The Making of Bionic Bri

I know, I know, I know....my race report is waaaaaaaaaay overdue.  But in all honesty I have been processing the experience.  It still seems surreal to me.  So I am sorry this post is so late, but thanks for reading and being on this ride with me. He gives strength to the weary and power to the weak. Isaiah 40:29 Sunday morning I woke up at 4:30 am, but didn't get up until 5.  I had butterflies in my stomach, but I was not nervous.  I was just ready to test myself and my training.  My hubby and I were out the door by 5:30 and headed to McDonald's.  My pre-race breakfast of choice was a banana and a Sausage Egg McMuffin with Cheese.  With my belly full I was ready to go to the transition area and finish setting up.  The transition area looked very different from the day before.  On Saturday I had to bring my bike to transition.  This was the first time I had to do this, but I liked it because it gave me time to get familiar with the transition area.  Well that was the ca

Words kill, words give life: they’re either poison or fruit – you choose. Proverbs 18:21 (The Message) Throughout this journey I have battled the negative chatter that periodically pops into my head and occasionally comes out of my mouth.   During one of my workouts it dawned on me that my negative thoughts, especially when they were verbalized, were hindering my training.   I hate to admit this, but at times I would not push myself as hard as I could because I believed I was inadequate and I didn’t want to feel uncomfortable.   I figured since I was slow, why push myself out of my comfort zone?   It’s not as if I would place overall or even in my age group at Augusta – it’s just about finishing before the cutoff. I was cheating myself.   I was not allowing myself to reach my full training potential or learn how to adequately deal with my mind feeling uncomfortable with my body being pushed to its limits.      But to ensure that the “best me” would show up at Augusta, I knew

It is freedom that Christ has set us free.   Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.   Galatians 5:1 For the longest time I was a slave to my hair.   Before I became actively involved in endurance sports, I would avoid almost any type of activity that would cause me to sweat heavily.   I did not want to “sweat out” my relaxer.   Like so many women, I invested a lot of money and time in keeping my hair beautiful.   I went to the hair salon every two weeks and only used salon quality products.   At its longest my hair was halfway down my back.   I loved my long hair and the attention that it brought me.   Many times I was asked if my hair was a weave, and if so, where did I purchase it.   My hair was part of my identity. As stated in an earlier blog I began running so I could control my blood pressure without using medication.   I fell in love with running, but I did not love what it would do to my hair.   My relaxers that would normall

Here are some random thoughts that have crossed my mind as I continue my journey to Ironman 70.3 Augusta. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to develop a triathlete.   There is so much to learn about triathlons, and I am very fortunate that I have such a great village of people who are so willing to help and encourage me along the way.   It is important to enjoy this journey since no two journeys are the same.   I am having such great experiences and I am learning a lot about myself as a person and as an athlete.   Augusta will be here in due time.   When it comes to training, I have to be flexible.   Life happens and at times it will conflict with my training schedule.   I have learned to prioritize and modify my workouts when needed. Recovery is a key part of training that so many athletes choose not to do.   I diligently try to be in the bed between 8:30 pm and 9:00 pm so I can get at least 8 hours of sleep.   I wear recovery sleeves/socks after

I was recently reminded by my friend and TRIgirl teammate, Ashby, that I had not written a blog post in a while.   I knew I was past due on posting, but I had been unsure on how to properly articulate the rollercoaster of emotions that I have dealt with after my DNF at Monticelloman.   So let me apologize now if this post is not too cohesive.   And Ashby, I promise to be more consistent with my blog posts! The first couple of days after Monticelloman were really tough for me.   Self-doubt engulfed me.   Even though I was being flooded with positive messages through Facebook and email, I was still allowing myself to be in a funk.   All I wanted to do was have my pity party.   I resorted back to eating junk food as a coping mechanism.   I remember being full and still stuffing my face.   I didn’t want to think about what I saw as a huge failure.   My self-doubt made me question if I should continue doing triathlons.   I even found myself mad at the race director for making the time

The day I have anxiously been waiting for has finally arrived, the Monticello Olympic tri.   It’s time to put myself and my training to the test.   My morning is going fairly well as I make last minute race preparations.   Even though I am hungry, it is hard for me to eat.   My pre-race meal includes baked chicken, a baked sweet potato, and collard greens.   I know that may seem heavy and/or weird, but I know that combination will give me the energy that I need.   Once I finish my breakfast and gather my things, it’s time for the hubby and me to head to the race site. During the drive I keep walking through my swim strategy that my swim coach gave me the day before on the phone.   We had discussed it before, but she knew how nervous I was and it would be a good idea to remind me.   The closer we get to the race site, the more apprehensive I feel.   I know I can do this swim, but I also know it is going to be close…..real close to the 50 minute cut-off time.   I don’t even think ab

“The only failure is not to try, because putting forth the effort is success in itself.”   The Iron Nun, Sister Madonna Buder My big race, the Monticelloman Olympic Triathlon (1500 meter swim, 24 mile bike, 10k (6.2 mile run)) is less than a week away.   I am a bundle of nerves and energy.   This is supposed to be my taper week, but I know it’s going to be hard to keep still.   My plan is to work on cleaning out my closet, switching out my clothes, and begin reading the ’50 Shades of Gray’ series to keep myself preoccupied.   We’ll see how that goes. I want to say I am 100% confident about this race, but I’m not.   I am still a little concerned about the swim.   I just relearned how to swim freestyle in 10 weeks.   Things are just starting to click for me in the water.   I wish I had more time, but I don’t, my crazy train is almost at its destination.   I told my swim coach that I would do my best not to embarrass her at the race.   She told me that there was no way she could

Over the past few weeks I have had to evaluate where I am as an athlete, my race schedule, and my goals for this year.   The catalyst for this evaluation began on February 25 th when I ran my first 8 mile run in over two years for my ½ marathon training.   The run was hard.   My body ached because it was not used to that type of mileage.   Mentally I was drained, but I forced myself to get through the run.   I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. I did it, but boy did I pay for it the next day! Sunday morning I woke up with what I like to call “crunchy knees."   Every few steps my knees would ache, the type of ache that makes you wonder if you have just shortened your race season or not.   I decided I would take it easy for the next few days and see if that would ease my crunchy knees.   Unfortunately the crunchy knees did not go away, but lucky for me I had an appointment coming up that Monday with my first-line-of-treatment doctor, Dr. Green.   Dr. Green is my chi

It’s official, I am riding on the crazy train!   Ozzy Osbourne is the conductor and I am holding on for dear life to the caboose.   The Monticelloman Olympic Triathlon is a little over two months away and I am starting from SCRATCH with my swimming.   Yes, you read that correctly, I am starting from scratch.   The first time I met with my swim coach she asked me to swim down the lane.   After she saw my interpretation of swimming, she decided that I should start with the basics.   After doing a few laps of drills, I decided I needed to tell her that I had signed up for the Monticelloman Olympic.   So I took a break and told her.   She looked at me, started laughing, and said, “We have a lot of work to do.”   Surprisingly I felt relieved.   I just knew she was going to tell me I wouldn’t be able to do the race.   So here I am behind the 8 ball. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned about not finishing the swim portion of the Monticelloman.   There is a 50 minute time li

Ever since I started monitoring my weight I have had a love/hate relationship with the scale.  When she showed me a number that I wanted to see, she was my best friend.  I would be on a euphoric high for the rest of the day.  I could conquer anything because of that number on the scale.  But when she showed me a number that I didn’t like, even though it was the truth, I would curse her and threaten to throw her out with the trash.  My mood would become dark and I would feel defeated.  I would ask myself what went wrong, even though I knew the answer.  Once again my emotional eating had gotten the best of me. Emotional eating….that thing that would have me eating when I was happy, sad, bored, and indifferent.   On a bad day I could go through a box of Captain Crunch Oops All Berries or Lucky Charms in less than a day.   Even worse I would exercise like a mad person only to eat all of my hard work away.   The scale was showing me my ugly truth, but I knew before I could come to term

Lately there has been a lot of negative chatter in my head.   At first I really didn’t pay it any attention; I just pushed the chatter into the back of my head.   But the chatter became louder and louder and harder and harder to push back.   Then the unthinkable happened…I begin to listen to it and unfortunately I started to believe it. Throughout my life I have gone through cycles of low self-esteem.   The cycle would usually be triggered by an event such as being rejected by a boy when I was a teenager or not getting a job I applied for as an adult.   The cycle could last a couple of weeks or go on for a few months.   During these cycles I question everything from my looks, intelligence, and abilities.   And regardless if people tell me otherwise, I only see the worst in myself.   I am going through one of those cycles now. The negative chatter started when I begin my pre-season triathlon training in November.   I had taken too much time off from my sprint triathlon and had