I will go ahead and warn you, my thyroid is still out of whack, so emotions are a little crazy these days. My training for my next Ironman started in January, which is always a little tough to get back into the swing of things. I feel like the past month I’ve finally gotten a little more accustomed to doing all my workouts by myself and just getting them done whenever I have a free second. I’m not too dependable during the week to work out with others b/c my job comes first and there’s just no telling what may arise. I’d been in contact w/Team Fowler about meeting for breakfast or lunch on Saturday b/c it’d been a while. Team Fowler consists of who I’d call my core group of forever friends/triathletes/done all but one Ironman with. Lunch and breakfast didn’t work, but meeting for a ride did. The stars aligned, I had someone to watch AJ, and Susan was going to make her cycling debut.
Susan, Forrest, Regina, and Jeff are the group of people I’ve done every IM but one. We’ve seen injuries (robot arm the best one), pregnancy bedrest, and now Cancer. The team has expanded along the way, and includes Scottie, Lisa, and Lauren (Sarah TOO!) just so you have a full picture. This paticular day included Lauren, Susan, Jeff, Regina, and Forrest. Susan has been diagnosed w/3 different Cancer’s w/in a span of about 4 months. You can catch up on her at http://gottatri-atriathletesjourney.blogspot.com/2014/03/making-difference-one-tail-wag-at-time.html?spref=fb . Long story short, some malenoma, a kidney removal, a long 6-8 weeks of chemo/radioation for colorectal cancer, and a week after finishing all that she’s on her bike. I have attempted to avoid as much emotion with this situation as possible, but it’s been difficult. We all met up at the Firestation on Dividing Water and as if it was meant to be, someone pulls up so we can all get a picture:
Her goal was to do 10 miles, which turned into well over 20 miles including climbing halfway up the Watershed. I remember during the ride, River Rd to be exact, the tears streaming down my face. This was a happy ride, full of gossip on the latest Housewives, Southern Charm, Walking Dead, and some new Redneck Hollywood show. There were moments where life felt normal, and then there were crashes of the raw reality of what’s going on. I’m not sure how everyone else felt during this ride, but it was pure pleasure for me along with a proudness. Proud to be Susan’s friend, proud to see her fight her fears, proud to see her show Cancer who’s boss, and proud to see she hasn’t changed. Our group over the years when it gets down to the core hasn’t changed either. Forrest is never going to wear enough clothing, Regina is always going to sandbag until the end, Lauren will bring the latest Instagram gossip, Susan will forget to nutrition, and Jeff is ALWAYS going to have Judge Judy stories and bad jokes to tell. As for me, I look forward to continuing to take in every moment we as a group get to spend together. This truly was one of the best rides of my life.
