The coaches laid out the ground rules and then promptly struck first with two large buckets of water. Chaos erupted while all the kids shouldered their squirt guns and let the water fly. The contrast was amazing. Kind of like when you tell a well trained dog to sit, then walk away and wait. The dog quivers in anticipation. All focus is on you. Then when you say come they launch like the space shuttle. They don't stop until they run straight into you. This is what it was like. Team vs. team, coaches vs. kids, girls vs. boys, it became impossible to keep track of the sides. Some of the squirt guns were nearly as big as the kids who were wielding them. They all had a blast. My daughter returned from the fray soaking from head to toe.
When she looks back on this she won't remember how many frustrating swings it took to finally hit the ball. She won't remember how many times the ball dribbled past her when she tried to catch it. She won't remember putting up with the dorky little boys who teased her (though not too much since she was better than most of them). She won't remember standing in 90 degree heat waiting for something to happen. What she will remember is knocking the ball out of the infield nearly every time she was up to bat. She'll remember the time she smacked a line drive that knocked the coach on his butt. She'll remember the feeling of accomplishment as she showed us her first trophy. She'll remember the reckless abandon of the water fight. She'll remember how much fun she had with this whole experience. It's those memories that will keep her going.
When I look back on the Triathlons I've done I remember some of the pain and suffering, but it doesn't have as much of an affect on me as the really good moments. My first real good swim. Crossing the finishing line at my first Triathlon. Seeing my family and getting a hug from my daughter mid-way through the run during Ironman Wisconsin. The time, effort, and pain spent preparing for these events far exceeds the time actually spent doing them. The really good memories are a smaller fraction of time still. Yet it's those few precious nuggets that stand out and make it all worth it. It's those memories and the anticipation of many many more that keep me going.
Workout Summary
Man this is a hard week! After the brick workout on Tuesday morning I decided to do throw in another brick in the evening by doing the Tuesday night club ride and a run off the bike afterwards. My absolute saint of a wife also agreed to let me ride again tonight - so it will be a repeat of Tuesday. After pushing hard tonight I'll scale back and begin tapering for Steelhead next week.
Legs today were a bit sluggish and tight (duh!) but everything is still feeling pretty solid. Actually the last couple of weeks have been the best I've felt all summer - peaking rocks!
Will probably "try" to go easy during the club ride tonight and follow up with an easy run. "Try" in quotes because it turns out that in a previous life I was a greyhound and there's a lot of rabbits in this group. The urge to chase is far too overwhelming for me. Oh well - I have good self control in most other aspects of my life so a little indulgence is in order.
BTW - for those keeping score it's official - I'm on the list for IM USA 2007.
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