Do something epic

What an amazing day! Today, I took a day off from work & started the weekend early. Instead of sleeping in, I woke up at 4am and packed up my bag & bike to head to Cambridge, MD to ride with  James, the Iron Cowboy. But first, I needed to stop by & get my "get me over the Bay Bridge" driver, Dave. James is doing 50 full distance triathlons (140.6 miles) in 50 states in 50 days. What's even better - his family is travelling with him & he is raising money to help fight the obesity epidemic in the US with the help of the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation. The event today in Cambridge is day 27. I can't even fathom doing one (yet!), let alone 50. 

When we arrived in Cambridge, it was overcast. We were planning on swimming in the bay, then bike 60 of the 112 miles with James and finish up with a 6 mile run. Mother Nature had other plans. Shortly after James arrived, the clouds opened up

 & we retreated to our cars. Thanks to Facebook, we were informed that the swim was being moved indoors to the local YMCA. The staff there was fantastic & we got ready to swim with James. Unfortunately, there were some delays due to the weather for the rest of us to start swimming, so Dave suggested we get our run in while James swam. Off to the treadmills we went & I was able to get in four plus miles before it was time for the bike. Thankfully, the rain had stopped and after a few words from James & pictures, we were off. There was a great group of people out there to support James & the weather cooperated. The IronMan Maryland bike course is a pleasant change from the hills of Loudoun County where I spend most of my time. There are no hills & it's fast - especially when you are in a group. I did a few surges to see what I could do in prep for Colonial Beach & Augusta. It was the fastest 63 miles I've done & I loved every minute of it (well maybe not the part with the 20 mph headwinds...). Valuable training today. Nutrition was on point, but I needed more water for the last 5 miles or so. After we finished, we loaded the bikes up & headed back home. Thankfully most of the traffic was headed to the beach, so we made it home without delay. 

Three years ago, I made a decision to change my life. I wasn't happy with who I was. Since then, I've lost 46 pounds, stopped smoking, quit drinking coffee & soda. I train 6 days a week. I have chosen to make myself a priority. As we were riding today, I commented that taking the day off was a great decision. A fellow rider added that it was even better because I was adding a day to my life by exercising & he was right. We only have one body & we need to take care of it. Otherwise, your life can be cut short. Don't waste it - life is precious. Do something today! Check out the remaining states that James will be visiting on the calendar. Join him for a swim, bike or run. You don't need to go the entire distance, do what you can to support him on this awesome summer roadtrip he & his family are on. Do something epic. You won't regret it!