Remember when a couple of weeks ago I (andrea) said that my only source of pride as an athlete would come from the swimming portion of this? well, rumor has it that I've been deemed an excellent swimmer. The disclaimer to this is that this is a comparative assessment. But still I've never been considered an excellent swimmer (by myself or anyone else)...decent or maybe even good but certainly not excellent. So that feels good, especially when I am at the back of the running pack. maybe I can gain a little time/distance on the swim to make up for my slow and steady pacing.

I'm also thinking that I'm not going to be the fastest cyclist and by not the fastest, I mean one of the slowest. I am trying to stay focused on how amazing it is (especially for me) that I am even doing this. I'm not really someone that thrives on competition. I see that others do but I don't really get it. Competition doesn't drive me. I compare myself to others (see above) but its more to figure out how I'm doing rather than to motivate myself to beat them.

What is motivating me is the cause. I have committed to doing this for a very important reason. I wasn't getting to the gym or to the park for my own health (and that's a great by-product for me) so now I'm getting there for other people's health. Finishing this is the only option and that means training and pushing myself physically through the workouts is the only option.