At the time of writing, I can say that I completed the Bay St. Louis Triathlon for the third time. Previously known as Bring it to the Bay, this was my very first triathlon way back in 2016. I started casually running in law school and amped up the regularity when I started working as an attorney. There is nothing like shaking off the stress of the day by lacing up your sneakers and hitting the road. When I was pregnant with my oldest in 2015, I suddenly decided that I wanted to do a triathlon. My husband thought I was crazy, but ten months after my daughter was born, I completed Bring it to the Bay in Bay St. Louis, MS. And triathlon has been a constant in my life ever since.
When I came back to repeat the race in 2017 with a shiny new TT bike, I hit a sand patch and crashed my way into a bloody mess. Still finished the race. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t stop crying. But I finished the race.
2020 was no joke.
COVID was hard y’all. There were no races. There were only so many virtual runs I could do without feeling isolated and alone. (Side note – highly recommend Purple Patch Squad. This was my community that kept me going through the lockdown and beyond. I have every intention of going back.) When the 2021 race season opened up and I was able to get vaccinated, I registered for SO MANY races. It was go time.
Wait…I have to take 6 months off?
So when I was diagnosed with celiac disease in May and told that I needed to take at least 6 months off from training, weight lifting, running, and anything else that put a strain on my body, the idea of missing the rest of the 2021 season was a total downer. But thankfully, I was already registered for the Bay St. Louis Triathlon. If I was only going to have one more race (at least for now), finishing my triathlon journey where I started (with an additional bonus redemption story of coming back after a crash) felt right. (With a PR to boot! Yeah – thank you Purple Patch!)
So goodbye running. Goodbye weight lifting. Goodbye training. Goodbye triathlon. For now. I will see you next year. More on my restorative journey to come. #ProjectIronman
Note – this article does not contain any affiliate links, and I am not receiving anything for recommending Purple Patch. If you want some focused inspiration to maximize your human potential through the lens of your athletic potential, you may love the Purple Patch team as much as I do. So I pass on the recommendation.
