oxalis, victory, triathlon & taxes
last week, i came to work and found a shamrock (oxalis acetosella) sitting on my desk. the plant was a congratulatory gift from faye for winning the 4K. isn't that sweet? and news sure does spread quickly! many people in my office already knew about it and congratulated me.
i still can't believe it myself. i think this victory was especially sweet for me because some recent stuff has filled me w/ raw, pent-up, unprocessed emotion and insecurity. running this race provided the perfect means for me to channel some of that aggression & frustration. what can i say? i can be an intense woman. despite how that sounds, the race was a happy event, and i enjoyed it and ran my heart out and cried tears of joy at the finish line.
one of the best feelings was when i started making my way up the last hill before the finish line, knowing by that time that i was leading the pack. until that last stretch, i'd been too afraid to turn around and look, for fear of losing seconds and letting someone catch up. but as i made my way up the hill, whispering under my breath, "i can do it, yes i can", i finally dared to turn around. in the distance, i saw a man in a red shirt and a woman in a fluorescent yellow shirt. but i realized that they were so far behind me that the only way they could catch me was if i stopped to tie my shoe or something.
unfortunately, this past week i've paid the price for pushing myself physically. was it smart? maybe not, but living w/this illness teaches you to pace yourself, and take calculated risks. was it worth it? absolutely! and this summer, i'll be taking another risk: a triathlon. don't worry, it's not ironman. (i'm not *that* crazy)! but more on that later. it's in 118 days...
no work tomorrow! woo! unfortunately i suspect part of my day will be devoted to preparing my taxes. joy. now, back to sleep.
