This is our office water bottle refill station. In the 9 months we have been in this office, we have eliminated waste from 3468 disposable plastic water bottles. The number increases by 1 every time you refill a bottle.
My goal for 2020? I want to be the person filling their water bottle when that number ticks to 4000.
If you had asked me 3 months ago what my biggest goal would be for this year, I’m not sure what it would have been exactly, but it would have involved triathlon. There are a few possibilities:
-a dream podium finish at Ironman Chattanooga in August (not cancelled yet, but I’m not optimistic).
-an improved bike time at the Williamsburg Rev 3 Half Ironman in June (moved to August and no longer a half).
-a PR at my traditional season opener, the Kinetic Half Ironman at Lake Anna (CANCELLED).
That last one is particularly painful, as it has been a long time coming and would have taken place this coming weekend.
I have a history with the Kinetic Triathlon Festival, which takes place on Mother’s Day weekend every year at Lake Anna State Park in Spotsylvania County Virginia.
The lake is warmed by a nuclear power plant, the run is 3 horrible loops of the same route (which includes a hill that, I swear TO GOD, gets bigger each time you run it), and it was the scene of my very first open water swim (and accompanying panic attack).
Ah, memories.
Sprint 2012
My very first triathlon. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I was wearing the wrong types of clothes, had all the wrong equipment, felt completely lost pretty much the whole time, had a panic attack (because I had never swum in open water before, and it’s terrifying), but I had so much fun. After years of taking marathons too seriously, it was so amazing to discover a new way to compete.
Relay 2014
Last minute, I decided to join a Team Z relay team as the runner. I was on a team with two guys who were an extremely fast swimmer and biker, so I started running very early in the race. As a result, I got to run alongside the very fast guys and girls who were doing the full all by themselves. It was fun to pass really fast people, whom I normally wouldn’t be anywhere near in a race, and see the look of horror on their faces until I yelled “Don’t worry – I’m on a relay – I'm not competing against you - I didn’t swim or bike!”
Half 2015
Solid race.
Half 2016
Solid race.
Aquabike 2017
Due to injury, I had to switch from the half to the aquabike (just a swim and bike….no run), which is not my favorite and I didn’t do particularly well. Adding to my overall mood, I hit a huge pothole on my drive home and wound with the flattest of flat tires (soooo flat). I pulled over in the parking lot of a cute little church with a cemetery. It took a solid 3 hours for a tow truck to get there. I was tired and hot and smelly (lake water + sweat) and generally unhappy, but, it being Mother’s Day weekend, lots of people were in and out visiting the cemetery, which was actually a really moving thing to see.
Half 2018
For no discernable reason, I wrecked on the bike (nothing in the road, no other cyclists nearby, not a car in sight, no suicidal squirrels crossing the road). I banged up my elbow, banged up my knee, lots of road rash, and, while I didn’t know it at the time, I cracked the carbon frame on my bike (translation: I totaled my bike). I finished the race, but it wasn’t pretty.
It did result in bloody race pics that I’m extreme proud of. Plus, people were horrified and cheered extra hard for me when they saw the injuries, which is always nice.
Half 2019
Mid-way through the bike I got a flat (on the back wheel, of course, it’s never the easy one). I know how to change a bike tire, but I’m not good at doing it quickly and I’m not particularly careful while doing it. Got it fixed, started riding, and….another flat. Ok, so maybe I just didn’t fill it enough. Got it filled, started riding, and….another flat. Ok, I have another tube, but no more air. Another participate saw me struggling on the side of the road and threw me his repair kit (AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING). Got it fixed, started riding, 2 miles from the end of the race, and…..not exactly flat but air is VERY low. At this point, I have nothing left to fix it, so my option is (no option – I have no option). I ride slowly and cautiously the last 2 miles, knowing that at some point I may just have to get off, take off my bike shoes and run to transition with my bike, which sounds truly awful but isn’t DNFing.
Made it to transition (without having to run), ditched the (stupid head) bike, and ran.
(A stop at the bike shop afterwards confirmed that there was a piece of glass in the bike tire, which punctured new tubes every time I replaced them. If I had just swept the inside of the tube lightly with my finger * as I have been told to do every time I have gotten “replacing bike tire” lessons * I would have found and removed the glass and been fine after the first flat.)
So, a probable goal for 2020 would have been an incident-free PR performance at the Kinetic Half Iron Man, a race that, despite past incidents, I truly love and has traditionally meant the beginning of triathlon season.
I’m glad it’s cancelled. It was 100% the responsible thing to do. Other people have had to give up far greater and more important things due to the coronavirus. That doesn’t mean I’m not sad and feeling a little bit goal-less.
Well not completely goal-less:
I’m not sure when the office will be fully operational again or when my goal will be reached, but without any triathlons this season I will have plenty of time to make it happen.
it may mean no vacation days, it may mean drinking a lot of water (and peeing more), it may mean standing in the hallway menacingly for 48 hours, but I WILL succeed!
2020: 4000th disposable water bottle saved
(and 2021: Incident-free Kinetic Half)
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