A part of this journey is physical: the training, getting to the start line, eating right, resting right, etc., etc. But then there’s the mental part, and that, to me, is just as important. We’re all warriors in one way or another, fighting our own battles, winning some, losing others but hoping that the win-loss ratio comes out positive in the end. I’m a warrior of words, and for years I have struggled with bearing my soul to the world, or more precisely, of feeling worthy of doing that sort of work. I need to become stronger because the writing demands that of me. So, here I am.
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Life is full of beauty and of miracles. After avoiding another injury, I’m grateful for them all.
Week 9: Oh, Snap!
This and experiences like it make me feel as though I can, at times, glimpse what having a form of Arthritis must be like. I know, of course, I’m wrong. That this is an approximation, a clunky metaphor at best. Yet, to live a life in which what you want to do— what you can imagine yourself doing— and what you can actually do diverges and goes separate ways, that is the territory of athletic injury, too. In these moments when I am more fragile than a small child, I’m reminded not to take anything for granted.
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Photo by sergeyryzhov/iStock / Getty Images
Week 5: The Holiday Season
Instead of giving you the ordinary laundry-list of training details, recovery tips, workout ideas and other essentials for a 525-endurance ride, I thought I’d take a break all from that and share some holiday stories with you. Because, well, it’s the holidays.
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Left: Jerry Davis with his grandson, Carter, the inspiration for “Team Carter” of which I am part. Right: taken on the 2018 CCC when members of Team Carter hugged me because I was shivering and for the first time I really felt what it’s like to be a part of something larger than just another “win”.
The Day I Met a Hero: Carter's Story
As I start my multi-month training for the 525-mile California Coast Classic cycling event, I wanted to introduce you to the reason behind Team Carter (the team I’m riding for): Carter. He was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) when he was three years old. Since, his grandfather Jerry Davis has ridden the CCC to raise awareness—and funds— to help find a cure for his grandson.
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