More Brain than Brawn

I'm happy to report that I found my brain.

It showed up at 4:15 Sunday morning when I was awoken by a howling noise.

It wasn't my dog.

It was the wind.

 

 

The first thought that popped into my mind was, "Uh, I don't think I can ride my bike in this wind."

 

That's when it hit me that my brain had returned.

 

My brain got lost on Thursday when I signed up for the Steelman Challenge, a reverse sprint triathlon.

Easy enough.

But the mind-boggling part is WHY I would sign up for the Steelman Challenge when I already had Race on the Base, another reverse sprint triathlon on my schedule for the day before.

 

I had lost my mind, ignored my plan and signed up for Steelman anyway.

 

The deed was done and all I could do was take it day-by-day, race-by-race.

 

Race on the Base - sunny, clear skies, less breeze on the tarmac than in past years. My first triathlon on Hector, my new tri-bike. I made goals and wrote them down. (My goals - Run 30 min. T1 2:30, bike 50 min. - I know that seems long but in past years there have been headwinds that forced me down to 10 mph..and I figured I was on a new bike, and we are just getting use to each other - T2 2:30 Swim 5:30 - total 1:30:30 - all of these goal times are faster than last year's results)

 

I met my goals and finished in 1:26:22.

 

I felt great after the race.

 I ate a huge cheeseburger and drank some beet juice and felt ready to take on another reverse sprint triathlon.

 

My plan was to leave Hector (tri-bike) at home and take Sarah (road bike) because the weatherman was calling for some winds and I didn't want to be aero in the wind. I just don't have enough experience for that yet.

 

I was packed and ready for the Steelman Challenge.

 

Then when the wind woke me up early this morning my brain had re-appeared and sent me this image.

 

 

The next image that flashed in my brain was one involving me and road burn and bruising and doctors.

 

I checked weather.com and there were high wind warnings for the city where the tri takes place.

Weather.com's warning - A HIGH WIND WARNING MEANS A HAZARDOUS HIGH WIND EVENT IS EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS OF AT LEAST 40 MPH OR GUSTS OF 58 MPH OR MORE CAN LEAD TO PROPERTY DAMAGE.

A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT... ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

The warning doesn't say anything about biking, but my brain made the connection and said, "NOOOOO!"

 

So I grabbed the book I am reading and went back to bed.

I'm reading "The Fear Project."

 

Maybe I'll learn why I have fear of huge gusts of wind that may cause me to crash my bike causing hurt to my body.