My life versus Kate's

Last week, I was on the phone with my best friend from college, Kate, and our conversation started as it typically does:
Kate: It's you! I've missed you!
Sarah: I know! I haven't talked to you in way too long. I've just been... [insert lame excuse for my pitiful communication skills]. I've missed you too. How's life? What's going on?
Kate: I figured as much [in reference to my lack of phone calls/ emails/ smoke signals- she is a very understanding friend]. My life is the same, nothing new at work or otherwise. I want to hear about what is going on with you, however!
Sarah: Same old, same old. You know- swimming, biking, running... Nothing exciting. I want to hear more about what you are up to, though!

At some point, we delve deeper into the examination of our lives, catching up on our personal and professional lives. Every time that we talk, however, I am surprised how foreign Kate's life seems to me, just as different as my life as an athlete must seem to her. It was only a few years ago that we were inseparable in school, spending countless hours together. As an indication of our closeness, we probably ate two out of three meals together!

Soon after graduation, Kate moved to Manhattan to pursue a career in publishing and I moved to Boulder to try to be a professional triathlete. Four years later, Kate is engaged to her college boyfriend and still in Manhattan (different apartment, however) and working her way up the editorial ladder at a prestigious publishing house. By contrast, I have never signed a yearly lease (my furniture spends 4x more time in storage than being used), have no idea in what state I will be living in six months and struggle with long-distance relationships. I spend hours a day flogging my body and Kate spends hours at a desk. Our lives couldn't be more different.

While we are both pursuing our dreams and are completely happy with our lives, I find it incredible how divergent our paths have proven to be in four short years. Equally astounding is how easily we take our own lives for granted. Kate has no idea how fascinating her life is to me. She is planning a wedding! She takes coffee and lunch breaks! She wears grown-up clothes to work! She has a home! While most of you take these things for granted, the idea of a stable work and home environment seems exciting and exotic to me. Likewise, my lifestyle and globetrotting ways seem to intrigue others. What we find boring and mundane in our own lives will invariably interest someone somewhere, I suppose. If we are lucky enough, we have great friends, like my Kate, to help us to hold up the mirror to our own lives.

Missing my kids...

I got an email a couple of days ago from Jen, the volunteer coordinator at the Boys & Girls Club in Santa Monica. Along with a note (my kids miss me and ask about me !), she attached a few photos from one of my last days at the club. Ms. P, the Teen Center head, planned and held a good-bye party for me, complete with healthy snacks. Thankfully, someone had a camera to document the fiesta. Looking at the pictures, however, makes me a bit nostalgic. I am lucky enough to be returning to Santa Monica next month for some sea level training before World Championships and the last Olympic Qualifier. I can't wait to stop by the club to say "hi"!

Racing in South Africa: A Tribute to Jackie D.

Over the course of his long career, the cyclist Jackie Durand tried countless solo breakaways in professional bike races. While almost all of these attempts were unsuccessful, DuDu getting swallowed up by the peloton after long, seemingly hopeless efforts, you had to give the rider credit for his gutsy riding. This past weekend, I tried to channel DuDu's spirit in the Richard's Bay World Cup in South Africa. What would Jackie D. do (or W.W.J.D.D.- my new bracelet) in a triathlon? He would take the swim out hard, go solo on a windy course, get swallowed up by the pack and end up with an unspectacular finish, just like I did. The best part was that I never had more fun in a race, minus the major leg cramp after the first lap of the run. While 14th place wasn't as high as I would have finished had I been more conservative in the swim and bike, I was happy with my race. While the risk I took didn't pay off this time around, the results will be sweet when it does.

I had a great time in South Africa, despite the days sacrificed in travel to and from South Africa. The people in Richard's Bay were warm, outgoing and extremely supportive of the race. I also was able to see countless vervet monkeys on the race course, as well as zebras, giraffes, warthogs, springbok and hyenas during a short, impromptu drive through the game park (Thanks, Andy!). I can't wait to return to see more critters and to see more of the landscape. Maybe I'll even be successful in a solo breakaway next time around!