An Ironman and Hurricane Helene
goals, values, and perseverance
Free Space
I just got back to India after a very busy month in North Carolina. I got to see my whole family (both my brothers and their wives flew in from California to meet Tara) and a few old friends. I biked 100 miles to and from Virginia. This time last week, I was finishing an Ironman.
I was Substacking every other weekend while in NC, but I’ll be back to my normal weekly schedule now that I’m not staying up til 2am trying to squeeze in work between all that fun.
What’s Cooking
I’ve been eating a lot of great food recently, but somehow, all my photos seem to be of Tara and her mashed up bananas instead of the pretty food that’s been on my plate. Here’s what I do have to show you: a pre-race meal. I used to eat carbs, carbs, carbs and almost no fruits or veggies in the days preceding a race. In the running community, it’s a badge of honor to say how long you’ve given up fiber-rich foods before a race. But I’ve realized that I feel heavy, sluggish, and constipated when I don’t have fresh produce for even one day, and when it comes to racing, I can be plagued by gut issues no matter what I eat. Check out this article I wrote about how cultures outside the U.S. approach pre-race meals.
Anyways, here’s what I ate on Saturday night before racing. It has veggies, and I felt fantastic for almost the entire length of the ~108 mile ride and ~26 mile run.
Adventure of the Week
OK, I feel like I should dive more into this Ironman because there’s a lot to be said about my experiences leading up to and completing it. Maybe the point I most want to emphasize is that your goal with any activity in life is just that: YOUR goal. Saturday before the race, I was crying in fear of what could go wrong. I was acutely aware of my longest training run being just shy of seven miles (I didn’t want to injure my pelvic floor or my ankle again). My mom reminded me that it doesn’t take that much training to finish an Ironman, but it does take a lot to truly excel at one. Well, my goal was just to finish. With the pressure off, I performed better than I could have ever imagined.
When I teach yoga classes, I rarely have students face the mirror. When I do ask them to take a peek, it’s so that they can check on their form. Otherwise, students don’t need to perpetually critique themselves or praise themselves, to judge their worth as yogis based on whether or not they have reached the full expression of a posture. Life is a lot like that: we can’t constantly be watching ourselves and comparing ourselves to others, and then expect to grow. Instead, we need to “just do it” more often and see what beautiful and unexpected results arise.
Give it a Read
One of the Substack channels to which I’ve recently subscribed is called “Provisions” by Amanda Held Opelt. She put out a beautiful piece (read it here) on Hurricane Helene’s impact on Western North Carolina. One of my favorite excerpts is below:
“Those who live in the mountains are shaped by the mountains. Pulitzer Prize winning social psychiatrist Robert Coles once conducted a study in which he asked children across the country to draw a picture of their home. While most American kids covered their papers with drawings of their actual houses – the brick and mortar that sheltered them– the children of Appalachia drew the mountains. They drew the rocks, the creeks, the trees, and the hillsides with their houses tucked in.
Last week, it felt like that geography turned against us.”
She goes on to describe how devastating the storm was, but also how resilient Appalachia’s residents always have been and always will be. How the storm has actually brought out the best in mountain folk and made them stronger. Appalachia defines and gives life, and while its natural catastrophes are not always easy to grapple with, they are worth it in the long run for the sense of home the mountains provide.
If it is in your capacity, please donate to support relief efforts at one of the organizations she recommends.
In Others’ Words
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.” - Amelia Earhart
Weekly Challenge
Strive to let go of tension in your face. Is your jaw clenched or open? Are your lips and tongue relaxed? Are your brows furrowed or smooth?
Til next week!
-Sierra