This past winter I was asked to take part in a team triathlon in Old Orchard Beach Maine with other members of a racing team I am on. I was to do the 56 mile bike and others were to do the 1.2 mile swim and 13.1 mile run. The team race was right up my alley as I had not been swimming or had the desire to and truly do not enjoy ocean swimming.

The Jaws music always seems to be in my head when I do. I had also been in a funk with racing, I lost my mojo so to speak for competition. It happens and I knew I just needed to take a break. So this race seemed like the perfect no pressure option for me.

Race day was quickly approaching so I literally dusted off my race wheels, got a tune up and headed up to Maine to check in the day before the race. I had not officially met my other teammates until that day. We had corresponded through email of course but we needed to tell each other what we were wearing to pick each other out. We hit it off immediately and I also met up with many other familiar faces from my racing team as well as other athletes I met through triathlon. The impromptu chit chat with all the people I ran into didn’t sit well with my two kids who made the trip with me as there were few eye rolls and ‘how much longer’ comments. With the promise of heading out to dinner after I was done (I really didn’t want to cook anyway), they settled in a bit and I continued to catch up.

Race morning came quickly and I headed back up to Maine at 3:30am. Yes, it felt as early as it was. Feeling good but not being on a formal training program, I was going to see what the day would bring for my leg of the race.

Our swimmer kicked butt in the water and she knocked out the swim in under 32 minutes for the 1.2 mile swim. Awesome! I grab the timing chip from her, put it on and away I go. Knowing that I didn’t have to run after the bike, I wanted to leave it out on the course. Go as fast I as could until I had nothing left. The first 20 miles seemed to take for….e…..ver as I just couldn’t settle into a groove. Once I did, the fun began as I was finding strong cyclists to play cat and mouse, hammer up the hills and staying strong on the flats.

I finished my leg of the race and handed the chip off to the runner and he knocked out the 13.1 miles in 1 hour 50 minutes. We took forth for the team category and I came out of it getting a personal best time for the 56 miles of 2 hours and 42 minutes but best of all, I got my mojo back! I remembered why I like racing. It’s fun! I enjoy pushing myself to see what I am capable of and I have met some of the best people while doing it.

If you are in an exercise funk or feeling like you need a change of pace, grab a buddy, try something new or revisit something you used to enjoy. Exercise is so much more fun when you can share it with someone or make it social time. Make healthy a habit and get your mojo back.