This time two years ago I completed my first half ironman.
This time one year ago I did my first hill climb on the bike, up Copperlode Dam in Cairns.
This time one week ago I was riding into Paris after cycling the route of the 2014 Tour de France.
There were three phases of challenge to the tour. The training, the actual tour, and now the aftermath.
In many ways the actual tour was the least challenging bit. It was hard. I cried, I took more pain medication in a few weeks than I have in the past few years, and nearly every day was impossible. But I was surrounded by people who asked why I was doing the tour not because they thought I was mad, but because they were comparing notes. And there is some simple joy in setting out in the morning to achieve something on the peripheral of your physical and mental abilities, and sitting down to dinner (even if that's at 10pm) having achieved it.
The training was really tough, and perhaps unsurprisingly the aftermath poses it's own challenges too.
Preparing for the tour has been the biggest thing in my life for most of this year. It's a relief to have some more space, but it's also hard to have that clarity of purpose removed. Now I am left to tackle a project I've been neglecting for several months: get a life in rural England. Something a bit harder to write a training program for (although goodness knows I'll probably try).
We all have pivotal moments in our lives, even if we can only see them in hindsight. I know that the tour was definitely one such pivotal moment. I'm not sure what it will pivot to, but I look forward to finding out.
Just for the record, my three weeks in France were not a cheese and wine tasting trip. A pain au chocolat tasting trip maybe. But they were so much fun. I cried a few times, but I smiled a hundred times a day. I felt joy and exhilaration and proud every day. I extended my comfort zone so far that I'm not sure where it ends right now.
Thanks for coming along for the ride. x Dugong
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