Can I Sail through the Changin' Ocean Tides? Can I Handle the Seasons of My Life?

Thanks to Burne Sippy for the photo.

 It looks like I'm finally getting around to talking about races for 2018 with my final end of the year posts.
Since my hormones were plaguing me last year, I didn't get as much training or racing done as I wanted. Migraines and dizziness don't help for strength or fitness. Go figure. By the end of the year, some of that craziness subsided and I was able to race more cyclocross than I had the last few years.

I was also able to do a couple of Time Trial races as part of the series we put on. As an old person, time trialing, since I don't have to try to keep up with a pack of very fit 20/30 years old women, appeals to me. This is a very hilly course, which meant I wasn't as strong as I could've been, but it's a good course for me to work on and hopefully get better.

In June I tried to do the Pigman Triathlon. I have raced it many times with mixed results, and this year was the worst result. I didn't finish it. I had a bad cold, but I thought I could at least do it very slowly. Boy, was I wrong. It was a really windy day and that made the water really choppy in the swim section. I suck at the swim and just barely get through it, so I can do the rest of the race. This year, I couldn't breathe very well and every time I lifted my head out of the water, I got slammed by a big wall of water and then I started to panic. I decided that it wasn't my day and I climbed in the boat. The rescue people were really nice and friendly and concerned and great at their jobs.

I was sad to pull the plug, but it wasn't worth dying for and I've already signed up for this year's race. We'll see what happens...

I only ended up doing one running race last year, which is really weird for me. Luckily, it was for a really great cause. I ran along with Stinky and helped annoy her into getting a PR. Mom powers!

So, like I said, I was able to do more cyclocross races than I have in a few years. Yea! I did eleven cyclocross races altogether. I wasn't the most competitive I've ever been, but I'm also getting older and heavier. So, I'll just keep trying to do better than I did the last race, and try not to compare myself to other people too much.

I ended my race season with a bang. I was able to do two races at Nationals in Louisville. I went back to having hormone problems again in November, so I wasn't able to train as much as I wished I could have. I was just glad I felt well enough to race at all. I had a blast in Louisville and loved their course. One of my races was fairly muddy and slippery, and the other one was not completely dry, it was still tacky mud and easier to ride.

As with everything, my 2018 was good and bad at different points. I was happy to be able to race more cyclocross, and sad that I couldn't race more earlier in the year. I've already signed up for three races for 2019 so far: a 10K run in Des Moines in March, a 4 mile trail run in Iowa City in April, and the Pigman Sprint Triathlon in June. Let's hope my body lets me do them.