So I was a very committed triathlete a few years ago, the 20+ hours per week training type whose family are triathletes and it was the center of my life for quite a few years. I got all the great mental and physical benefits that you guys are familiar with, but nonparticipants have difficulty understanding. Then came the injuries, a couple of ugly ones, one after another. I've been support crew for my friends and husband, while they have raced, for the past 18 months. Last weekend was my first race back. Not even a triathlon, so maybe I shouldn't post here, but I think you guys will get it. The hubby was racing a 5K so I signed up for the 1 mile fun run, really that was my long run last week (now I'm going a little further). It was in a lovely retirement community where the residents cheered, made homemade muffins for after the race and served us hot coffee. The kind of little place I would never have visited without this event. I started the mile very slowly with my daughter, who kept making me slow down. Thank God because by the 1/2 mile I thought I was going to die. We were running (read jogging) with families and at the 3/4 mark I got to race with a 10 year old speedster....we passed the 1 mile mark going into the sun and there was no finish line. We were running with the 5K group (more indication of our pedestrian pace) and no one turned off and we saw no sign.....so I stopped, gathered my kid and walked around the community until finding the finish 32 minutes later. Allegedly there was a left turn we missed after the one mile mark. My first time getting lost in a race and I did it on a 1 miler. The hubby finished is 5K much faster and was getting a little alarmed as we sheepishly and giggling made our way to the finish. Not a very auspicious start back, but a good lesson. I've been struggling with not wanting to participate until I was capable of being competitive again....but realistically I (nor anyone else) has any guarantee that they are going to be able to keep training or racing, not next week, month or year. So I guess, if you made it this far, the moral is go have fun, race, enjoy, take what your body and the day gives you....and leave your ego and personal bests in the past.