A funny thing happened on my way to 54 miles today...

...I saw a cyclist ahead of me who looked like a pro! She looked pretty damn muscle-ly (if that's a word) and was pretty fast on the bike. To my utter amazement, I was able to keep up with her for a good 20 minutes or so, before we both stopped at an intersection to wait for a green light. We said "hi" to each other and started off again. We started chatting (as cyclists often do) and she told me that she hadn't been on her bike in awhile--she had been injured for some time. "Well," I said, "you can't tell at all...you're a very strong rider." And she replied, "No, you're a really strong rider." This statement is something that I have longed to hear, but one that I have gotten used to not hearing. What made the statement (spoken by a complete stranger) even more meaningful for me, was finding out that this woman was a professional cyclist and a world champion duathlete in the late 90s! We rode together for about 40 minutes until we turned our separate ways. "It was great riding with you," I told her. "You too," she said. And then I heard her say, "You're gonna finish that race," before peddling out of sight. I rode the last 20 miles thinking about how surreal this experience has been thus far. Every single swim, ride and run I've been on during the past three years has included envisioning myself at Ironman Arizona--and Anna (the cyclist I met yesterday) is right--

I will finish that race.

Two weeks to go...