OK. Let’s get through the boring triathlon stuff quickly. Every single run this week involved hill repeats. There’s a challenging hill about a mile from my house that I ran up more than a dozen times this week, collectively. My legs are tired. This sport is stupid. Not to mention, after last week brought snow, this week brought record warmth.
But hopefully it all will help me be ready for the hilly run in Puerto Rico in two weeks!
Now for the real headline of the week: I shaved my chest. 😆
All I could think about all week was that Seinfeld episode when Jerry shaves his chest.
I have a better reason than Jerry.
A couple of weeks ago, I had my yearly physical. There was something in my bloodwork that my doctor was a bit concerned over, so he sent me to Vanderbilt on Friday for a CT scan of my heart. Thankfully, Fridays are our recovery days!
The good news is that the scan came back a perfect 0. My heart is healthy and ready for race season! Or as the cardiologist wrote on my labs, “Colin’s heart is unremarkable.” I’ve never been happier to be called unremarkable.
I’ve never had a CT scan before. They told me they’d be placing electrodes all over my chest. As a result, I had to shave my chest beforehand.
Two years ago, this stupid sport caused me to start shaving my legs before races. The first time I did it in Chattanooga, I was so nervous. To help calm those nerves, Tif and Cait broadcast the whole shaving experience live on their Instagram channel. 🫠
Since then, I’ve shaved my legs before every race. I even bought a body groomer to help speed things along. I can’t believe I’m admitting all this on the internet. Judge all you want, haters.
But seriously, I needed the comedic relief this week. It’s never a good day when your doctor says “hey, I want you to go to Vanderbilt and get a CT scan of your heart.” Being an occasional leg shaver meant I was prepared when told I needed to arrive at the hospital hair-free. I proudly walked into Vanderbilt with my razor that normally only comes out on race weekend.
I’m relieved everything came back normal. I’m still processing all of this now that my nerves have subsided a bit. It’s an unpleasant reminder that life is fragile. Even on those days when the last thing I feel like doing is swimming, biking, or running, I should be thankful that I can. Because one way or another, there’s going to come a day when I can’t.
