It's not a misprint. Din-frent is the way my best friend pronounces "different". And this year, things are din-frent. I just found out that she's not racing Florida in November. An injury has sidelined her and she is wisely pulling out of the race.

I am disappointed. Dirty Spice is one of the reasons I tried the iron distance. I watched her do B2B in 2011 and thought - hey, maybe I can do that. Oddly, we've never raced that distance together. I've raced with Falcon Spice twice and was looking forward to racing with Dirty Spice in Panama City Beach. The trip there the past two years to witness a chance a qualifying for her has been exciting, fun and a bit of a reward after my long training season.

Of course, I know things change from year to year. My race in 2014 was different from 2013 and this year's will be more so - a bigger race so far from home. My training has been different all three years. The obstacles are din-frent each year. So are the lessons, the rewards and the results.

I'm using my race day strategies to cope - which one of the reasons why I race: to learn what skills work to make life the best it can be. So, I'm reframing. Here are the positives that I've come up with:

I'm racing a HUGE race. Ironman Florida is a popular, fun, flat race with amazing people. Lots and lots of amazing people. Last year I raced with almost 900 athletes. This year, there will be 3,000 of us.
Alone but not alone. I'm not training alone. Dirty Spice is still getting up at the crack of dawn every Saturday to ride long with me. I meet up with the other spice girls for runs or rides or swims. I the only one doing the race, but I'm not training alone.
ROAD TRIP!! I get to go on a road trip to the Gulf of Mexico in November. I am going to Stand Up Paddle and play shuffle board and soak in the hot tub. And this time, I get to do it with my hubby!

Looking forward to something Din-frent for the next 80+ days!

I will miss racing with my closest friends.