Two Weeks To Training

This evening the informational meeting for the mini-tri took place. My friend and I attended, along with about thirty others. The ages ranged from around twenty to sixties, so I was pleased to see I wasn't the only over-40 person there. The instructor emphasized how the training was to help us complete the mini-tri, not to win our respective gender/age divisions. I was really glad to hear that as I know I'm not going to be competitive in the running part, especially since the running is the last leg of the race. I think I'll do okay with the swimming and pretty good with the biking, but the running is going to be tough. I have right at three months to train. I need to kick it into gear.

The problem is everything else going on. The boys have basketball several times a week, so we're running to different schools anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour away. I'm trying to spend some time working on the book; I've made a good start and am determined to keep going. I really want to see this book come to fruition. I truly believe it has the possibility of becoming a great story. With work, the overload and the hours I have to spend prepping, the time needed to read and respond to student work, a huge chunk is taken out of my days. The frustration over time is mounting. Deep down, I know I have two choices: get up earlier and work out before getting ready for work, or stay up later and work out before going to bed. I loathe both of these options as I need at least eight hours of sleep to feel 100%, but if I want to put my all into this training and compete at my best, I need to get over myself and just do it. Between the two options, staying up later is more doable.

When I think about all the pieces of my life that are contributing to the frustration I'm feeling right now, part of me wonders exactly why I decided training for the mini-tri would be a good thing to do. All I did in making this decision was add something to my life to complicate things. For someone who strives to simplify, adding an element like mini-tri training seems counterintuitive. Another part of me, though, disagrees and sees the training addition as a lesson connected to the spiritual direction I am trying to take my life. Being mindful of what my body can do is something I want to focus on, and the training will allow me to do that. I will have to adjust my life some, and I will, because this is important to me.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Looking Forward to 2024

2023 was okay. I really have nothing to complain about regarding life in general throughout 2023.  Well . . . then again . . . that's not entirely true. Mostly true, but there was that one thing . . .. The thing that happened on April 1st. Of all days, it had to happen on this day. This was the day I drove myself to the ER that's 40 minutes away, after standing up from my recliner and feeling my heart take off. It was like I had just run the 100 meter dash, giving my all to cross that finish line first. Only I didn't run the 100 meter dash. I merely stood up from my recliner. I was on my way to take a shower, so I continued to do so, hoping my heart would slow down and go back to my usual 70ish heart rate. In the shower, my heart just kept on, and the more it didn't slow down, the more scared I became. So I finished the shower, got dressed, and drove myself to the ER. That drive was surreal. I just kept thinking: if I pass out, I hope I veer off to the right, into the b...
Read more

Finding Calm Amidst the Pines

Image
The Orange trail Spring was really trying to push Winter off center stage the last few weeks, and in doing so, the spring fever kicked in something fierce. I'd already been having a tough time sitting down in front of the computer to complete work, and the sunny, warmer days were not helping one teeny-tiny bit. All I wanted was to be outside, which is exactly what I did last weekend and right up until it turned cold again this week. The boys and I have had some wonderful long walks, one of which was at Sand Ridge. They were troopers, finishing the day with nearly 9 miles after our usual morning walk, hiking the Brown trail, then hiking a bit of the Orange trail. I liked the Orange trail so much I went back the next day and hiked alone. I wanted to slow down and take some pictures of the trail and its surroundings. They say nature is the cure for what ails you, and I completely agree. The hush amidst the pines. The softness of the ground covered with pine needles. The flit of the ch...
Read more

Taking My Health Into My Own Hands (Cuz My Doc Certainly Isn't All That Helpful)

After a month of tracking my glucose levels, I've learned a few things, the most important being I need to have something sweet in the evenings. An orange. A fruit smoothie. A vegan chocolate chip cookie. When I don't, my glucose dips with each consecutive morning after not having something sweet, the monitor showing my glucose going lower and lower. While I never went below 79, I was inching lower each morning after not having something sweet the evening before. So now, I make sure I have fruit or a smoothie with dinner. Every now and then I'll have an orange juice mid-day just because. While I don't think a month is long enough to really know if my glucose levels were the culprit for the tachycardia, I have felt so much better. The weird feeling I'd been experiencing when the tachycardia was happening has not happened. The waves of heat that would wash over me, causing me to peel off my sweatshirt or sweater even though my house is at 65 degrees haven't happen...
Read more