It’s been a while. I had a roller coaster of a summer that actually left me feeling quite anxious a lot of the time. Instead of channeling my anxiety into my half marathon training like I imagined I would, I sat on the couch and watched Downton Abbey back to front and front to back again. I’m not proud of that. I do have 3 new chickens named Violet, Daisy and Marigold to show for that, though.
Anyway… I don’t want to dwell on all the excuses why I didn’t do the things I wanted to do. I’m here because I’ve worked through some of that so there is no need to rehash it all. Suffice it to say that women of a certain age, like *cough* me, may have something that is called a mid-life crisis. Hot flashes may or may not be a part of it (and if they are then they can make a woman rill cranky and miserable, so please be extra kind to her aka me). I think I was/am going through a bit of a mid-life crisis. Meaning, I am taking stock of my life to this point and thinking ahead to my next chapter and what I want to do. I’m making choices. Do I go back to school for my doctorate? Do I take expert knitting certification classes? Do I travel? Do I get off my ass and do some triathlons?
I love school. I work in a school. Bobby is getting his Master’s right now, so this isn’t really the best time to go back to school myself. And while I enjoy knitting I don’t really like all the sitting around, which is kind of surprising what with all the Downton Abbey binges… But triathlons… now that sounds exciting and interesting and slightly terrifying. Perfect.
So I found myself a coach. Actually my husband found me a coach. I hemmed and hawed about it for about 3 months. During that time I was supposed to be training for a half marathon (spoiler alert: I wasn’t training. I got to 8 miles and stopped. Stopped. Like zero running). Did I run the half that was last weekend? No. I ended up going down to the 5K. And I have to admit while it felt like such a relief to stop at the time, I felt real regret when I didn’t line up at the starting line with my cousin. Lesson learned. I called and committed with my coach for a phone session the next day.
I need this kick in the butt. I want this. I’ve tried to go it alone and what I’ve learned is that is really difficult. I need the support and the accountability. So I’m going to spend real money on this because it is real important to me. My next race is another 5K in December. This gives Coach and me some time to work together and evaluate how we’re doing. Then 2017 is triathlons. Multiple. Sprints and I’m hoping an Olympic too.
Ok, so my goals are:
- Learn how to train with my heart rate monitor.
- Be more consistent with my training. aka stop skipping all the workouts, lady.
- Improve my tri fundamentals, especially my swimming
- Improve my running time – 10 min miles (or less!)
- Cook and meal plan. If I’m not doing this then the training will fall apart.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what is important to me and I’ve gotten pretty clear on it: Bobby, family, home, work, and health. A mid-life crisis sometimes makes people have an affair or buy an expensive sports car. That’s not me. I want to go into this next chapter of my life as an athlete. I am a Triathlete (who may or may not be having a hot flash). I’m not ready for the knitting classes. Maybe I’ll get to that in another 46 years…
What I’ve learned is that it’s important to get clear about what you want. And if you don’t have what you want then how will you get it? Make a plan. Sitting around watching the world go by is depressing. And if you don’t know what you want to do then just start moving. Do something that moves you in a direction, any direction. The only way out of your current situation is through it.
Next week: training starts!
So today and tomorrow: meal planning, food shopping, and getting all the laundry done.
xoxo
Running Over the Hill 