My recent conversation with an Ironman Friend:
Friend: Melissa...this is your year off...remember!! You're not training for an Ironman
Melissa: Yeah, I know...I know..
Friend: That means you can train for a sprint or an olympic and have fun ...
Melissa: I had fun training for Ironman
Friend: Yeah...but you get that part of your life back...you don't have to spend 7 hours on your bike...or 3 hours on the run.
Melissa: WHAT?? YOU DON'T!!
So this is where I tell you....I don't remember what its like to train for a race that did not require the above. What's it like to train for an Olympic or a Sprint. It's been years since I did this. Three years of my life has been dedicated to a goal still unattained. The thought of training an hour and jumping out of the pool and being done for the day seems so....ODD!
I don't know what to do with myself!!
This weekend I did my longest workouts to date: an hour long swim then my 56 mile bike. Im trying to decide if I am really well enough to even attempt the Gulf Coast Triathlon but even the training for a Half Ironman seems so short to me. I am use to leaving my house on the weekend and being gone almost the entire day on the road racking up the miles.
Saturday afternoon, I went shopping. YES...Me...shopping. Talk about a unusual event. Saturdays are for sweating, getting used to aerobars and figuring out if can tolerate THAT MUCH gatorade in a 7 hour period.
Last year long about August, I would have killed someone for an Saturday afternoon at the mall. Saturday I feltl strangely lost as I went from store to store. Believe me, I come from a mother who would be on the Olympic Shopping Team if it existed...I KNOW how to shop.
The shift in priorities feels odd. It feels like I an old friend has moved out of town.
This weekend I am traveling with my husband to the Keys to celebrate his birthday. It will be another weekend where I don't get up at 4am to do a workout. I am looking forward to sleeping in but there is the athlete in me that wants to run.
It's all a part of the journey....
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6 comments:
Maybe this is the year you learn to LOVE exercise...that is my hope for you.
Thank you for your blog - it is an inspiration to me.
I didn't know you could read Chinese. Or is it just me with a lack of coffee in my system seeing Chinese in your first response??
Too often in our "time off" we slip into "old habits". (I think we know what that means). If you get bored in your "time off" where it be the Keys or elsewhere, substitute running for the allure of the "old habit".
I'm just saying...
Do you realize that you just said you WANT to RUN? That's awesome. I think this might be exactly what you needed. Time off to remind you that you LOVE this! And if you feel like running, go for a run (it just doesn't have to be all day!). Have fun in the keys!
It's funny how we get use to a certain way of life, isn't it? Enjoy the time you have right now. Maybe your body needs a little break and when you start back up, it will be ready to go the distance.
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