Random

In 2007, when I was training for my first Ironman (the magical first!), I used to blog faithfully. Now, it's a small miracle (what exactly is a "small" miracle?) if I blog every 3-4 months. There are two main differences between '07 and '12: a) I'm married and b) I work a lot more. Interesting that I work more now that I'm married - ha! What I mean by that is I have a different, more demanding (and far more rewarding) teaching job. Back in the day, I could do my workouts on Tuesday morning or maybe Thursday morning or Wednesday evening - whatever. I always had three day weekends (I didn't teach on Mondays). I could get to work at 9:00 a.m. or whenever I felt like it. It was a LOT easier to fit in my workouts. I think I had a social life.
Now, if I get to work at 7:30 a.m., I feel like I am already late. Yes, I am finished teaching at 3:00, but I still have another day to prepare for, so I rarely leave early. Those little first graders demand that I am organized, prepped and ready to go all day, every day (except for the weekend, of course). I do love it. It does mean that I am generally pretty tired by 5:00 p.m. especially if I've woken up at 4:30 a.m. to try to sneak in an early morning swim or run.  I'm not sure many of my (non-teaching) friends understand why I am usually not up for much socializing during the work week. I'm flat-out tired. And frankly, if I'm too tired at school, I feel like I am not being fair to my first graders. I owe it to them to give it my best effort every day. I'm sure that I appear to be a hermit. Perhaps I can catch up with some of my long-lost friends in June & July (bless those months).
It may sound like I'm annoyed by my different work schedule, but I'm really not. It's just a different way to balance my life. Although I had more time in 2007, I wasn't as happy. While I enjoyed undergrad and grad students, I think I was born to teach little ones. How I adore their quirky comments, curiosity, and innocence. I should keep a blog of the cute, sweet and sometimes crazy things they say. You'd smile, too.
Back to triathlons -  I'm training with some wonderful people, but I trained with some awesome folks in 2007, too. As a matter of fact, I've always trained with cool people - different groups, but all good people. Lately, I've heard about some unfortunate incidents involving triathletes. At times,  the animosity I witness between different triathlon training groups makes me sad - really sad. I don't really get it.  I mean...it's just a hobby - and it's supposed to be fun. Instead of animosity, we need to celebrate the vibrant triathlon community we have in Richmond. It's pretty incredible. Swim, bike, run - but try to do it with the joy you had as a six-year old.