February 9, 2013

Pretty exciting blog title, huh? Sorry, my brain is a little fuzzy from this darn cold I'm battling. Colds are just part of spending most of my days with little people who routinely sneeze on me. Actually, this is the first cold I've had this school year, so I'm pretty pleased with that. In contrast, my first year back in the classroom, I suffered through THREE sinus infections. One was so miserable that I lost my voice at the same time (or maybe that was a gift for those nearest and dearest to me?)
Anyway, I find myself minimally focused on triathlons and far more interested in trying out some new things. First new activity: yoga. I will admit that I am just a little jealous of those super flexible, lean women who look like yoga goddesses. I don't see myself as ever being "that woman" but I am really intrigued by yoga. I've tested it out a bit and my conclusion: it's tough! I think it's just what I need after a year of long (and dare I say tedious) workouts that turned my body into one tight, inflexible just-waiting-for-an-injury mess. I found a nice studio that is right on my way home from work. My first class is this Monday. I am nervous and excited all at once - I love feeling that way.

I'm also thinking about jumping back into a Team in Training event. A wonderful group of people from Richmond and Blacksburg are heading to Hershey, PA in May for the Tour de Chocolate. I know, I know - it's a perfect event for me on so many levels. I can get reacquainted with my beloved road bike (she was so neglected last year), raise money to fight stupid cancer, hang out with some of my favorite cyclists....and eat chocolate. I think it's a "yes" on that one.

2013

2013 is almost here - and it's going to be a drastically different training year for me. I'm going for short races. So far, the only races I have on my schedule are sprint triathlons. I might add an olympic distance race somewhere along the way (please note the emphasis on might). Long ago, I raced a lot of local 5Ks. Granted, they are 20+ minutes of complete misery.  But, just when you think you may pass out or throw up, the race is over. I found that I had to be in really good shape to run them well (for me). However, I did not need to train for 6+ hours on a Saturday to be healthy. And - I had time to pursue other activities besides running. Sounds like a win-win, if you ask me. That's what I'm aiming for next year: increasing my fitness but doing it in a more balanced way.( I also want to upgrade/redo some of our landscaping and (re)learn French - time will tell how all of this goes....)

No words

I know this blog is supposed to be devoted to my training (or lack thereof). Not this time, folks. There have been a lot of violent, terrible events in recent history. For me, the ones that have "thrown me for a loop" include the sniper, 9/11 and Virginia Tech. However, nothing has had the effect on me that the shootings in Newtown, CT have had. I'm beginning to think that I have a bit of post-traumatic stress disorder. Is that possible for someone who was hundreds of miles away from the actual event?

Maybe.

Of course, I am writing from the perspective of a first grade teacher. But, you have to understand that I love my job. I mean I really, really love it. My classroom is a sanctuary. The children I teach are part of my heart, part of my soul. If anything ever happened to one of them, I know that part of my soul would die. I know this.

I have had a nightmare (more than once, mind you) that someone took one of my children from me. Sometimes it's in the classroom, sometimes it's on the playground. In my nightmare, I negotiate with the person to take me instead of my little first grader. The ending is never clear. I think I wake up because the reality of this is just too much for me to bear.

Yes - this protective love is not just for parents. Teachers feel it. Or, as one of my colleagues so beautifully put it, anyone who has ever loved a child feels this.

When I returned to school the Monday after the shooting, I thought I would burst into tears when I saw that first, sweet,  rosy-cheeked little first grade face. But, I didn't. Blessedly, we had just a normal Monday.

I will never curse a Monday again.





I

Winter Training

I am going low-budget this year in terms of my "off-season" training. For the past 5 years or so, I've trained with a group - not always the same one, but a group nonetheless. This winter, I'm going solo (for the most part) with my training. Why? I'm not really sure. It may be a function of my job - which is very demanding time-wise and people-wise. I am not sure how many interactions I have each minute with a child or a person, but it's a LOT. Don't get me wrong - I love it. But after a day spent interacting, teaching, re-teaching, reacting, soothing, reprimanding, supporting (you get the picture), I need a workout that allows me to just be...quiet. When I taught at Radford and Richmond, much of my day (when not teaching an occasional class) was very solitary. I literally craved human interaction. Poor Rick - you can begin to imagine how I talked the poor man's ear off when he walked through the door.
We happen to belong to a gym that has just about everything I need: masters swimming, spin classes, boot camp, and plenty of cardio and strength training equipment. We also have a workout room above our garage where I can ride on my trainer at the crack of dawn. I kinda love rolling out of bed (literally) and hopping on my bike. I don't even have to brush my hair if I don't want to (hmmmm....this may scare Rick - need to rethink that decision).
I've also made the decision that I need to ride outside this winter on Saturdays. I have cold weather riding gear, although at the moment I can't seem to find it. I have always whined that it's too cold to ride outside here....but it really isn't much of the time. As someone once wrote, "There is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing." As a girl from chilly New England, I need to embrace that motto.
Do I miss my training buddies? Of course. But, there is such a thing as getting together for glass of wine, mug of beer or a cup of coffee.

Ironman Florida

Happy to report that I finished my third (and final) Ironman last weekend. Somehow the magic of IMFL '07 just wasn't there this time. One of my friends (also an IM finisher) looked at my attitude in an interesting (and, to me, positive) way. I told her how after finishing I felt just...down. While I continue to be extremely grateful that my knee held up just fine during the race, I didn't have that emotional/amazing/magical feeling training or during the race. Quite frankly, I began to find 100+ mile bike rides just plain annoying. I dreaded them. I had one good ride at the Heart of Virginia century - and then my desire to ride that long just...disappeared. My friend pointed out that this may be a good thing. She experienced the same thing with marathons (after she broke 3 hours - fast freakin' woman). I now know that my Ironman days are done. I am ready to say goodbye. I still love triathlons and will always think that the Ironman distance is "way cool." But, I don't want to race that distance anymore. So, au revoir, Ironman. Take good care of all my friends racing that crazy distance next year!

Just a little denial...

I have bad knees...blah, blah, blah. You've heard it, I like to deny it. Well, it's getting a little harder these days. Recently, I accompanied Rick on part of one of his long runs. I ran nine miles (I am NOT supposed to do that) and well....felt great. I chuckled quietly to myself thinking, "All those so-called orthopedic specialists misdiagnosed me - even the guy who has seen the inside of my knees. What does he know?" It turns out, he knows a lot. Yes, I can run some longer distances, but I pay dearly the week (or two) after the run. Very swollen right knee, mystery stabbing pains in both knees - really not ideal.
So, like a rational brat, I went into a little funk this week. I moped. I had conversations with myself about quitting the whole silly triathlon thing. I pictured a fall season without long training rides. I was starting to convince myself that this was just what I wanted. (Clearly, I was out of school and had way too much time on my hands).
Luckily, I tend to voice my worries out loud. I think it's healthy, Rick may think it's just annoying. His advice: don't worry, if you have to, just walk the (insert curse word) marathon at IMFL. He pointed out that many very nice people end up walking the ironman marathon - and they actually trained to run it. He talked about his experience of walking almost all of Coeur d'Alene's marathon last year.
This whole notion of "not worrying, just walk it" has taken a big load off of my shoulders. I just have to be sure my swim and bike times are decent enough that I give myself enough time to stroll through the streets of Panama City Beach in November. Am I racing for an overall PR? Obviously not. That's okay. I'm just hoping all the stars align so I can hear "Susie Leahy, you are an Ironman" one more time.

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.