Checkin’ IN!!!
Well, it’s ironic how the mental block starts after waking up and gearing up, sitting down and then nothing. I’ve been working with this client since approx 2015. I have invested a lot of efforts into this current client for many reason. Many of which didn’t go the way I planned with a colleague, nevertheless we persist, stay consistent, try to overcome the road bumps and just hang on until we can push ahead at the next seized opportunity.
Sounds a lot like a lot of things in my mental fortitude have matured over the past few years. I recall sitting on a plane very clearly and realizing that I was an inch or so away from asking for a belt extender. Liz was gently ribbing me and reminding me that i was shutting off and letting go. Well, I am aware of the many why’s but a few stick out:
- Taking an opportunity and it going sideways
- Not selling house and being 2000 miles away from family
- Moving family across country to VA
- Having another job go sideways
- Taking a travelling position and not managing self during travels
- hating where I was and not being motivated at all to work out beyond a few jog/walks
So, there I was stuck, not looking at anything but the prisoner I had become. Not to mention the fact that we as a family – Liz, Dennis and I – were wading through secondary infertility challenges.
Those points are not the emphasis of the post, rather they help set the stage to demonstrate the growth and strides made. So, the big movements this week is that our home that we listed for sale on Monday Jan 15 received an offering the evening of Monday Jan 22 and we finalized and are under contract as of Tuesday Jan 23. That means things just got super real. We have felt impressed to find a home that better fits our growth. When we purchased this home back in July 2010, sight unseen mind you, we felt this was our forever home. Ironic that we felt the same way when we bought our first home in Hyrum, Utah. We hope to not repeat the events of the last time.
Liz has taken on a few new things including two new girls born in 2015 and 2017. Dennis was nearly 10 years old when Juniper decided to bless us with her tornadic spirit and Astrid recently joined – still trying to determine her nature ? This growth has made us feel a bit overwhelmed in our house. The yard and its surrounding features are great – this includes the neighbors. We sure hope the new family has similar opportunities that we feel we have captured during our residence here.
This home has seen us through some difficult patches. It has pushed us to stretch beyond our comfort zones. It has been an anchor for us as a family and we have grown a lot here. Dennis has seen many friends come and go. We have been here the longest of any of our moves – 7 and half years. But the time has come for progress and that means change.
This blog is for me mainly. To catalogue many things. Many are endurance sports related and this post gives a glimpse into my mental thoughts a bit. I need to look back from time to time to remind myself that growth and change and adaptation is commonplace. This move has had us all a bit on high stress. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
So, what has this change and move meant to my endurance sports lifestyle and hobbies. Well, they are a bit on pause. I had to really assess and refocus on my why’s. For me, health, family, fulfillment and overall self satisfaction are all components of these activities. Liz can definitely vouch for the higher stress levels from me without being as actively engaged in training. And that is ok. Life does have to be completed and lived and addressed and acknowledged otherwise EVERYTHING else falls apart. EVERYTHING!
I did get a few runs in recently in Central Park. It was ironic as I felt solid and fresh and of course, dummy me, I pushed out 3 miles sub 7, which didn’t kill me, I know I have it in me, but I haven’t been doing the little things to make it an overall breakthrough. It was not an epic or mind changing run. it was a reminder that just four years ago – Liz asked me to come on a 5k with her. I finally finished some brutal 54 minutes or so later. Yes, that was almost 20 minutes per mile. So, nothing to shake a stick at to get a few sub 7’s in.
So, in some ways, I’m doing some of the things – a major component often neglected by endurance sports participants is rest and recovery. I feel very fresh. I don’t feel nervous about my current fitness level as it should come back as I get back to the consistent grind. I am preparing and getting ready for a push toward my 4th 70.3 IM St. George. I’m starting to get excited. Once this move concludes, I will have a space for my bike to train. My Office will also become my pain cave, if I so choose. We will set up a treadmill space for Liz and all of us. So a lot of great things. I’m ready to put the effort in, and this time remember to not forget about nutrition on the bike.
One of the major reasons I decided to let the ultra running events slide, is I need to refocus on the bike. I sat on a spinner the other night – Monday. 45 minutes at 100 RPMS and above. The focus was to begin to create better leg speed. I ran it a level 5 – 8 as I did start to drift a bit and my HR stayed between 112 and 125 BPM. It was good. For me, everything came together when I bought a bike. Now I can also swim quite comfortably. It’s time to start laying down the consistent workouts that will enable me to have a great day in St. George. I’m ready. I’m getting excited.
I’m ready to move my family and begin new adventures. But that is still for tomorrow, and I am even more excited to live today. to help Liz in her pursuits and to see Dennis, Juniper and Astrid grow. Life is good. Life is beautiful. Life, is the reason I participate in an endurance sport lifestyle and associated hobbies. I am able to be present. I am able to participate. I am able to be happy.
“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.”
~~Alan Cohen
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