My apologies for the disappearing act. This is the first blog I've written since I completed my first race as a Pro-Triathlete. So what has been going on during that time?
1.
A well needed rest. In 2016 I trained for a full distance Ironman event, which ultimately was way outside my comfort zone. I fought through many injuries, due to the increased volume, as it's not easy for anyone going from hardly running to running 90-100km per week. I struggled with training time vs family time, as did my family, and I made the decision to take a few weeks off to recover mentally and physically for what was, for us, a very long season. It was time to stop to bake some cookies and build a snowman.
2. Working. Since October 2016, when I received my professional Triathlete designation, I noticed something, there are people who assume that as soon as you turn Pro you are flooded with sponsorships, companies flying you to races and paying for your hotel, throwing free equipment at you and you no longer need to work another job. That simply isn't the case. I have a few amazing equipment sponsors, Vorgee Canada, Xterra Wetsuits, Rudy Project NA, Pearl Izumi, and County Cycle, however no one is knocking down the door of Professional Triathletes to offer them buckets of money just because they have that designation. It takes a lot of work, time, and a little luck for sponsors to come on board. With 3 children, all of whom are involved in activities, eat, need clothes, a roof over their head, etc, unless I win Friday's 60 million LottoMax, I will continue to work full time for the incredible and supportive company I am apart of and hope to win enough money, at 2017 events, to cover my race travel.
3.
Christmas. Ask almost any mother out there about their contribution to making the Christmas Season a success for their family. It is a very busy time. Food prep, decorating, making and carrying out the long list of "to dos", navigating the grocery store and hoping no one runs you over with their shopping cart in their hurry to grab the last container of Cool Whip. Somehow we mom's make Christmas morning a magical success for the family, meanwhile not missing a beat making lunches, dinners, breakfast, getting kids ready for school, going to work, and of course getting triathlon training in as well. Although Christmas is an amazing time of the year, it is also an incredible amount of work, sometimes I wonder how we don't hear about more nervous breakdowns and a large exodus of mothers jumping on an airplane to some tropical paradise to actually have a holiday. Regardless of all that is involved in putting Christmas together, this year I was able to attend my eldest's high school Christmas concert and talent show, and the two younger girls' Christmas concert, and as my youngest said this year it was "the best Christmas ever", comments like that one, taking part in their events, and seeing their excitement and appreciation make all the effort worth while.
4.
Gaining Weight. Okay, so maybe this one doesn't really warrant a disappearing act, however it was something that had to be done for the winter. Definitely the Christmas season helped with this. It brought to my attention, and it took me time to finally became aware, at the Miami race, that I was perhaps a bit on the underweight side of things, for my body. Last year I dropped both size (those swimmer shoulders shrunk a bit) and weight. I wasn't carrying what I needed, to put on muscle and gain power on my legs. I was also feeling fatigue and seemed to be at a higher propensity for injury, hence the rotator cuff tear I swam with in Miami and am still working on recovering. Since October I have put on 5-6 pounds and feel so much better. I've started putting muscle on my legs, I have more energy, and even the physicians that I work with (at work) have made comments in regards to me looking better. For 2017 my goal will be to maintain my weight to minimize injury and maximize performance. The trouble now is, after the recent Christmas sugar binge, weening off the refined sugar and replacing it with high quality calories instead. The sugar withdrawal headaches really are not fun.
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Spent a lot of time taped up since
October. |
The New Year
2017 is now here. This will be my first full season racing as a Pro Triathlete. I'm working on improving my bike leg, and holding myself together mentally on the run. This season I am helping to coach some of the kids on my daughters' swim team, GHAC, and although I'm already a certified swim coach, I will soon be a certified triathlon coach too. I do not make New Year's resolutions, I do however have goals, both little and big, that I create and strive for throughout the year. This coming 12 months will be a year of stretching outside my comfort zone, learning new skills, while maintaining the ability to juggle all the things a mom needs to juggle.
It's okay to pull a disappearing act once and a while to take the time to get caught up and back on track, as long as we reemerge with rejuvenated purpose and a workable plan.
Looking forward to what 2017 brings, and to hearing about, and encouraging others to work towards their goals and achieving my own.
1. A well needed rest. In 2016 I trained for a full distance Ironman event, which ultimately was way outside my comfort zone. I fought through many injuries, due to the increased volume, as it's not easy for anyone going from hardly running to running 90-100km per week. I struggled with training time vs family time, as did my family, and I made the decision to take a few weeks off to recover mentally and physically for what was, for us, a very long season. It was time to stop to bake some cookies and build a snowman.
