Motivation vs Opportunity

            Most days I feel like I have plenty of motivation to go around.  I am very driven, disciplined, and highly competitive.  If I wanted to get a swim, ride, or run in on a particular day, I’ll do my best to get it in.  Sometimes my body may not feel like it, but I can mentally push past that.  It is very rare that I’ll skip a workout if I can help it.  This of course can drive my husband nuts sometimes. 

            There’s a huge difference between having the motivation to train, versus having the opportunity to train though.  I am surely discovering this as being a new mom.  The beginning of something new is always the roughest.  You are often taken out of your routine and encounter new challenges, and you must adapt.  The beginning was also especially challenging because Baya needed to be six weeks old in order to go to mini-care at the YMCA.  So I adapted.  For the first couple of weeks, my husband would sometimes work half-days in order to spend some time at home with us.  When he got home, I’d head out the door for a run, or hop on the trainer for a ride. 
            Figuring out the logistics of fitting in workouts is the most challenging part of the new transition.  I once could do things on my own schedule and when I wanted.  Now I was at the mercy of my baby’s schedule.  I couldn’t head outside for a run and leave her unattended.  Winter also lasted an incredibly long time, so I wasn’t even going to think about taking her out in a jogging stroller so I could run.  It is against Y policy to have her in her carseat next to me on a treadmill, so that was not an option either (though I was able to do that using the treadmills that the school I coach at has).  But there are some things I did figure out for those first weeks.  Swims were at the mercy of her afternoon nap, when I knew she should be asleep the longest.  I’d set her at the end of my lane (out of the splash zone as much as possible), and try to fit in my swim while she slept there.  I limited my swim distances to 200 yards at most (except once I did a test set of 300’s, and felt like that was an acceptable span of time to be ale to check on her frequently enough still. 

We got a baby monitor for me to be able to listen for her while I was down in the garage on the bike.  I still continue to do this method, as it is my best option to get rides in during the week. Now that it’s warmer in the garage, I sometimes will just have her nap in her seat down there with me.  Some days are great and I’m able to ride for an hour or more.  Other days are a struggle, and she’ll only let me go for a short time, resulting in frustration that I try to accept.  Now my mindset is more of, “Doing as much as I can, whenever I can.”  I try to make the most of my current situation and seize any opportunities that come my way.

Things that you may not like, may need to become your new best friend.  For example, I used to tolerate the trainer, but over the winter I somehow came to love it (now that it’s hot in the garage though, it’s not as fun).  I still continue to hate running on a treadmill, but if that is my only option, I will suffer through it.  It is at least not the enemy that it used to be.  Ideally I would run outdoors all the time, no matter the season.  I have run in snow, rain, cold, or high heat.  That is not as simple with an infant though.  Now I do most of my running on an indoor track at the YMCA while she is still in mini-care.  Run 60 little laps in order to get in 5 miles?  Certainly!

Figure out who your support people can be.  I have one weekly outdoor run scheduled with a lady from church who has agreed to watch her the 45 minutes while I run.  I have left her with friends a few times in order to get outside for a run on a weekday.  I have once even left her with a friend for a couple hour outdoor ride.  Those are tougher to ask for though, since it is a bigger chunk of time.  It is nice when friends will stop over when I want to go down on the trainer, so if she cries, then I am able to keep riding while they tend to her.  As I get into my build period this summer, leading up to the Half-Ironman distance, I hope to have some Grandma visits so I can get outside for some longer weekday rides.  (We do not live near our families.)  My biggest supporter has been my husband, as he watches her while I get out for a long ride and run on weekends.  We have recently made a “no complaining” deal as well regarding my workouts (no complaining on his part), and as I help him with a project of his (no complaining on my part).

We had a one-month milestone (well kind of).  To celebrate being one month, Baya was an awesome little girl and cooperated ever so well, so that I could get my first triple in since she was born!  Talk about exciting!  I didn’t know if I’d ever see a triple again.  Since then I have pulled off about a dozen triples, though doubles are much more doable.  Returning to work part-time also requires a lot of challenges.  She may get her good nap in while I’m working, instead of while I want to work out.  The track season started (I coach) six days after she was born, so every afternoon we had practices and track meets to work around as well.  Figuring it all out may require some creativity, and it definitely requires persistence, but it will eventually come together and be worth it.