I’ve squeezed in runs during breaks
at volleyball tournaments or during JV warm-ups, and even did my 9-mile run
after practice one night, which got me home just in time to get the kids to
bed. I had an 8-mile run that gave me
the worst blister I’ve ever had, and I wasn’t able to run for a few days
without bleeding or pain. While I could
dwell on everything I’ve missed or compromised and feel unprepared for the
upcoming World Championships, I also feel really good about being able to nail
my quality workouts recently. I tell
myself that speed bumps may also just be a blessing in disguise.
With kids, you learn how to be
flexible pretty fast. When our lodging
in Milwaukee for Nationals fell through the week of the race, and EVERYTHING
was booked, we made do, even though it meant sleeping on a church floor the
night before the race. Almost in
disbelief that absolutely every hotel or Bed and Breakfast in the state would
be booked, we drove for hours on Saturday night, making numerous stops, only to
end up sleeping in the back of the van at a wayside. Fortunately we were able to pick up some ice
from McDonald’s (gas stations were all closed at that point) to put in the
cooler with the breast milk I had been pumping all weekend – no way was that
going to be wasted! Sometimes you just
have to make do with what you have and make the most of it. You can choose to laugh or cry. Always choose to laugh.
There will be 87 fast women from
all over the world competing in my age group at the World Championships next
weekend in Chicago. The Lake is
predicted to be 60-65 degrees (colder than the numbing waters at Nationals). There have definitely been a lot of ups and
downs this season, and a ton of challenges leading up to this point. No matter how it shakes out, I plan to enjoy
the journey and the experience. And who
knows, maybe it’ll be one of my best performances yet.
Good luck! Miss you guys!
ReplyDeleteThanks! And we miss you guys almost every time we drive by your old house (so, like every day)!
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