Thursday, August 06, 2009

Timing is EVERYTHING

You know what?

I SO TIMED THIS UP BETTER THAN LAST TIME.

Why is that, you may ask?

Well, last time I went to school the first month, then was off for four, and then finished the last semester. Which meant quite a bit of battling with "Your sub didn't do it this way...." blah blah blah. I vowed next time to really try and have a spring baby. Ever wonder why so many teachers have kids in March and April? Yeah. That's it.

And personally, I won't miss a race season!

Yeah, I know. That sounds kinda silly. Is it really that important, you might ask?

YES IT IS SO BACK OFF.

;)

No, seriously. Back in '07, I was coming off an absolute HIGH of Ironman. I can move mountains! Discover new mathematical equations! Find the answer to world peace!

(okay, maybe not quite that high....but you get the picture)

And then I had to virtually STOP. And I have to admit, it was rough. Especially with it being my first one, because I didn't fully understand just how amazing the end would be. It was hard to sit on the sidelines after I got to be a part of something so big, you know?

This year, I got to have a season. It was early, but I got to have a few big races. New Orleans was just a party and I did well despite my training restrictions and stuff. I had a BLAST at that race. And then 6 weeks later, I got to hammer it out in Cleveland. I had a huge day there, and set my post-baby half marathon PR a full 8 minutes lower than my pre-baby PR. It was like my body was telling me, "See...I told you so. Now shut up and don't worry the next time, k?"

I left out of my race report something pretty big that had a ginormous impact on the outcome of that race for me: what was going through my head the last 2.5 miles. I was hurting, I was slowing down, and it was starting to suck. But you know what I kept thinking?

"If you're lucky, THIS IS IT. This is the LAST TIME YOU'LL GET TO HURT LIKE THIS IN A WHILE. You love this hurt. You will miss this hurt. ENJOY THIS HURT, and HTFU. GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOOOOOOOOO."

I left if off the race report, because I didn't know how lucky I'd get.

(Turns out, pretty freakin' lucky.)

So I got to really enjoy that pain. It helped me keep going, because I knew how much I'd miss it now. But I know the races aren't going anywhere, and this time I really understand that I will come back stronger.

And you'd better believe I'm signing up for the new Rev3 70.3 in my backyard next year.

Yep, this timing is much better indeed.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

i totally get your feelings on timing and racing!! Just think of the PR's you'll be setting next year, after your second baby!! Aren't women amazing!

Krista said...

It does indeed sound like you've got good timing. Congrats! Hubby and I have decided we want to have a few years to enjoy married life together before we start a family, but sometimes that biolgical instinct really kicks in. Right now I think of triathlon as birth control - it keeps me distracted from thinking about babies (most of the time).

Jennifer P said...

I had a C-section the first time around and because I was fit going into it, I had a great outcome. This time I have no idea what is going to happen and am honestly freaking out too. Sounds like our pregnancies are going about the same (starchy carbs! nausea! naps!). 28 weeks to go. And yes, I am thrilled this one is coming in February to make the most of race season!

Unknown said...

I don't remember if I've commented here before, but I've been reading for quite a while.

Congrats on the new kid! The REV3 is tempting, but I'm barely in good enough shape for the Olympic distance I have in a couple of weeks. How would I find time to train for a race that's twice as long??

Cara said...

I'm so curious to see how your next race season goes! I mean, if one gets magically faster after baby #1, do you then get EVEN FASTER after #2?
I'm totally going to be using you as a role model when I try to come back after baby #2, whenever that ends up being. Do you have the same exercise restrictions that you had w/Jackson, or will you be able to do more this time around?

JP Severin said...

THUG LIFE!