Working on balancing “life” and training – Comrades 2018
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The past, nearly three weeks, have passed by in a blur. Not that they have passed that fast but more the “busyness” of the last three weeks. Coupled with everything that has happened just made it seem to fly by so fast! My training has almost stalled and I think that if I ran 5 times in the past three weeks, made it to the gym for a weight workout twice and took four spinning classes during that time it was a lot.
The pace and intensity at work are ramping up incredibly and projects that had been dormant or just slow out of the starting blocks were now rolling out at an incredible pace. Time management is becoming critical. The extra 40 – 60 minutes that I could squeeze out in the afternoon in between the school run and be heading out to a meeting has not been that easy to achieve anymore.
The past, nearly three weeks, have passed by in a blur. Not that they have passed that fast but more the “busyness” of the last three weeks. Coupled with everything that has happened just made it seem to fly by so fast! My training has almost stalled and I think that if I ran 5 times in the past three weeks, made it to the gym for a weight workout twice and took four spinning classes during that time it was a lot. When life is sweet, it’s sweet and when it’s bitter it’s downright despicable and nasty. Reflecting on the past three weeks it’s almost as though it(life) decided that I needed to be humbled a bit and that I had been on too much of a high of late and that despite me thinking that things were changing and that there was a major change in fortune on its way, I needed to stay humble and be humbled.
From a training point-of-view, I was a little behind on mileage but August had started well and it seemed as though I was going to be able to make up a lot of lost mileage. Also, allowing me to catch up on skipped runs of the past two months. Winter was nearly over and with it, the early morning runs would be a more exciting prospect considering that it would be warmer and lighter earlier. Contending with traffic would not be half as bad. My body had other ideas and a simple cold just lingered and lingered and eventually mutated into a sinus infection and then total lethargy set in and I just shut all systems down.
The pace and intensity at work are ramping up incredibly and projects that had been dormant or just slow out of the starting blocks were now rolling out at an incredible pace. Time management is becoming critical. The extra 40 – 60 minutes that I could squeeze out in the afternoon in between the school run and be heading out to a meeting has not been that easy to achieve anymore.Over the last few weeks, the most humbling moment was when my dad passed away August 29 from a very long period of illness. His ill health and a lot of pain a suffering has ended. Three heart attacks combined with a stroke, renal failure and complete loss of movement in all his limbs and body functions had finally taken its toll and a very brave man, father and husband finally had to say enough and move on to a happier place. My dad lived a good life. He was loving and tried his very best to protect us, give us what we needed and often wanted. He was always there and to be totally honest I never saw him sad or despondent about anything no matter what life threw at him. He set an example that I try very hard to follow and who knows, one day I might just live up to that example.
So as I regather my energies and refocus on my Comrades goals, I look to my dad again for inspiration. I have recommitted myself to getting out of bed and going for that run or getting to the gym no matter how I feel or how not in the mood I am. Living each day. Every day has become critically important to stop bitching, moaning or complaining about those little things that don’t really matter have become super important to me. I take comfort in the fact that as I line up for the Comrades in 2018, my dad will be running next to me and motivating me to run another 10 metres and then another when the going really gets tough.
I think I will go for a run this afternoon…no more excuses…it’s time!
Darren, my deepest condolences to you, Emanuel and J. Sending big hugs!!
Thank you for sharing this honest, raw post. Exercising is hard, but it’s good that you have a goal in mind and your dad as motivation.
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