Mileage is starting to add up

Posted by on February 23, 2011 in Training

Been a while since I last posted, and mostly it’s because I don’t seem to have the time.  I know that it’s the oldest story in the book… that life gets in the way, and while I could make the argument that it applies to my situation, the reality is that I could have gotten to writing if a gun was put to my head, but it wasn’t… and so I didn’t write.

My story is such that I’m training between 6-12 times per week.  During week days, there’s the early morning pre-work training session, followed by work, followed by a post-work training session.  By the time I’m done, I’m rushing to get food in my belly so that I have time to digest it before heading to bed.  While eating, I’m usually hanging with Roya and catching up on our days, working out details for the planning of the wedding, and doing whatever else needs to be done in our home.  If the stars are aligned, I’ll get time on the couch in front of the TV to catch up on the DVR, and while I love to multitask on the computer while doing so, I tend to not be in the right frame of mind to write an intelligent posting here (which suggests that this and past posts were intelligent, a claim that as yet has only been made by me).

None of this takes into account the other times when a social or other event interrupts the evening schedule.  Last night, I managed to swim after work before quickly heading home to get my car so that I could pick up my father from NJ and bring him back to the apt; he had an early morning flight from LaGuardia and figured it to be easier to head there from my place rather than brave the commuting traffic from NJ.  By the time we were done, it was close to midnight.  I was up at 6, dropped Dad off, got home, cycled on the trainer at home, then went to work.  Tonight, it’s another long swim session.  Tomorrow, I’ll be up at 5 a.m. in advance of a 6:15 cycling and strength session with the tri team.  Then, it’s off to work in NJ, a 100 mile round trip.  This stuff never ends.

I thought that I’d be able to manage everything with this Ironman training and not have major time issues.  I wouldn’t proclaim that my current issues are major in this context, but they clearly have kept me from updating this site and from tending to a few other things on my to-do list.  One in particular is the expansion of the outline that I began in advance of writing my first book.  That’s a story for another day once I make some forward progress, but the point is that I’m not multi-tasking and completing enough.  Roya is in large part to blame; we’re in an amazing relationship together and carefully planning a wedding that we’ll assuredly look back on as perfect.  If she weren’t in my life, maybe I’d accomplish more of these to-do list items.  But, I’d also be alone, unfulfilled, and without the spectrum of emotions she’s created within me.  I didn’t know that love was like this, and I wouldn’t trade what I have with her for anything… including time.  This is the best use of time, by far, because it puts life in perspective, and for my partner and I to be able to share and grow together in this form is the greatest joy I’ve ever known.  So, I have to learn to accept that my to-do list of big things (writing this book, re-learning classical piano, creating a charity program, etc.) will have to evolve at a far slower pace.  Big deal.  Life is long; I’ll get to all of it eventually.

For now, I’m in the midst of a 12 workout week.  I skipped one workout already, and trust me that I feel bad about it, but have a good plan to accomplish the rest of them.  I’m feeling strong and hungry for more.  With my current job ending in mid-March, I’ll have a lot of time in late March and early April to really dedicate myself to this training program and the ramping up of mileage that’s in store.  Hopefully though, I won’t have too much time as I’m aggressively seeking that next employment chapter.  Maybe this spare time otherwise spent in the office can also be used to do some of the to-do list things listed above.  I’ll be collecting unemployment, so truly, it’s the best of all worlds:  doing all my training, pursuing the items on my to-do list, having my relationship with Roya, and getting paid!  If only I could figure out how to make the “getting paid” part about 10 times what it will be and maintain this as a lifestyle for a bunch of years.  Lotto anyone?

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