inishing worry freak-out. Krissy emailed me and helped me to put it in perspective. I mean, the best I can do is train, and then show up and do my best, right?I was reading AndreaSue's blog yesterday about "distance creep". I have a 100 mile ride scheduled for this weekend. I figure "Distance Creep" is one of the benefits of training; you're less freaked out by the longer distances.
At work yesterday one of the other teachers told me that she actually walked her very first 5K this summer. I was thinking, that's so cute! but not in a nasty, condescending sort of way. I was thinking of my first 5K almost wistfully, the way you think things like, Man, if I could redo my senior year in high school I would SO blow them away with how much more I know now.
I was also thinking that it was interesting that she singled me out to tell me about this, since, I guess, most people would say, "OMG, three miles? WHY?"
In that vein, my training today will be a triathlon, out of order, with really long transition times. I have a 50 mile bikethat I was supposed to do two days ago. Then I'm going to hit the pool for 2000 meters. Then I'll eat, go over to the high school and get Mini-baboo registered for his Junior year.
Then in the hottest part of the day, per the Jimmy, I'm scheduled to do a 7 mile run, down on the bosque, where it's nice and humid. Yay. You know I loves me some heat. The feeling of the sweat rolling down parts of me - where can I get me some more of that? And the river flies
biting my slow-moving ass? Mmmmmm.And it occurs to me, the only part of this day that I'm worried about finishing is getting Mini-baboo registered for school. I mean, standing in line for 30 whole minutes. Ugh!
So I figure that at least part of all the training and the miles and the miles and the miles for the Ironman has to do with preparing me emotionally for the distance, so that I don't say, OMG 100 miles? and instead I say, 100 miles. Well, here we go. Where's those four water bottles I froze yesterday? Are my fig Newtons still in the drawer?
Yesterday I 'volunteered' for registration for the new school year, which starts August 9th. (Ack!) Right after I got there the secretary pulled me aside and asked me if I wanted to "comp" my time. In other words, the two days I was going to take off to do "your iron race thing in Kentucky," would I like to come in and do registration and then get those days off instead of using up my two personal days?Hell, yes I would! I was planning to do the 25-miler when Baboo and Bigun have their big show-down at the Tri-101 in the fall and was wondering how I was going to get that time off.
Lesson learned: go head and sign up for that race, even if you don't know how you're going to get there or get time off or pay for it or anything. Was this a lesson I needed to learn?
(Is this a new GeekGirl law, perhaps GeekGirl's Law of Foolish optimism?)
Anyway as much as I dread going to work today, it primes me for fall. Gets me into the right mood. This year I'll be a "floater" because we don't have enough classrooms. I won't have my own room; I'll share rooms with other teachers during their "off" period. I've done it before. It's no big deal. I'm also switching to teaching Algebra, something I did for about five years, by choice. It's actually easier than teaching science; there's fewer props involved.
On the downside, it means I won't get to decorate a room in Happy Bunny posters, something I've sorely been wanting to do. So, I'll have to put them on my teacher blog. Parents are always thrilled by stuff like that "Uh, Mrs. P? I was wondering if, you know, we could talk about some of the posters you have? They seem a little, uh, you know, not related to academics."On the upside, administrators are extra grateful that you're willing to put up with it and they kind of afford you some latitude when you need a bit of time off. Or when you show up wearing a pair of crop pants, cycling sandals, and a race T-shirt instead of "professional dress".
It's disturbing how I'm beginning to manipulate my professional life to conform to triathlon.
Anyhoo, extra time off will be useful because I'm already thinking ahead to IMCDL next June. This means my longest and hardest workouts will occur while I'm still teaching, in May. I can't imagine fitting all these in while working and trying to wrap up a semester, when the kids are at their most hyper. Yikes! But, It'll work out. GeekGirl's law of foolish optimism says so.
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