Acclimation or Acceptance?

Summer has continued to be humid and gross.  But it is also flying by - I am in denial that we are this deep in July.  I also recently started working 100% home, which is great for triathlons because you can work around your training instead of training around your work schedule.  Not that I am doing much  training...but I like the potential.

At first, finding discipline was difficult because theoretically, I COULD RUN ALL DAY.  The weather has at least helped solve that problem since working involves air conditioning.  Also, I discovered I work better in a cubical-like environment: a small space with few distractions.  I created this space using the bathroom vanity.  It actually works great - I purchased some Crayola mirror-markers to transform the mirror into a white board.

The only downside is I am working next to a toilet.  Although, I do always appreciate any opportunity for increased efficiency.

When not at my vanity workstation, the kids and I are often at McDonalds.  I have always been a fan of their little ice cream cones.  I do miss the day that they were only .50 cents and you had the option of chocolate or swirl.  I used to always order swirl.

But I will settle for vanilla.  The kids settle for vanilla, too.  And if you think that its weird I choose to work in the bathroom, you will find it really weird that my kids eat their ice cream cones with a spoon!

After they finish their ice cream, they get lost in the tunnels that smell like pee.  Sometimes they disappear in them for a good 30-minutes.  

Sometimes they sit up there and just stare at me.   Sometimes they plaster their face to the plastic windows.  Sometimes they even lick the windows.  This boggles my mind.  They refuse to lick an ice cream cone but cannot resist licking a booger-crusted, snot-coated, pee-infused piece of stinky plastic?

Anyway, the good news is that my back is recovering.  It only hurts when I back bend.  And, my running is recovering as well - my legs are finding their spring and I am finding myself enjoying it again.  I am not sure if I am acclimating to the humidity or simply accepting the fact that the weather sucks.  Part of pain is perception so while I cannot control the weather, I can change the way I allow it to control me.  I think this is why running massively appeals to type A personalities - physical ailments aside, you always have an element of control.  Although you cannot always change your running conditions, you can change the way you deal with them.  It only sucks if you tell yourself it sucks.

Feeling a Bit Burnt Out

I don't know if its the summer heat, or just lack of giving myself a substantial break, but I am feeling rather burnt out.   Nik, maybe that is I did not update for a full week - my facebook feed is full of people who are always training for a half Ironman, if not a full Ironman, so it seems a bit wussy to be burnt out from doing 5Ks and sprint triathlons.

My body is not encouraging me either because I pinched a nerve in my lower back.  It either happened from not properly getting out of full-camel position, or during my nightly attempts at chin stands.  I was feeling pretty awesome about being able to do a chin stand, but just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.  At least without learning the proper form first.

My yoga teacher used the term "over-compressed" so my chiropractor has since "decompressed" me twice.  But, my low back still feels weird.  However, when I was image Googling chin stands to find a picture, I found a bunch of other poses I want to try so clearly I have not learned my lesson.

So, the solution to feeling burnt out seems rather simple - I should just take a break, right?  But my life is so compartmentalized:  my family time - my work time - and my hobby time (with also is my alone time and my social time).  If I don't have my hobby, I have a void.

But it's not so much that I don't WANT to run, it's that I don't want to HAVE to run.

Recently, my son has been obsessed with my Garmin.  Every day, for a few weeks, he has asked for a "running watch that he can put on his bike."  I finally found a stop watch that could fit his little wrist.  It's not a Garmin, but it has stop and start buttons...the only two features he cares about.

It's not unusual for me to feel this way during this summer.  And although it has been awhile, it is not unusual for me to give my Garmin a break and run just to run.   I am considering temporarily trading watches my son.  My only hesitation is can I trust him to not put my Garmin in the toilet?

The irony in all this is I just agreed to get coached.  This was my first week and I blew off 75% of the workouts.  Even though my mind wants to be motivated, I just cannot fake it.  Or force it.

So, despite the fact I do not want to write this, I declare July a recovery month.  In August, I am doing Hood2Coast and I will end the season with one last triathlon in September.

Even though the heat has made me officially surrender, my kids are handling it better than they were a few weeks ago.  We have been having fun at the pool.

And the movies.

And Hayden discovered that if he wears his hat and his sunglasses, the sun will stay out of his eyes!