January 2013 – Multisport coaching.

I’ve gotten slack from time to time on how positive most of my blogs are. That doesn’t bother me at all, I want to be positive. Besides, who wants to hear me whine all the time? I could, but that’s not that path I normally choose. That being said, I don’t have a perfect life, no one does. I have flaws and will be the first to admit it:

1) I can be selfish. To be a dedicated athlete, you have to be at times. And the benefits, emotional and physical, I gain from training ultimately make me a better person. Working out also sets a great example for our daughters as I want them to be healthy and fit too.

2) Frequent communication with friends has certainly declined since I had kids. I NEVER thought I’d be one of THOSE moms who would allow motherhood get in the way of friendships. I’d love to say I was a great friend who called people regularly, I normally don’t. While being a stay at home mom, having 3 part-time jobs, training, and trying to be a good wife, the time slips away quickly. It’s not an excuse, just a fact, one in which I don’t like. But, I will be there for any good friend in need, anytime. That will never change. My friends are very dear to me with or without the frequent communication.

3) This one coincides with #2, I don’t always answer the phone when I’m home. If I’m spending quality time with our girls, which I try to do quite often, working, training, or on vacation, I typically won’t pick up unless it’s a client or family. If I don’t get my work done, my clients fail, and I fail. I want to be the best mom, wife, and coach I can so if that means not answering the phone on occasion, so be it.

4) Eating is an issue of mine. Yes, I have food problems. It seems so easy to make healthy decisions, to not eat junk or not to consume too much food. It simply isn’t that easy for me. You see, I’ve always been on the ‘see-food’ diet. If it’s in the house, it’s fair game, anytime. Most of you know Nutella and other sweets are quite problematic as I’m not one to just have one piece or one bite. No no no. Once I start, it takes me a while to stop. My mind starts playing with me as in, ‘oh, you already had a few, what’s another one.’ The problem is, I hear that voice after every bite so I keep eating. And then I feel so guilty I wallow in more food. Currently I’m up about 14 pounds from my race weight, not good. But at least I can say I gained most of that during my 6+ week training hiatus. Now that training has resumed, I trust the weight, at least most of it, will come off.

5) That training hiatus was a choice, for mental and physical purposes. I certainly needed the mental reprieve after racing from May-October, but I also had hip issues all season. Many suspect it stemmed from my back issues the year prior. Whatever the case, I needed to give it time to rest and heal. Unfortunately, the time off didn’t seem to help. It only made my hips wider. Now, my hip pain has diminished since I started working out again, but I can’t have it all. Although my hip is on the up & up, my back issues have returned. Grrr!

Life, it’s such a roller coaster and we’re all on its tumultuous ride. I’ve discovered I’m at the age where I’m starting to attend more funerals than weddings, where deaths and terrible illnesses are more frequent. It just plain sucks. Life is no longer roses and rainbows as it pretty much was in my 20’s. Flaws, most of which I did not reveal here, and all though, I love life and appreciate everyone and everything in it. Here’s an example of why: a few minutes after tucking Courtney in the other night, she came out of her room and called for me. When I went up to ask what was the matter, she replied,’ mom, I love you so much I can’t stand it. Please come snuggle with me.’ Really, is there anything better than that???

Keep it real. We all have issues and flaws so stop judging and instead look within. Every day is an opportunity to start again, to make choices, and your attitude, well that’s always up to you. Choose wisely. And I have to say, choose to be healthy via food and exercise. Without your health, you are limiting yourself to what you can accomplish, to how good you can feel, and possibly to how long you have on this earth.