34 Days to go!!
So now is when my training gets good!! This past too weeks have been very strange. Adjusting to my new life is weird. I have not missed working, instead, I am really getting on my workout, while I try to figure out what's my next step, which I feel I'm so far from figuring out. My life was so organized, doing my workouts in the AM, go to work, snack, work, eat lunch, work, snack, work, get home, cook my next day's lunch and fix my next day's supper, then go to bed, and repeat. Now I feel like I am all over the place, and I still don't know where to go from here. I wish there was some career bottle genie who can blink and tell me, "this is your new career, enjoy!"
Oh well, while the rest of my life happens, I'm training my ass off!!
So I ran 18 miles, slower than I would actually like, but it was about the mileage and not about PR'ing in a long run (PR means Personal Record) I got new-old sneakers, meaning I bought the same Asics I got before, they're comfy! So running on Friday gave me a rest day in between, before the 100 miles I was about to do on Sunday.
I would've never thought in a million years I would be sitting on a bike's saddle for longer than 6 hours, for a second time! So the one hour run right after was rough by the end, because my cool drink became one hot bottle of Accelerade! yuck!!
The bike course was very windy, but I pulled through on my own! Many cyclists offered to pull me but I politely declined, replying that I was training for an Ironman, so I needed to ride solo. Many shouted, "you're brave!" or "you crazy girl, kick ass!" Some even thumped up. Hearing things like that totally put me back in the game, which often plays with my mind and takes me out a little. My cooch hurt, then my upper back hurt, then the tip of the big toes hurt, but the hurt flows, so its bearable. I thought, ok, the first 25 are done, then the next 50, then the 75, until finish line! I did two quick stops, one for water, the next for all fluids in and out of my body, if you know what I mean! I cant bring myself to pee in the saddle, must practice that, no matter how disgusting peeing on top of my water bottles might be!
I have felt very sad these days. Between my job loss and my lack of options, three family members being chronically ill (2 with terminal cancer, and the wife of one of them had a massive stroke leaving her unresponsive), and me worrying about my parents having to put all this struggle on their shoulders, my mind is busy. I've been feeling a bit lonely in this city, missing my "let's shoot the shit and bitch about stuff" friends who are far away, and my family too. I'm grateful for my training peers I'd like to call friends, those who have offered their help in my time of need and their laughs when I'm down. So I train, I keep busy, and look for the positive in all that's been going on. I know I will be ok, I'm healthy and surrounded by good people, that should be enough.
Celeste, you are an inspiration! You are an amazing woman, and you WILL get through these trials. And maybe the timing of the job loss is to prepare you for something else... something better that is still to come, and more time with your family. You keep your chin up, girl. I wish I could give you a hug from Ohio, but would you settle for a virtual *grunty-hug*? <3
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