I’m finding that this is a really inconvenient time to be really firm with myself. And I haven’t been.

So, this race will be… fun.

Last time we spoke, I had an opportunity to travel for work. That fell through (for all the right reasons), and I was a touch sad about missing the opportunity but then there was a HUGE sigh of relief because it was totally at the worst time for my personal life. I thought SURELY that would mean I’d have plenty of time to knock out all these things on my “sessions I must do before the race”. Then, I don’t even know what happened, but I’m looking at an almost-empty training calendar for the week.

Ok, fine, I do know what happened –

  1. I was prioritizing work and being social vs sticking to a training schedule. We are finally back in the office and that means some game sessions and happy hours have taken the place of working out.
  2. My cranky heel is back in effect and I’m trying to make sure I get to the start line healthy. I ran 7 miles last week just fine, but then walking to the movies in my other Hokas DESTROYED it. Go figure. So, besides a very short run and walk one day, I’ve been staying off of it.
  3. I made the perfect the enemy of the good. I had an outdoor TT bike ride on the list, and sadly, my TT bike has been in the car waiting to do that for a week and a half because of wind, rain, and mostly lack of motivation. That also means it’s not on the trainer so I’m not riding at all.

We plan tomorrow to do a mock tri, and it should hit most of the “must do” sessions.

  • 1500m wetsuit swim
  • 1 hour TT bike (outside)
  • 2-3 mile run

I would like to throw down one more session in the pool next week, an outdoor bike ride at lunch/after work, a short run or two to keep the legs loose (or not, if I have heel issues then we just rest and let the training ride) and stretching/recovery every day.

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The race weather is looking excellent right now, so even if I’m a little untrained, I’m excited to go play triathlon with a catered buffet on a really nice day. I’m definitely a different human than I was the last time I raced the X-50 as in I’m not looking to squeeze every ounce of performance out of myself and hit specific pace/time goals but that doesn’t mean I can’t go enjoy my day like a normal, slightly less type-A person! I can smell the flowers without being a champion flower sniffer.

I’m actually really excited once this is over to start figuring out how to incorporate general fitness as part of my life. That is step one to getting back towards being more like that person in 2014, but we’ll get to that after the race.

Other things and stuff

Maybe it’s kind of a dumb thing to be very excited about a video game, but also maybe it’s okay when you put 1200+ hours into it over the last few years. So, anyway, after almost 3 years and 7 seasons of KIBBL (Blood Bowl) league, I finally made it into the finals! I was so excite!

…I got utterly diced (aka, my luck ran out early and often) and lost, but hey, we #2!!!!I suppose in the past I may have had deep thoughts about this (about how this team helped me to learn how to play more aggressively but in a smart and controlled way and how that really applies to life right now) but I’m in a phase where I DO more than THINK right now, so… onto the next!

One of the nicest things about this game is that I played in my office at work, and Joel and friends held a watch party in our lounge. Potentially unpopular opinion here, but I’ve been back in the office part time the last few weeks and it’s been heckin’ great and restored a bit of my sanity I’ve been lacking for the last two years.

I have been able to cobble together a little more work/life balance (not enough to get back to training, obvs, but baby steps) now that I have a place to go that is work and home is not always work. The commute (15 mins) gives me the ability to wind up/wind down my day and transition from work to not work by the end instead of going to the couch and just continuing to work/think about work since I’m a Pavlovian dog that needs a cue, apparently. Having my own quiet box instead of sharing space with someone who is on calls all day while I’m also on calls all day means I can work without headphones 8-10h/day. I realize this is the opposite for some people, and I GET YOU. Wearing clothes that are not pajamas and doing my hair not in a knot on top of my head (100% not worth it to sit in said headphones all day) feels… nice.

It’s been amazing to see coworkers and have some in person/hybrid meetings (much ? to my marketing team who’s mostly working in the office!) even though it’s a little awkward, both remembering how to people again and also making the technical setup work. It’s been awesome to have lunch in the breakroom and chat with whoever’s around. Bloodbowl watch parties will definitely be a thing. Happy hours spin up occasionally after work around 4-5pm, which lead to Super Smash Bros tournaments in the game room. Work D&D games are happening on the regular. It is so damn nice to people again.

I’m happy to have the flexibility to work from home whenever (I did twice this week) but the last 2 years made me realize that a fully remote job is so very much not for me and I’m very happy to be hybrid.