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this is what it's like to be lost
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sometime in the fall i realized it was going to be a crazy year. mostly because of Moa and trying to transition out of my recruiting business into Moa full time.

around Feb i realized i had ran about 5 times over a timeframe of several months, but was at least going to the gym a few times a week.

so, now it's spring. all my buds are tip top, some just raced in a half or full marathon yesterday. and here i am, lost, confused, i have no idea what my goals are.

one day i want to weight train "seriously" and get a hard body, the next i think yoga, and then yet another idea will crop up of running a marthon. i'm all over the place. and i know it's because i have no race before me.

at this stage i can't even imagine what kind of shit running condition i'm in. i'd be lucky to make it 30 minutes. sigh.

so, what can i do? this floundering and grabbing at things in a hat is wreckless and not very rewarding. it's almost like i need a race, otherwise i won't train regularly.

so, i guess i need to pick a race. maybe a half marathon. or at least identify some real working goals. this is what i'm going to work on this week!

which leaves me wondering if there anyone who would be interested in emailing or getting in touch once a week for accountability? i'm far too ashamed to even ask one of my buds from the tri team, but who better to connect with than the womens! :)

lastly, anyone interested in accountability would be a good match, i will get myself together to be a good mate, i promise.

kitty
Last edited by: kittycat: May 5, 08 18:32
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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Kittycat, keep it together :) Seriously, though, it's totally cool to have some times when you are bummed. You'll bounce back. First, don't compare yourself to your tri buds. Sure, it can be a good motivator but if it's only getting you down, try hard not to think about it. Your time will come. What is it that you really and truly want to do? Run a marathon, do a 30-mile hike in the mountains, swim across XX lake, or something not necessarily fitness-related? Think of something that really ignites a fire within you and put it on the calendar. And then work towards it. I'm like you - I need a big race on the calendar or I have a hard time getting out on a consistent basis. Just being healthy and fit isn't always enough of a motivator. Good luck! Remember, it's okay to feel like this.....many, many people deal with it too. Your time will come :)
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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Girl, you have a whole lot of accountability right here now that you started the thread :-)

I'm happy to check in with you weekly. We can come up with a plan for each week if you'd like. I'm not a coach, it would just be an agreement between us girls on what you'll do. Then, you have to write it up for me or, better yet, start a blog so we can all keep an eye on you.

I get in touch with my coach every December after taking 2 months off and tell him I have to get a schedule. I usually pick a marathon in Feb and work towards that. Without one I don't do shit. I'm terrible and totally understand. Sometimes just having a commitment for the week makes a difference.

Us Type A's don't do well without a list of goals.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [jenhs] [ In reply to ]
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ok, don't go nuts on me! :) i am aiming for 4 workouts a week, and am looking for someone to motivate and discuss things for the benefit of each other. this is the first time in years with no "big race(s)" before me, so it is odd, but it's all a matter of making a decision and focusing on something (perhaps "for" something as well).

i'm running 2 business full time right now, so time is limited, but 4 workouts a week...that's just about priorities and time management, even if it does mean getting creative.

surly someone else is in the same boat, looking for a little check point along the way. if not, then hell, ya'll are my hero.

ok, off to bed. that is probably a good start (to actually stop working and goofing off on ST a little bit, lol).
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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Sorry, I'm in a very focused (read: intense) place right now. Probably hooking up with someone who is 48 days from Ironman isn't the right fit :-) I'm sure someone will help, that's what's great about this place.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [jenhs] [ In reply to ]
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yeah, maybe after your ironman when you don't have that crazy distance in front of you! :)

sounds like it's going well for you! that's awesome.
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [jenhs] [ In reply to ]
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Well, you have had a bunch on your plate. So it is understandable that you have had let other stuff go. You only have so much time or energy to give. Well that over with. :) If you pick a goal I will check in on you. I am in the final phase of my TTT training so I am training a lot but I can still be there for you. Also, living in Portsmouth I am not to far away to get together (I am slower than you) when you come home for a visit. And we have all those lovely hill out in the Forest to play in. So what do you say, pick a goal and I'll try to help you along some.

Chris

2015 Season: American TTT
Ironman Louisville.
Last edited by: chrisrunzs26: May 6, 08 5:54
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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How about a weekly check-up right here on The Womens. Each of us has our own priorities and goals. Each of us has our own number of hours that we can train each week. How about we post our goals for this year and our plan for getting there. Then, we can have a weekly thread to talk about how we did. Nothing like a public forum to keep you on track. For some people, it might be 15 hours of training. For others, it might be 4. It doesn't matter. What does matter is posting your goal and then staying on track with that goal.

I'm in a similar boat with you goal-wise. I did IMLP last year and this year I find I need to back off from training quite a bit. I'm working towards a fall marathon, so I'm only training about 6 hours a week right now.

So, what do you think? Will this help you?
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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I've gone through this multiple times. So from experience ...

YOU ARE NOT A MACHINE!

You are trying to shut down a business and start a new one. Either of these is incredibly difficult, and doing both at the same time verges on the near impossible. But you're doing it. And from what you've said here, you're doing it very well.

About this time last year, I ended up in the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. Sprint season for masters rowing was about to begin, and I had been training to have a great year. Rowing camp went well, my sculling speed was coming along, the quad was clicking along, and one of my best friends and I had just decided to team up in a double. And in the space of a week, all that training stopped, my sprint season was over, and it looked like my recovery would take too long to put together a good head race season. AND I was changing jobs and moving to a new city. Like you, I was floundering. Did I want to keep rowing, which was taking up more and more time that I didn't have, or did I want to do tris again, or did I want to just ride, or did I want to take up tennis, or what the hell am I going to DO? (Because we always have to be doing something!) And all of this was coupled with my gearing up in the new job AND going through the annoying "Don't lift more than 15 lbs. Don't run or ride or swim or row or anything for at least 6 weeks." I even had my rowing coach worried about me riding in the launch!

So I spent most of last year and most of this year to date floundering about what I was going to do. I went from a hard rowing focus to a running focus to masters swimming to riding 200 miles/wk. I signed up for IMAZ (Nov.), then decided I didn't want to take the week+ off to do the race. So then I signed up for B2B. THEN I decided I didn't want to do tris at all, especially not long ones!

Here's where I am now: Last year wasn't particularly productive from an athletic standpoint, but that's okay. I eventually learned to accept the floundering, and I think now it's been good for me mentally. I'm a restless person, and jumping from thing to thing is sometimes (to quote Martha) A Good Thing. And this year is going to be a baseline year. I'm just going to see where I am in the sprint and Oly world. Maybe do a 1/2. I just can't for the life of me spare the mental energy on committing to something more. I've given up on the idea that every year, every season, must be a great year. It just doesn't. And it can't be.

I'm not sure there's any advice there. More commiserating and venting about my own training. But if you need someone to be accountable to, I can do that. I'm good at damning silences! Just pick your target (if that's what you want to do).
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [DawnT] [ In reply to ]
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Dawn, you have a great idea there. I'd love to participate in a weekly check-in. For me, it's gonna be about making myself available to do at least 1 hour a day of something, anything, during the work week. (Weekends are for the long stuff.) Doesn't have to be fast/long/strenuous/intense, just generally sticking to my plan this week (it's a beginning-of-a-taper week for IMFL 70.3) and not throwing everything out the window when i get busy at work/lazy/rebellious/counterproductive/whatever.

When's a good day for check-in day? Kitty, would that help?
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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Hang in there, Kitty! (Wasn't that some poster from the 70's?)
Anyhoo, I totally empathize with your floundering. I'm also closing in on a career change and all the stress that comes with it...AND I have an A-race and a training schedule. I think during any major life change we're all going to try and find some stability in another facet of our lives. When I went through my divorce 2 years ago, I clung to training for my first HIM for dear life. The race and training was a great source of distraction and empowerment during a time when I felt like my whole world was falling apart.
Now with this impending career change, I'm feeling financially uneasy and a change in a part of my career identity. I want to use this tri season and its goals as a point of stability in my life but frankly, it's become another wild card. I'm trying to refocus from the actual race results to the training process. Afterall, we can only control what we do right now.
I'd be happy to be a weekly contact person if you'd like.
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [DawnT] [ In reply to ]
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I like this idea, too, I would totally be up for a weekly check-in. I am feeling the same way, having trouble even figuring out a schedule right now, but it's all smoothing out and having this group to check in with sounds like just what I need. Let's do it! I will be there every week, too, promise...
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [kitboo] [ In reply to ]
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i remember that poster. sheesh.
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [Shelby] [ In reply to ]
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Ok, I think enough of us think the weekly check-in will be a good idea that we should go ahead and do it with or without kitty. I really hope kc participates too, but I can understand if she wants to keep the details off the forum. I'll start a new thread where everyone can add in their goals for 2008. Then, I'll start a check-in thread every Monday so we can discuss our progress. Make sense? If anyone has any suggestions for making this better, speak up.
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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I'll stop lurking and join the forum. Hang in there! You all inspire me. I'm more than happy to help. I'll post goals after I get this work done and the little guys are in bed :)
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [DawnT] [ In reply to ]
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hey, i was out all day, so just getting back in to see this thread. personally, i love the idea you had Dawn of checking in once a week, and it is thrilling that others are interested.

dawn, others, what are some things that we need to cover in our posts?

if we do it the same day every week, as you've suggested dawn, and cover the necessary topics, i think this could do a lot of good for a lot of people.

go womens! :)
kitty
Last edited by: kittycat: May 6, 08 16:42
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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I think you just need to list out your goals - whatever they may be - and then check in once a week to tell us how you're doing towards your goals. I started a separate thread to list your goals. It's at the top of the forum since CLM made it sticky. Enter in your goals for the year. Every Monday, I'll start a new thread and we can all chat about how we did in the past week. I think this will keep many of us on track and force us to be accountable to the group. Even if we get off-track, we're only 1 week away from getting back on.
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [dreaming~big] [ In reply to ]
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Cutest kitten ever.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
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Re: this is what it's like to be lost [kittycat] [ In reply to ]
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I can completely relate. Over the past year, I've started a new job, become a den mom, a trustee on our library board, the swim team treasurer and a member of my kids' school advisory council. If my mother-in-law hadn't recently moved here to help out, I think I'd be in the loony bin. I still run a few days a week (nothing over an hour and most 30-45 minutes) and do a little lifting, but I'm far off my peak fitness. What's more, since I turned 40 last year, my metabolism seems to be grinding to a halt, so weight gain is becoming a problem.

I decided to hire a personal trainer to reinvigorate my workouts and help me lose this extra 10-15 pounds. Our first get together is May 23 (my first available date!) and we're going to meet once a month -- all I can fit in -- and keep in touch via e-mail and phone. She's a runner and is familiar with my background, but feels that a consistent, challenging 3 days/week doing weights and short-spurt, high intensity cardio will be a good start. For me, 3 days/week sounds so wimpy, but 5-6 days/week is just not realistic at this point. I'm hoping that with a little structure and accountability, I can start supplementing those 3 days with some good runs and get back on track. I'm not even going to think about racing (except for that half marathon in August and the fact that I've registered for the NY Marathon:).

I plan on posting in the goal thread -- which I think is a great idea -- when I have some realistic and specific goals. In the meantime, I'm trying not to beat myself up too much over the current state of affairs. Hang in there; I'm confident we can both get back on track.
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