Week 8: Cycling Speed/Catching Up on Chaos

I received a fortune tonight with my Firebowl meal that only confirmed what I was going to write about tonight. The fortune read, “Allow disruptions to deepen your concentration.” Well, who says fortunes don’t come true! I’ve been wallowing in a world of disruptions lately, which I’m convinced will only serve to make me stronger, happier and more content with things to come.

Our new house has been in that proverbial “two weeks left” period for over a month now, which means I’ve continued to virtually live out of a couple of clothing boxes. Fortunately, the bulk of my daily outfits consist of running clothes and jeans so it’s really no huge deal. If nothing else, it truly reveals the clothes that I can and can’t live without. Suffice to say, that there are plenty of clothes I could donate and never think about again. My mail is still being delivered to my old condo so I’ve made arrangements with the new owner to pick it up every now and then until I have a permanent address. Thank God for the patience of others.

To make the situation even more humorous, we have to be out of our current living situation by October 5th. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we’ll be closed by then. Therefore, we may be moving to yet ANOTHER temporary residence until we close. But that’s not the funny part…This past weekend, Shawn’s parents rented a moving truck and drove up to Austin to haul a bunch of our furniture away that they are going to use. At the same time, the person who is taking over the apartment lease rented movers to move all of her stuff into our apartment. So, in less than two hours, our crap was replaced with someone else’s crap and we’re currently living amongst strange couches, armoires, bookshelves, boxes and plants that are not set up in any organized fashion. About the only thing we have left that’s “ours” is a bed. The bed has also been our kitchen table and desk for the last couple of nights.

I’m looking on the bright side through all of this chaos and disruption. Some people don’t have any place to live and we have multiple choices. We all should be so lucky. I just wish I knew where my underwear and mail were on a daily basis!!

Several other “disruptions” in my world continue to take place right now as well. Fortunately my injury (see past posts about “Barney”) has subsided and I’m back on the bike with slight discomfort, but nothing severe. My Ironman 70.3 World Championship training appears to be right on track. Flights and hotel are booked! I did a speed cycling workout with T3 tonight on South Mopac and did really well. I was the first female to finish behind two guys. We did 3x 4 mile loops, plus a warmup and cooldown for 17.5 miles.
Loop 1 : 14:48 (19.9 mph)
Loop 2: 14:11 (20.1mph)
Loop 3: 14: 18 (20 mph)

My training for Dallas White Rock Marathon continues to proceed as well.Hotel is officially booked as of today. My only fear is burning out before the actual race. We have run two to three 18 milers and three 20 milers ALREADY and we still have several weeks to go. While I’ve been injury-free up to this point, I’ve definitely been feeling some muscle tightness. It’s completely my fault because I haven’t been diligent with stretching or massage.
As I’ve mentioned before, the ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot is my Annual disruption this time of year. Before and after work, I’m usually filling out forms and emailing requests to city officials for street closures and parking, and neighborhood associations who are never happy that a race is taking place in their ‘hood. While I bitch and moan about the amount of work it involves, I’m also grateful for the connections and networking that comes with being a Race Director for one of Austin’s largest events. Plus, it does get a little easier every year as things become more and more routine. AND I have so many friends who volunteer their time to help me!! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!

So, there you go…As my fortune says, I’m allowing disruptions to deepen my concentration. I’m invigorated to do my best at all of the above. Typically, the only person I disappoint is myself when I realize that I just can’t do it all!

Up next?? Planning my wedding!!!!! Fortunately, my fiancé and I are in agreement to wait until we’re in the new house before we switch gears to the nuptials. Right now, we’re focusing on things like toilet seat height. The last thing I want to do is switch from toilet seats to wedding cakes in the same conversation. We are signed up for Marriage Prep classes in October so that weekend will put us in the starting block for our next Marathon Training Session. This Marathon will last a lifetime (almost like this blog entry).