Professional Slacker

When I was born, the fixate dial was turned to 'medium'. It doesn't seem to matter what the venue is: work, triathlon, city-living, etc, I thrive on newness the way that dracula thrives on a fleshy, exposed neck. Clinicians call this ADD, I call it having a life.

The last two weeks have proved challenging in terms of keeping up the momentum with training. At first I thought I was slacking off, but upon deeper exploration, I've realized that it's not so much that I don't want to train, but that I want to do OTHER things as well. This further supports my belief that I was born to be a woman of leisure and this whole work gig is a bad fit all around.

I have still managed to get in about 4 trainings/week, but the struggle is there. I get home and the thought of going to Koret to complete the 4000 meter workout is overwhelmingly numbing. When I have a two-hour window, my mind says: get on your bike gear and go ride the Alcatraz course. But my gut says: it's too windy, too cold, too much gear to deal with...stay home and play with your attention-deprived kitty instead. I still feel good once I get going and even better once the workout is over. The eternal and un-original truth is that there just aren't enough hours in the day. In fact, I should be out doing something right now, but instead, I sit here writing this post.

The world does not stop turning just because I'm training for a triathlon. There's so much to absorb, to experience, and to bite off. Last Friday night, my high school friend Paul was in town, so we went out. Several drinks later I stumbled home and when I woke up the next morning to rain, I relished every moment of the self-imposed break from training. At least weekend's Alpine Damn ride, I lingered a bit too long at the rest stop inhaling the assorted snacks, and our coach yelled at me, "Keep moving, this is not a rest, it's just a re-fuel." I hustled onward, but in my head, I was thinking, "Man, sometimes you just need to stop and smell the Cheeze-Its."

So there you have it folks. To the disciplined triathlete, I am a slacker. But in my mind, I'm just trying to walk through life--a few days here and there anyway--in something other bike cleats, running shoes, or flip-flops.