A few of the sources of my distraction are about things that have caused me to have hurt feelings and be sad and in the end, have Nothing to do with triathlon, so I am going to skip it for now and just throw out a few quick comments and observations I've been making and maybe an opinion or two.
You know what? Today's blog is going to be a list--- that'll help me get things on paper a little faster.
- It's very cold here in Maine. It IS still winter. And I Love winter. We have a lot of fun doing a lot of things in the snow. It's our climate and we've embraced it. However...... I am getting tired of running in it. I headed outside for a 14 mile run last week. It was between 12-18 degrees...I don't remember. I had checked all a.m. and it never was more than that. What did I wear? ha- A headband AND hat, two pairs of gloves, 3 shirts and 2 coats ( yes, this is true), a neck warmer, TWO pair of running pants... add the HR monitor, the garmin, the shoes and socks, the three gels, the water bottle, the tissue paper, the extra headband ( not sure why ) and.... I had TOO much on my body. My elbows wouldn't bend. I was really uncomfortable. But.. I Was warm! Well, I was warm enough. And I ran all 14 miles. In fact, it was 14.19 I believe.
- I ran on Saturday-- only 7 miles this time. But when I left the house it was 5. Yep, 5 degrees. I wasn't at my house either so I didn't have as many clothes packed with me. My feet and legs Froze. My eyelashes froze. But, I had a great run! I worked a little harder to get the miles done faster and I did survive. When I got back to the place I was staying, there was a plumber laying on the floor of the bathroom trying to fix the sink. The shower was unavailable to me. I showered in a locker room with water that never got hot. My legs were RED and splotchy from the cold. Brrr. But I lived. And after that, I went outside and went skiing.
- Yesterday I ran too. It was 19! Awesome! It'll feel "warm." ha. I bundled big time and headed out. WIND! Argh.... wind. I never ever felt ok. I was frozen to my core. My neck warmer got wet and iced over. I pulled it up over my face to breath in and try to keep my face from getting frostbite. My glasses fogged up and froze. Fun.
- So.... when people tell me it's too cold to run outside, I chuckle. Ok...
- Someday, I will be racing and the weather will Not be good. It may be raining or may be very windy. It may be 99 degrees. Hard stuff. But, I will think back to some freezing miserable cold runs on icy roads and know that I have the tough stuff inside to deal with any of it. That's just how I train. Train to be tough. Racing is tough. Train for it.
- Facebook-- what a curse. I am on FB... but wow... there sure are a lot of things that go down on that media site that can be hurtful and annoying and mind boggling. The psychological discussions and observations I feel like talking about with relation to the way people handle themselves on this site are overwhelming me. That's all I'm going to say about that.
- Raising 3 boys who are close in age-- wow. Manual? Anyone? My role as a Mom is ever-changing and it sometimes throws me for a Loop!!! My baby turns 10 next week. WHAT??? Sigh... All I know is I mess up a Lot and usually do not know the right thing to do or say, but I am trying and really really hoping I am doing ok.
- Kids and sports-- there's a loaded topic I would love to sit in a room and talk about with people. Chime in! I want to hear what people think.....I'll get specific next time. But if you have thoughts... go for it! please!! I want to hear.... and discuss. This is a big one for me.
- that's all I have time for today... scattered. I told you. Looks like my thoughts on running in the cold took over. I didn't mean to go off on that so much....
- But really...get out there & try it. Bundle up. You'll be ok. And, you'll feel so tough after!
5 comments:
oy! FB is a drama filled site that I cannot stay away from. I like to watch from afar, but also sometimes join in on 'heated' discussions.
Kids and sports--what do you want to discuss? there is sooo much to talk about... lol Ok, here's this topic: I think that all this every plays equally and everyone wins bull is just fine for youth rec programs. At that level everyone should play and the focus shouldn't necessarily be on winning. Although, that IS the point of playing a game, right? So you can't take that out of the equation. But I do think that all kids should be playing and playing the same amount of time. However, once you reach junior high/high school and/or any travel or program that you need to try-out for, you should expect that the focus should be on trying to win games and sometimes that means that everyone may not play equally or even at all. That is just life, my friends. You don't get to play just because you show up. Once you reach jr high, those kids that work harder to improve should be rewarded. If you don't practice in the off season, play for a travel league or go to a sports camp, you cannot expect to get the same amount of playing time as the kid who did all of the above.
Having said that--parents need to back off as well. Guess what? We live in MAINE and chances are your kid is not going to play D1 anything. Especially not basketball. Back off an let the kids have fun, work hard to earn their playing time and enjoy watching them play. Oh, and if you think you can do a better job coaching? well, then have at it!
Ok. was that what you were looking for? :)
Yes, we can talk about the cold everyday....all day long. It has been brutal here in Chicago. EVERY day is negative temps...70" of snow...just brutal. And, no end in sight. This morning it was 8F and I was like, "YES!" - but I just want to wake up and go for a run in the dark without it being 0F or -5F. SOON. SOON. I agree, it makes us tough and keeps everything in perspective for us that live in the cold.
I can talk kid sports - I coach Graham's full basketball team. Interesting. I love it - it is the highlight of my week...(games and practices) We are lucky w/ this team and its parents. GOOD kids.
But, Graham's travel soccer team - I GREATLY dislike the coach. YELLS at these 12 year olds. SWEARS. NEVER high-fives them....breaks my heart. I even said something to him - but they don't care. Money talks, so if I do anything, I pull Graham....I just think the parents are the worst and everyone who does not coach needs to zip it. Coaching is not easy -- esp as most of us do it as a volunteer.
And, I was just talking about HOW hard it is to parent. These 12 year olds are GOOD but with this winter and us being cooped inside so much -- drawing the line between studying, reading, family time, dinner, computer, just kills me and I know I am not doing it all right....but who is?
See, I can ramble with you too, Ange!
Hi there , i am from montreal and fed up to with cold weather. Cant wait for warmers days. Stay strong it is almost over
My 2 cents on kids' sports:
1) I wish there were no special travel this and that until they are in middle school. It encourages specialization way too early, costs enough money that it divides really young kids into haves and have nots, and just seems unnecessary. Like the 1st commenter said, most of these kids aren't even going to play Div I anything, so let's just ease up.
2) I've both coached and been a regular parent, and my rule as the latter is that I can't say ANYTHING other than "good job!" No advice during or after the game--it's a slippery slope, and it's not my job to tell my kid how to play. (Like they'd even listen to me!) Coaches are there to coach, and bless them, because they're all volunteers at this stage. If my kids someday choose to ask me for advice outside of a game, that's one thing, but I won't let myself give it unless they do. (Which sometimes requires me to literally chew on my arm, but whatever.)
And this winter is ridiculous. It was 4 degrees for my run the other day. I love snow, don't mind cold, but this is seriously harshing my mellow.
Tomorrow will be 50! Woot woot! But seriously I do feel that this long, cold winter has drained some of my motivation.
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