Wednesday, February 20, 2013

It's about endurance

Since that brief time in college when my coach made me a middle distance runner (out of desperation I think), I have been much more focused on endurance. Just about any length triathlon can be considered an endurance event-- even that one I did a couple years ago that took significantly less than an hour. While a sprint is still an endurance event, more and more triathletes these days are pushing the endurance envelope with the really lengthy stuff like ironman distance.


 college. there it is again


Well I've been away from that distance for over 3 years now, and actually have not even done a half ironman in almost 3 years, but I have begun a journey in the oldest endurance event known to mankind: mothering. It requires endurance unlike anything else. First you go through nine months of growing a baby (side note: it's not 10 months, people. I know I'm not good at math, according to the old lady at the pool who told me 9 laps is a mile, but you are not pregnant 10 months unless you are an elephant). Then comes the endurance nursing, babywearing, rocking, isometric biceps exercises, carrying baby around the grocery store when you have a fever, hunchback stooping and hand holding...the list goes on.

Recently I've come back into the triathlon endurance world. Sort of. I call 3.5 hour rides "long," partly because it is by far the longest I've ever ridden my trainer, and partly because that's a long time to go not seeing my baby. Most of the indoor rides are broken up by a quick baby nursing, which makes me worry about Hunter's "training" for this upcoming race. The actual event will surely take me over 5 hours (why can't I just pick a fast course?), added to all of the race morning preparations that will take me away from him, and we will be apart at least 6 hours!

This makes me sound so overprotective. He will, after all, be a year old, playing with daddy the whole time, and it's not like I'm leaving him overnight or anything. My mind keeps having to tell my heart that it is ok. We will all have to be little endurance athletes that day. And if Hunter's ability to spend hours chasing kitties or digging in the rocks and sand is any indication, he will be just fine. Now maybe I should worry about my own speed and endurance because the faster I go, the less endurance I need. 


world's largest sandbox

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