Since starting this blog a year ago, I haven’t gone more than a week or so without posting.  Until now.  I’ve been quiet this month.  This hamstring injury has me a little down.  I’ve been swimming and biking and boxing and yoga-ing as much as I am able.  But sitting on a bike that isn’t going anywhere and staring at the cast of CSI while I pedal away doesn’t give me quite the same adrenaline rush as a long run through the woods.  Likewise, staring at the blue line on the bottom of the pool does even less for my mental health.  I still get the endorphin high of a good workout, but it’s just not the same.

Last week I did a quick warm up on the elliptical and then tried to jump on the treadmill for a bit.  By the time I was closing in on a mile, I could feel my hammy getting tight.  I decided to be smart, not risk it.  So I put my tail between my legs and went back to the elliptical.  I have started to question whether or not a spring marathon is really in the plan for me this year.  It’s still up in the air.  I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet, but we’ll see how the next couple weeks go.  Ultimately, I have to consider the long term goal.  Arizona in November is way too important to risk spending the whole summer healing from a hamstring injury.  Sometimes it’s hard to see beyond the present situation, but it’s important to remember the big picture.

My injury isn’t the only thing that has kept me from posting lately.  I am terrible at keeping secrets.  Wait! Before you decide to never confide in me ever again, let me clarify.  I am terrible at keeping secrets that I’m super excited about.  Like when I find the perfect present for someone.  Or if I’m on the brink of an awesome new adventure that I want to share with the world.

Well, it just so happens that there is big news in the world of RRG that I’ve been sitting on since just about the same time as my last post.  A couple weeks ago I showed up to work on a Monday afternoon and just as I sat down at the staff computer to send the weekly social run email, Rosie came flying into the backroom to see if I had read the email from David.  I had noticed the subject line, but hadn’t read it yet.  Something about Town and Country…huh?  I opened the email and Rosie stood behind me reading over my shoulder.  Come to find out, FLEET FEET St. Louis is starting a new partnership with the specialty triathlon store Swim Bike Run, located in Town and Country, MO.  Wow.  This is big news in the St. Louis world of endurance athletes.  FLEET FEET will be sharing space under the same roof as Swim Bike Run to assist with the specialty run part.  After reading the email, I went…Ohhhhh, that’s why Jaime called me today!  So I quickly grabbed the phone and called her back.  She didn’t even realize David had sent the staff email yet, but by the time we got off the phone we had a meeting arranged for Wednesday.

On Wednesday I went into the St. Charles store to meet with Jaime and Kristen to talk about my possible role in the new store.  Kristen has been on a yearlong hiatus from FLEET FEET, after serving as the head training coach in the past, she is now back to head up the new store.  You might remember Kristen’s appearance in my posts from Racine back in July.  Kristen and I, being very close in age, started the Racine half Ironman in the same wave.  I caught up to her on the bike somewhere around mile 50.  And we saw each other a couple times on the run.  Ultimately, I think she beat me by about a minute.  I can think of no other person that would make this new opportunity more enticing.  Funny side note:  Tracy, Kristen and I all showed up in each other’s race photos from Racine.  I guess it makes sense, you put three adorable blond triathletes from St. Louis in one wave and there is bound to be some confusion.

Anyway, I left that meeting an hour later feeling like my head was spinning.  I was on information overload.  I had a lot to think about.  I spent that afternoon and evening thinking about all that was presented.  I felt overwhelmed.  As much as I tried not to think about it, I would still find myself right back to dissecting every little detail.  I would have given anything to go for a run while I processed everything, which is typically what I do when faced with a big decision.  But since I couldn’t run, I had to opt for other methods of therapy.  So I baked brownies.  Somewhat counter-active, but whatever, it seemed to help temporarily.

I got to work Thursday morning still thinking through everything.  I talked with Erin some in between customers.  I was working it out.  I remember Erin saying, “I think you know your answer, Linds”.  She was right, it was pretty obvious.  Why wouldn’t I do this?  The timing of this is perfect.  The benefits are overwhelming.  As soon as it warms up, I can start riding my bike to work, where I can interact with experienced cyclists and triathletes on a daily basis while I try to figure out this whole Ironman thing.  I get to help blaze a trail with this new concept, and let’s face it, we all know that I am always up for a new challenge.

Here’s the thing that struck me recently.  Being a single parent is hard.  I don’t mean that in a whiney way.  I’m just being real.  Being a parent with a spouse is hard, so imagine doing it on your own.  My schedule is crazy.  Between a custody schedule, a retail schedule and a training schedule, I almost never know what day it is.  I go to work every Sunday while most of my friends are out playing.  Monday is a sleep in day for me while the world starts the work week.  My “weekend” can be found in the middle of the week because Tuesday and Wednesday are my two consecutive days off.  But not really, because I still have to do school drop offs and pick-ups.  I pack lunches and wash school uniforms. I take the boys to basketball practice. I
help with homework. I deal with snow days and sick kids, somewhere in there I try to get to the pool or jump on the bike.  I rarely know which end is up.  I have a hard time keeping track of anything.  But somehow I manage to keep it together.  Most of the time. Why?  Because I chose this life.  My life is a direct result of the choices I have made.  And it will continue to be.  So I try to make the most of the options presented to me.

As I was faced with this amazing possibility of joining Kristen and a couple of my other colleagues, I thought, no regrets.  Yes, life as a single parent is hard, but everybody has hard stuff to deal with in life.  The other day after swimming, I stood in the parking lot talking to my friend Sarah while our wet hair proceeded to freeze.  Sarah is a working mom who takes care of a child with a disability and she was telling me about the heart condition she has been dealing with for years.  She has a defibrillator implanted to assist her heart in an emergency, and she still participates in her events, but she can’t compete as hard as she used to.  I saw her at Innsbrook last summer where she had a huge PR and placed in her age group.  But she also had to have a personal kayaker out on the water with her.  Coincidentally, her kayaker was Sally Drake, owner of Swim Bike Run.  I also think of our friend Teri, who is constantly inspiring all of us with her pursuit to beat Cancer as she continues to complete marathons, Ironmans, all of it.  Not even the C-word can make Teri stop living life.  We are an amazingly close, supportive and interwoven community that I am beyond blessed to be a part of.

So, yeah, life is hard.  For everyone.  I’m no exception.  It’s all about perspective.  Just like Sarah said, as we stood in the parking lot cursing the stupid groundhog, “Sometimes we’ve just got to put on our big girl pants and keep going”.  We have been given the gift to keep doing what we love, even though sometimes it’s hard, and so we continue to do it.  Work hard, train hard, play hard.  And if I can combine all three at the same time, all the better.

No, my schedule doesn’t make any sense at all.  Not to anyone.  Least of all me.  I’m all over the place. But life is too short to go sit at a desk all day and do something that I’m not passionate about.  About a year ago, I wrote a post that started, “I love my job”.  That is still completely true today.  I’ve found my niche.  I am a runner.  I am a triathlete.  Here’s to the new adventure that awaits!