Tuesday, March 26, 2013

more than just an athlete ...

I'm entirely confident that if you were to ask most people who know me they will say I do nothing but exercise. In fact, in an informal poll I took at my sister's wedding this past weekend, 9 out of 10 people mentioned my training schedule at some point during our conversations. The only people who didn't were my grandmother and my brother-in-law's sisters. Even J mentioned how I have a tendency to make our entire house reek of chlorine during my post-swim workouts.

Most of the time it doesn't bother me. I train hard and I don't mind having that fact acknowledged, but the further I get into my Rev3 Cedar Point 140.6 plan, the more it seems to get under my skin. It's probably because the deeper I get into training, the more I struggle with balancing everything and the more I feel guilty about this whole process affecting my family life.

Also, just for the record, I do a heck of a lot more than just swim, bike and run.

Most weeks, I am a single parent at least part of the time. That means I shuttle my kids to and from school (no school bus riding here), play dates, soccer, dance, doctor's appointments and on errands. I volunteer in their classrooms - excessively. I'm Doodle's class mom and the V.P. of licensing at Dilly's preschool. I do everyone's laundry (because I hate the way J and the kids fold), the vast majority of meal prep and aside from their personal belongings, I clean the entire house - every day.

On a typical day, I am up by 6:30. I spend the next hour getting Dizzle and Doodle off to school. Then, I try to squeeze in a workout before I drop Dilly off at 9:00. Sometimes, it works, sometimes it doesn't. Once everyone is out the door, I finish (or on unlucky days, start) my workout. I then proceed to clean the house and occasionally shower. By 12:40, I am rolling out to pick up the girls from school. I don't return to my house until 2:30 at which point, I help the girls do their homework and get ready for whatever activity/errand we have to run that day. We usually stay busy until 5:00 when I put a hot dinner on the table (every single night). At 6:00, I am getting the girls ready for bed and packing their lunches for the next day (I've calculated that I will make 7620 school lunches by the time they all graduate). The girls are in bed by 6:30 and I am left to finish whatever I didn't manage to get done earlier, whether that be more chores, an increasingly infrequent blog post or my workout. Then, and only then do I finally sit down (some days I don't even sit down to eat). After some TV or a good book, I am usually in bed by 10.

It's hectic and stressful, but I love every moment of it (well most of the time). And honestly, I'm not even complaining about it. I like being busy and finishing a day feeling accomplished. I just wish that on occasion, someone would say, "You rocked the sh*t out of that meal prep" rather than, "I don't understand how you exercise so much."

Because last time I checked, I was more than just an athlete ...


13 comments:

christy said...

Our days sound pretty similar. No one ever comments on my meal plans either :)

bobbi said...

You rocked the sh*t outta that meal prep! I wish I could stay more balanced. I wish I made my house chores as much a priority as running is for me.

My husband wishes this too.

You are doing an amazing job. At ALL of it.

Unknown said...

I love this Tonia! People forget that you have an identity outside of triathlon. Triathlon is just one part of who we are... it doesn't define us!

Great post!

MCM Mama said...

I am never ever letting my husband read your blog. I don't clean the house. Pretty much ever. I straighten and clean up bad messes, but most of it I wait for the cleaning service. (Getting my husband hooked on that when I worked out of the house full time? Smartest move I ever made LOL).

I'm sure people think I do nothing but run. Nevermind the cooking, "momming" and my actual pays the bill job...

newsie15 said...

BRAVO! YOU GO! You are an awesome human being. I would not have your stamina, whether racing or not.

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

And you rocked the sh#! outta this post about how you rock the sh#! outta getting it all done. keep it up but stop cleaning the house every day. you are making us look bad. :-)

Unknown said...

You rocked the isht out of getting three little girls to bed at 6:30 every night. How in the H does that happen? 6:30? I stand in awe.

Michele @ Running for Oreos said...

You are an amazing woman! You seem to have the right balance, and if others can't see how awesome you are, well then that's their loss.

I think that not only are you a great role model for your readers, you're an even more awesome role model for your girls!! Anything worth having is worth fighting for!!!

Anonymous said...

I think it comes down to priorities. For you it is working out, for them it might be watching tv. I sometimes feel, people who say "I don't understand how you exercise so much", probably are a little jealous that you can and wish they could be as driven and motivated as you are!

Cory Reese said...

You're exactly right. If something is important to you, you MAKE the time.

Well done!

Unknown said...

I also think that people tend to focus on what's DIFFERENT between you, and them. To THEM, the fact that you spend 2 hours on the traineror an hour in the pool is NOTABLE. To you, it's normal. Everyone is getting dinner on the table, one way or another.

But people need stuff to talk about, and non-controversial differences are more interesting. They're probably a little bit curious, and a little bit jealous, too. Don't take it personally...

I, for example, am an American living in Singapore. Everyone (Americans and Singaporeans) wants to talk about it: Do I like it, Don't I like it, What's easy, What's hard, Why, Is it too hot, What do I eat, Will I get caned for chewing gum...whatever. Honestly, this stuff just isn't so interesting to me anymore. But, it's interesting to them. And I can use the opportunity to teach Americans a little more about Singapore, and perhaps dispel some myths that Singaporeans hold about Americans. So, I smile, and answer their questions, then probably turn around and ask them interesting (to me) questions about something boring (to them). It all evens out? :)

Unknown said...

ah...I so feel you right now! Instead of thinking of balance I like to think harmony. In 140.6 training things will not balance or equal, but you can have everything working together in a way that makes sense and is beautiful: harmony. You are doing great!

Anonymous said...

I hope someday, I will be called an athlete again. I used to play soccer for our school, but things changed when my schedule became too busy.my website