Training While Traveling

So, as mentioned before, the military called me away on some “extended business trips” for the remainder of the 2012 season. As the season draws to a close, I thought I’d check in and let all two of my readers, know how I’m doing. 

The frustration of watching the world pass by whilst caught up in military activities is a new experience for me. I've felt a variety of emotions the last couple months. When I first found out my season plans were derailed, there was a certain numbness to it, and the thought of, “Well, we knew this would happen eventually," kept running through my head. But it’s SO MUCH different picturing it on the front end than when it is all playing out.

I experience feelings of jealousy when races pass by without my participating in them – longing to have been there, to give a good result, and in some events, improve on the result from the year before.

I also get this avenger complex… I can’t tell you how many times the thought of “just wait till NEXT year” has run through my head. As if I’m shaking my fist at some invisible foe – daring him to prove me wrong that I won’t come back and be even BETTER!

Sadness and a sense of loss: The opportunities lost. The dream of qualifying for the Air Force Tri team put on hold for probably a year or so...

But most of all, it’s time away from Marian and Rianna that eat at me. I love racing. I love training. But, if I had to leave it all behind to get Marian and Rianna back, I would. But no matter what I do or say right now, I’m away, and there’s no changing that. It’s a new experience for me to be gone with a family of my own at home, waiting for me. I wake up in the morning, and even on the best of days, Marian is not next to me, and I feel that void. Rianna isn’t snuggled in her crib down the hall, and I can't rock her to sleep and place her there in the evening like I used to do. It’s just me here with my comrades in arms. But somehow, amongst this crowd, I feel alone. My people aren’t  here.

MY two people. My girls… I miss them more than anything.

Since being gone and having my lovely home life suddenly turned into one dominated by work work work work work work work, I now find training to be one of the many pieces of the puzzle I’ve assembled to make a routine. It’s an escape. It breaks the day up, and helps the time pass faster. I’m also seeing this as a prime opportunity work on certain areas of fitness that have been neglected the last year. I’m working with some folks here who are savvy about building triathlon specific strength with weights, and there are some spin trainers here, so I get the chance to do some “cycling” indoors. I definitely find that I’m missing the pool though… but that can’t be remedied.

Coming up, I plan to do a 10 mile foot race hosted by the Army. It’s been giving me something to “train” for. I’ll write a race report about it when it is complete. There are some scattered 5k’s that I may do if it fits… 

I’ll do my best to keep you all posted about my exploits from afar.