Blog for Megan Hottman
First 2 months of 2010 . . .
The last 2 months have been tumultuous to say the least, trying to figure out how to put full time training together with full time working. These 2 things consume just about every moment of my time, which makes building in recovery time and additional sleep quite a challenge (not to mention necessities like buying groceries! Plus there's our team to run!) Needless to say, my house has grown increasingly messier and I've had to ask my husband to handle a lot more of the day to day minutia but I am finding my rhythm.
I have learned that planning ahead is crucial; my days are mapped out with extensive detail to be sure I can fit it all in. Because I usually ride mid-day from work, I leave the house in the morning with about 5 bags of stuff - breakfast, lunch, snacks, clothes, bike, bike stuff . . . with all of those things I have to remember to bring along, there have been days I've forgotten to pack a crucial piece of riding gear, such as a sports bra or jacket . . . those days I've had to improvise or reschedule my ride. There have been small obstacles like people parking in one of the 2 spots in the garage where I can get my bike out of my car ;) There have been weather-related obstacles, like having a 4 hour ride planned only to wake up to snow (like the last 4 sundays!!!). It seems like work stress is usually highest on the days I've done my hard intervals so I am literally mentally and physically beat down by the end of those days and it takes me extra time to hit the reset button.
All of these little setbacks have required me to try new approaches, new ways of minimizing stress, I've learned not to stress over things I can't control because I simply don't have that energy to spare for things I can't change. I've also had to learn to temper my frustrations when something pops up that disrupts my schedule for the day. The bottom line is you simply can't control every variable, but what I can do is try to work my absolute hardest each and every time I am able to train. Luckily for me, these frustrations were happening during the 2010 winter Olympics and I was reminded by those athletes that "everyone faces challenges; what defines you is how you overcome them."
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