the good life

After class last evening, one of my yoga students approached me. She told me she appreciated that I led such a well balanced life, that I had helped her find balance in her own life. I think any time you can help someone do something positive in their life, you can really feel good about it. I know that when someone has influenced or helped me, I let them know as well. It's a good way to keep the good energy flowing.

She made me smile for a lot of reasons, one of those reasons is how many people will take a look at me, what I do, what I write, and make the assumption that I live a totally insane life without room to sit in the backyard and drink a beer, or play with my son.

If you are a mother who is a competitive athlete you are automatically assumed to be too busy and focused to spend time with your children, and you are often told that by other mothers.

I don't explain myself to a lot of people, simply because I don't care. If you've created the story about me that I'm living a 24 hour life that speeds along at 70 mph..... I don't want to ruin that for you at all. I just encourage people to look in their own mirrors, and look at their life.

If I was told that this was the way my life was going to be for eternity I would cheer. I love every minute that I get to me in my shoes. I get to experience the best of so many worlds. I get to be a working yet stay home Mom...... most of my work and my training is done while Luc is at school. Last week he told his new specialist that I wait for him to come home all day, when he was asked what it is that I do.

It made me laugh because yeah, I pack a lot into his school day when he is at school. But when the bus pulls up it's all Luc. And I don't need to explain that or prove that to anyone..... what matters is that he knows it, and trust me he does.

That I get to call my husband my BFF, is incredible. I dare to say that marriage is easy..... ours certainly is. While I am no expert on marriage and longevity, I just know that we know and respect one another.

That's why this weekend in Lake Placid I knew that whatever decision I made about an Ironman in 2010 didn't need to be run by my husband. It wasn't his call, he knew that if I got there and felt the need to sign up again...... then that is what I would need to do. Just as.... if Curt decides not to do Arizona..... that's his call.

Now, there are certainly much more important things in our lives than triathlon.... but those items are not up for public display. Triathlon becomes an easy subject to write about.

As I pulled into Lake Placid last Friday I immediately felt at home. Usually I know immediately if I need to do this race again. The Ironman is a spiritual experience for me, whether you resonate with that or not..... is up to you. We all have our thing.

The mountains were beautiful, the roads were smooth and the rain was warm. I felt good the whole weekend. I did the training I was assigned to do, I watched my athletes and my friends find new pieces of themselves out there.

Sunday morning I sent the campers out for their workout and drive to the out and back on the run for a 50 min interval run / 30 min bike / 50 min interval run. I wanted to go out there alone, and find the answer I was looking for.

While I was training alone I was not alone. Everyone was out there. People I knew, people I didn't know. People I hadn't seen in four years. I stopped mid interval to give a hug to a very old friend. What a cool place to run into him! And he ran with me for a bit. I felt tears in my eyes as I felt the energy of every soul I crossed paths with that morning.

"You look strong!" one man called out to me..... I told him he did as well.

Bob hit his turnaround point and I we cheered each other on.

A girl was out there struggling..... I gave her a cheer and she started to pull it back together.

The people in this multisport community are just incredible.

As I ran I looked at the ski jumps and I thought of Marit over in Ironman CDA, and I sent everything positive her way, knowing that across the country my friend was hearing me cheer for her.

When my second 50 minute run was over I will admit that I was on the verge of shitting myself and vomiting. The yellow car parked in front of my car offered me cookies (which I declined.... we have an eating protocol on QT2!!!!)....... one guy gave me a high five and told me... job well done!

I stood there for a few minutes as I looked down the straightaway of that out and back and I felt miraculously content. Sometimes in Lake Placid I hear the call of Iron, and this weekend..... I did not hear that call. I felt so excited to be coaching the Ironman and not trashing myself for it.

We all do the Ironman for different reasons. They are all very good reasons if they are your reasons, not someone else's. Right now I have different goals in my sport. I've gone sub eleven. I have qualified for Hawaii a few times. It's almost like.... been there done that.

I would like to try to break the family Ironman record. Scratch that. I want to break the family Ironman record. Not now though. It's not time.

My passion lies in improving how I coach my athletes through the Ironman. How I can even better help them on their own journey.

Myself..... I want to crack my favorite distance, the 70.3 race. That fires me up. That excites me. When you have a family this distance is just so darn doable and it's easier to recover from.

I don't' want my season to be over in July. People disappear after IMLP. They retreat. It will be the time I am emerging.

I got back into my car and drove back to the hotel to hear the stories of the morning and to see smiles and dirty bikes being wiped down and packed up to go home.

A balanced life is certainly what I have. A good life is definitely what I have. A life that gives me so much to be grateful for, and believe me I am.