just one more thing...

...to love about T3.
You've got to love a triathlon training group that takes you all the way from plank to pizza...all in one day.
Yes, many of us started the day with Chrissie's awesome core workout. We did our hour long workout this morning without any equipment. I actually love this workout and I love that we feel like we're one big, happy, doing-our-core-workout family! This morning it was a mix of push-ups, plank, pike sit-ups, squat jumps, flutter, scissors, lunges, etc... The list could go on. Five rounds. Lots of good music. Fast pace. Feel the burn. I love, love, love starting my Wednesday with this class.
Went through my day at work...tackled some big projects that had been hanging over my head...and kept checking the weather to see what might be rolling in. "Big storms" and "possible tornadoes" were threatening the area and I suspect more than a few of us were tuned into the weather channel or something similar thinking of our track practice. I took last week off from track; next week I have a faculty meeting that will probably run late; and so even though it was an extra workout for me, I was determined to make it to track this week. If I miss too many, I get all nervous about it again and it becomes that much more difficult for me to go. (I know...stressing over a silly thing.) Mother Nature did not help me out...or maybe she knows more about what my muscles needed this week and she did help me out by hanging a black cloud over the sky adjacent to O'Henry. Coach Logan and the handful of us who were there fairly quickly assessed that the storm that was rolling in was not looking gentle. So, what did this group of rough and tough triathletes do?
What any group of fair weather athletes would do, we took ourselves to Mangia Pizza! Some folks went home; some might have even gone to run. But we had not even been served our drinks yet when the skies opened up and it looked like it was 8:00 p.m. at only 6:20 p.m. the sky was so dark. And outside of the porch at Mangia it looked like a waterfall. No hail like northwest Austin had but still a bad storm - one that would not have been good or safe to experience on the track at O'Henry. Good call, Coach!
As I walked back home to go to my homeowner's association meeting (had to make sure to be there so I wouldn't get re-elected to the board or something!), I thought about how great this training group is for me. Like so many other people and things in my life, T3 reminds me of the importance of balance - which is extraordinary given that in T3 we're surrounded by training schedules and high achieving, highly motivated athletes (many, like myself, who go, go, go all the time). In fact, our coaches even blogged this week about days off and what is gained when we take a day off. Taking tonight off from running was good for my body - it was an extra workout and as much as I need to keep practicing my speed and get over my mental hurdles with track workouts, I'm guessing that my body will be thanking me for the rest tomorrow (and mostly this weekend for our long rides and runs!). But it was also good for my spirits and my emotions - to be reminded that as athletes we need to change our plans sometimes, that we need to be flexible, that we need to kick back and laugh and enjoy one another, and that we need to keep it all in perspective. And that is what tonight was for me. And it felt okay!
(Now the real test will be for this to happen during a week where the weather or something else messes with my schedule and it means I don't get my hours in...will I be as okay with that? Let's hope I have that sort of wisdom when the time comes...about 12 more weeks left and I can already point out some times where it's going to be tough to complete all of our scheduled hours due to other commitments. And I will be okay with that...or so I will keep telling myself until I come to believe it!)