Where I've Been

Not here.

Instead, I've been living vicariously through the athletes I know who traveled to Kona and competed this weekend.
Watching that video stream never got old.

First, a very loud congrats to Ange--my idol.  She seriously, seriously worked her tush off training for Lake Placid, and then, with total grit, picked herself up and trained all summer and fall for the World Championship. At Kona she raced her heart out, overcame the heat, and triumphed. I remember when Ange and I ran Chicago in '07. It was the hot year. We both totally melted (really--it was ugly), and at the end talked about how if this was bad, what it would be like to do Hawaii? Little did she know that she WOULD be doing Hawaii just two years later--in heat much more powerful than that of Chicago that day. You did it, Ange. You did it.

Also a huge congrats to my blogger buddies Michelle ,  Marit, and Kerrie, and my former QT2 peeps Michelle, Pam, Molly, Pat and Cait. They were all awesome. Most impressive was Michelle S's killer bike split of 5:43 and Michelle J's run split of 3:31. (It must be something about being named Michelle? Can I change my name?)

Being so immersed in all things Kona has me thinking and talking triathlon even  more than I usually do, and that's saying something.  I'm sure Andy wants to press my off button. Since that's not possible it appears his strategy is to turn down the volume in his brain when he hears the word Kona uttered. It's cool to watch. Just look at him and say KONA, then watch his eyes slowly glaze over as he moves away like an automaton.

The other day I was asked what I'd do if I didn't qualify for Kona at IM CDA next year.

I waited a split second. What would I do?
Well actually, that's an easy one. I'd try again! I love this shit! Let's see... which IM should I pick next?

_______________________________

On a totally different note.
I like to write. (shocker, I know.)

Writing and triathlon share a few things in my world. 

• Both are hobbies which I'd rather were my careers.
  
• As careers they both make next to nothing unless one is wildly successful, and being wildly successful at either is rare.
  
• Both hurt when the going gets tough. (If writing doesn't ever hurt, then you haven't really tried at writing.)
• Both require discipline and consistency. 
• Both have their sprints (short essays, posts, short shorts), olympics (short stories, longer essays), and endurance events (novels, non-fiction text) . To excel at any one of these distances/types of writing requires specific focus, and if you excel in one area, you may not excel in another. 
• Both can be highly self-centered pursuits.
• Both require support staff, e.g. a coach, editor. 
• Both bring me enormous satisfaction.
• It takes serious guts to say to the world, I am a triathlete. I am a coach. I am writer. 
  

I couldn't teach this year. As I've reiterated over and over, I completely burnt myself out, and I need a long recovery period before I can even think about resuming that career. 
There were some nice things about that career, however. One thing I liked is that getting into teaching is a straightforward process. You earn your M.Ed (or you simply get certified), you apply, you begin. This is not to say that teaching is easy. It's not. It's also not at all what most non-teachers think it is--but that's another post. My point is only that when you begin teaching  you become a part of a system that is in place. You don't create the system. You move into it, you fight with it or become one with it, but it is there--immovable and concrete.

Not so with professions like coaching or writing. With teaching you must be hired. The very act of being hired gives the teacher a boost. We think you'd be good--come on in and join us! But with coaching and writing you have to put yourself out there without that boost. You don't become a part of a system--you have to build your own system and have the faith that it will stand.

And that requires enormous confidence.

Which I lack.

I turn 40 in about eight months. (Not that I think about that much. Not me.)
What that says to me is that it's time to shit or get off the fucking pot.

Hi. I'm Mary. I am a writer. I am a coach. I am a triathlete.

Look for more from me, because I'm not hiding behind the system any longer.