The Start of Something Good

Well, the news is out! All that it took to get me back into racing this year was the opportunity to rock the W :) How can I say no to sick kits, edgy design, a laundry list of amazing sponsors and a fun team to race with?!

I'm super stoked to have this opportunity and I can't wait to have fun with it. I would be lying if I didn't admit that I have occasional bouts of panic trying to figure out how I am going to manage training and the fellowship but truth be told, its a great learning experience in balance. I'm going to just have to take it one day at a time and do what I can and keep it all in perspective. I think sometimes we all take some risks in our career to carve out the time for the love of our sport and I know I certainly did that in my previous job in order to get to Kona. Now that the Kona monkey is off my back though, I'm getting a whole new perspective on the place of training and racing in my life. I'm not stressed about it like I tended to get when it was all about Kona. Now that I've accomplished that huge goal, this year is all for fun (and for rockin that super cute kit!)

It's really refreshing to attempt to let go of the uber focused type A triathlete mentality I locked into in years past. I'm still thinking about race scheduling for the year but I know that I will mainly focus on 70.3's, olympics and a few local sprints and try to see if I can find some speed again! I think I am the most excited for the huge get together thats starting to form for New Orleans in April! It seems like all my favorite blogging triathlon buddies from around the country are coming to race.

The fellowship has been going really well. I am thoroughly enjoying getting to work around some of the top people in our profession and absorbing so much of their knowledge. It is so fulfilling to me and I continue to be super grateful and happy every day I get to go back to school. The first week felt a bit like trying to run and catch up to a moving train but now that I feel like I've caught up to the flow of things, I feel my confidence, excitement and passion for my profession building daily. I even get excited to go assistant teach on the weekends both because I really enjoy relearning the material at a higher level and I am loving helping the students to learn and appreciate it as well. I wondered how I would feel about working on the weekend rather than swimbikerunning with friends all day long but, so far, I haven't minded it at all.

Next week I will get to do my first real solo teaching for a small part of an orthopedics lab and I'm so curious to see how I handle it. I love that I'm constantly being pushed just far enough out of my comfort zone to grow and I can't wait to see what the entire year brings.

I had point this week where I wondered if I was really ready to return to training. I guess its the anxiety I get before I start a training season again. Since I start with Dirk this week, I felt like it was my last chance to assert my laziness if I chose to do so. But I woke up this morning and couldn't think of anything better than going for a run (a short one, I have a little mechanical issue in my foot I'm need to fix 100% before I go too crazy). I took my ipod for the first time in ages and pumped some good tunes and at the end of the run, the perfect song came on. Let me preface this by saying I'm kind of a music snob. I float somewhere between the indie/punk/alternative snob with an affinity for hip hop and the occasional soft heart for country. BUT I've been known to fall in love with the occasional pop song and I'm sorry, but I LOVE Kelly Clarkson (I know, a couple years too late right?). That "my life would suck without you" song came on and I just sprinted home with the biggest endorphin rush and the guilty pleasure of thoroughly enjoying the pop power ballad that you want to sing at the top of your lungs. I felt amazing. Everything felt right and I all I could think was that this is the start of something good....