My life has been a bit of a whirlwind since my first post now a month ago. In this short span of time I completed my final practicum placement and walked away from my former high school with the confidence I needed to start my teaching career, I started my research internship and I competed in my first sprint distance triathlon (which truly warrants and will be given a post of its own).
In reality, a lot has happened in the past 8 months which has brought me to where I am today. Despite a hectic schedule during Teacher’s College, working part-time, and trying to fit in as any workouts as possible in order to be race ready, I knew that I needed to take a minute to stop and celebrate with my family and friends before returning to Ottawa
I found that once I was surrounded by friends, family, and a ton of food, I was able to take a minute to try and soak in the fact that I was now a teacher. I tried my best to make the rounds that evening and talk to everyone who had crowded into my kitchen and family room. Soon, it was time to cut my graduation cake and my aunts and uncles jokingly began calling for a speech…little did they know, I had written one. I knew that I wouldn’t have a chance to talk to everyone as much as I would like to, so I had prepared a little something to let everyone know what I had been up to.
Next thing I knew, it was 6am the next morning and I was hitting the road with Elise Quint on our way back to Ottawa. As I mentioned in a previous post, Elise is my early morning swim bud and a huge source of support. She is also a recent graduate from Teacher's College and a future triathlete so needless to say we had a lot of stories to share on our long drive back to O-town. We were both itching to get back into the pool and to continue our training after a 5 week long swim hiatus during practicum.
Although I was not able to swim while in Chatham, I was sure to get my bikes and runs in along with some classes at the gym with my mom. During my time at the Goodlife there, I managed to make friends with the guy from the front desk and a lovely old gentleman who was always at Body Pump with me. In spite of becoming a regular at the gym there, I returned to Ottawa unsure if I could really do this whole triathlon thing. I may have even had a minor meltdown on the phone with my mom about my lack of a road bike and considered changing the date of my triathlon to one a few weeks later.
Fortunately I have a very patient and understanding mother who was there to assure me that it was okay to spend the money on myself to buy a new bike and to remind me that I had been training hard for this. After this tearful conversation, I woke up the next morning with a profound sense of determination. I soon found myself at Bushtakah (an active lifestyle store) testing out a beautiful Trek Lexa road bike. After taking it for a spin, I was hooked and within an hour it was in my car and on it's way home. I was even able to take my bike for its inaugural ride that afternoon with Grant. I was starting to feel a bit better about my fast approaching race, but at this point, I still wasn't completely convinced that I would be prepared for race day.
My nerves were calmed bit by bit when I finally got a chance to get back into the pool. It's hard to describe what it felt like...almost like coming home again. The pool is one of those safe places for me and I was pleasantly susprised to discover that my strokes were still strong and my endurance was up. I followed up my swim by a 30km bike ride with Raph where he filled my brain with tips and tricks for surviving my first race. It was finally after I returned home from this bike ride that I had the epiphany moment that I so desperately needed - I stopped doubting myself and started thinking "I can do this!"
....and it turns out that I could! (Details to follow)
A special mention to my Juno Beach Centre colleagues – Thank you for showing me how important it is to celebrate your accomplishments (even if that means your graduation cap is made of a paper plate and your gown in a repurposed raincoat!)
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