Frustration. It is a theme in my house these days. My three
year-old daughter is becoming more and more independent, and “I can do it”
comes out of her mouth millions of times a day, whether or not her ability
matches her aspirations. Before her frustration with the task at hand sets in,
mine is sometimes in full swing. The time it takes to get anything done: shoes
and socks, coat, backpack, out the door, into the car seat, etc., is infinitely
longer than a sane person can handle. This is not news to any parent reading
this, and it certainly isn’t new to me, but I’ll be darned if my type A self
still inwardly grits her teeth at the time it all takes. Coat with buttons?
Better allow an extra 20 minutes. Buckling your own car seat harness? Extra 10,
while standing out in the cold and waiting, oh so patiently, to turn the key
and get the heck GOING already. Frustration…
This is a time of year that frustration tries to creep into
my training as well. Cold temperatures, monotonous trainer rides and structured
intervals threaten to suck the fun out of mountain biking for me. I know I
should have structure, but really I just want to play in the woods with my
friends! If done right, all of the long rides and training will leave me
exhausted at the end of the day. If done incorrectly or not at all, my season
will surely be a disappointment. But just like I TRY to suck it up and be
patient when the kids won’t leave the house before ‘brown bear’ has his shoes
AND dress on, I will put in the training work now, to be prepared for the racing
fun once it finally arrives. We are all dealt a good bit of frustration these
days. Perhaps your new year’s resolution is proving harder than you thought, or
the boss is pressuring you to meet a deadline. I get it. We all struggle to
balance the structure with the fun, balance what we need to do with what we
enjoy right now. In just a few short years, my little girls will be teens and
too embarrassed to walk next to me in the mall (or so I’m told). Even though
this stage has frustrating moments, I want to do the best I can because they
won’t be kids forever. I suppose the same goes for training: the frustrations
of today will be short lived, but what is built now will hopefully translate
into a successful year. Maybe...if I am lucky…
Time to go pick up the little one from preschool. Where did
I put my socks?
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