Laundry is the Fifth Sport

If nutrition is considered the fourth sport in triathlons, then laundry is the fifth. You have to approach it strategically. Timing matters – choose your day of the week and time of day wisely. Pay attention to volume – only so much of it fits in the metal bucket so be careful not to break the machine. And ultimately your success is dependent upon your will to get it done and follow through.

All these clean clothes and no motivation to fold them
This weekend’s #LaundryFail was the result of a crazy schedule that I didn’t think through thoroughly enough. I have two competing values going on right now: the All-or-Nothing state of being, and the important of finding balance in my life. #LaundryFail is evidence that the former line of thinking is winning.

Saturday morning started at 5:15am – an alarm, a scramble pack what couldn't be packed Friday night for the practice(45mile bike/45min run), and meeting up with Coach J to carpool up to Westlake. Practice was epically cold and turned into a long day. The workout was only about 5 hours. But afterward the two of us grabbed half of the course signs (big thank you to Coach Amy for putting them up and taking most of them down! She got up way earlier than me), and then beelined for food because we were like starving toddlers.

Ended up getting home at 4:30p only to jump into my own car and head to the valley to get a haircut. My car, however, is missing its front, side mirror and has been since Thursday night. Why? Well, when you get into a fight with a cement pole in a parking structure, the odds are against you. Haven’t had time to get it reattached or fixed. That’s on the list for tomorrow.

Hairs cut, groceries bought and back home around 7pm. Prep for Sunday’s 10-miler starts. Route slips, double check the course, follow up on outstanding emails. Crash to bed around 11pm. Wake up at 6:30am. Read and write emails, pack for the day and head to the park for our hilly workout. Overall a wonderful Sunday practice followed by and equally fun team brunch.

Hungry Hungry Heroes
We had a team social at 2pm down the street from the park, so I didn’t have a chance to go home (10miles away) between the run/brunch/social. And because time got away from me at lunch, I had to reschedule coffee with a former work colleague. (Out the window goes the balance!). After hanging out with a small group of teammers for an hour, I finally went home.

Had three things to accomplish before I let myself shower (unattractive, I know) – write a team email, write a coaching email, prep for a conference call today. When I started on these, the sun was still up. When I finished, I realized I was sitting in the dark in front of the bluish computer glow. Hunted down my dinner at 6:30, showered by 7 and caught up on the outside world by 9pm.

Monday Morning Breakfast
This is endurance living and it is not to be half-assed. Lots of great things accomplished … except for laundry and anything not remotely related to triathlons. Well, that’s what today’s rest day is for – some self-coddling in the form of: brussels sprouts for breakfast / take the car in for an estimate on the mirror / find ways to entertain myself and laugh a lot. Oh, and go to work. And maybe I will fold my laundry.