Well, we’re almost three weeks into 2020 and I wonder what opportunities will come our way and how will we manage them?
I had the three weeks over Christmas and New Year all set down as a chance to get into some good training habits but as is always the way instead of having more time I ended up with a lot less.
The devastating fires here in Australia proved to be one of those opportunities too good to miss and I know that sounds awful when so many have lost so much.
A few months ago I made the fatal statement of “I’m done, no more journalism for me, I’ve had enough!” but when the opportunity to report on all things Australian for TRT World News TV came along I resisted at first but then gave in, a bit like the time I said I was never going to do an Ironman race.
So what was meant to be three weeks of no work saw me on call 24/7, as the Australian bush fire crisis took hold. I never knew how many live crosses I’d get in a day. I had to keep up with every last detail of what was unfolding across the states as fires raged and occasionally couldn’t even rely on equipment to work properly when temperatures nudged 40C – it was reminiscent of an Ironman race day – staying in the moment was the only way to survive.
A bit like my first Ironman race back in 2006 the aim of the first few crosses to Istanbul was to survive and not stuff up too badly. Not surprisingly it was like riding a bike and 40 plus live crosses later I was back into the swing of things. That doesn’t mean I didn’t get nervous or occasionally struggled with the odd curly question but it was exciting and confirmation that this old dog is quite capable of standing her ground with a professional media organisation broadcasting live across the world, in spite of the way I’ve been treated in the year since the move to Sydney on the employment front.
Finding work of any kind has been difficult, it’s the first time I have experienced any kind of discrimination so age discrimination came as a complete shock. When I eventually secured work I had to cope with another first, a narcissist but survived and came out the other side stronger and even more determined – definitely motivated!
So much of what happens when training for an Ironman race or life, in general, is interchangeable. There are obstacles along the way, people who make the journey more difficult or question your ability to achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself, times when there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done, but that’s what really motivates me – it’s like a red rag to this bull.
Jan has started to ramp up the training a little, nothing huge but she’s trying to get me into a routine, she’s also trying to gather data so that she can make sure every session is specific and makes the most of what time I do have. With crosses to Istanbul and three-hour rides, I’ve had to be inventive and flexible to be able to have my cake and eat it.
That doesn’t mean I’m not an expert at procrastination, especially when it comes to getting out on the road on my bike. Jan’s not a big fan of the wind trainer whereas I don’t mind at all and when it comes to being time-poor the wind trainer is my saving grace. We’re good friends as well as coach and athlete but when she puts comments like “Three-hour ride on the road or wind trainer if you have to” I’m under no illusion about what she really means:)
It was with that friendly nudge in mind that Turkish bread became part of my training the other day. I had a two-and-a-half-hour ride scheduled and I didn’t want to get out on the road, I wanted to sit downstairs, use the smart trainer and watch something on TV. Sitting inside the fridge was half a loaf of Turkish bread, fresh and begging to be eaten, even Wookie was looking at it longingly so I did a deal with myself and Wookie – we’ll finish off the Turkish bread but I have to ride on the road! Deal done!
It might sound silly bartering my training with a loaf of Turkish bread, or getting a three-hour ride done between live TV crosses to Turkey and Sunday lunch with the neighbours but the challenge is my motivation.
I don’t think I’ll ever be driven by a desire to ‘win’ or be faster than the next person, but as I begin the year that sees me turn 60 I’m motivated simply by the fact that I can ride for three hours, that I want to ride for three hours and sadly, it appears that women like me are still seen as a bit odd.
I met a work colleague of Allan’s the other day who knew what I was training for, her comment, “You’re amazing”. I cringe when people say things like that because I’m not and certainly not because I’m more mature or just plain ‘old’ which is what I think she was referring to.
Age has nothing to do with what Jan and I are working on, it’s about challenging ourselves, me as the athlete, she as the coach, we’re excited to both be entering new territory, not spending time looking over our shoulders at what is the past.
In the words of prominent New Zealand author Katherine Mansfield.
Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back>
So Jan and I keep moving forward, learning how to make our experiences and maturity relevant in the world of triathlon but also in a society that continues to relegate women of a certain age to the scrap heap.
We CAN and WILL continue to push the boundaries of what’s considered the norm for women of our age!