It's been a while (again) since my last blog. Things were c-r-a-z-y at work and I also felt lost after the Akron marathon where I had no big race or short-term career goal to look forward to. As a goal-oriented freak, that put me in the deepest sh*thole I had ever been (besides the time during my PhD program but that's another story).
Here is the recap of what happened while I was not blogging.
September was a pretty busy month. I submitted the tenure packet one day before my A race (Half IM). Two weeks later I did a 100-mile bike ride and the last weekend of September was the Akron marathon.
Update on the Akron marathon - I had cramps from Mile 20 to the finish and ended up having to walk a lot. Things were not pretty but it was good to see friends along the course. Akron marathon #4 - check!
I also ran Regal Beagle in November but decided to cut back to the 25K coz I felt like I did not train enough and honestly my head was not there. I started to treat racing like a chore and that's not why I am in this sport. November was also a rough time mentally due to stress and anxiety. I did not enjoy doing what I used to enjoy (e.g., running, swimming, biking, yoga, etc). It feels like I was looking forward to something but I did not know what that "something" was. Without short-term goals career-wise and exercise-wise, it was hard to get myself going each day.
Still ran the annual Homerun for the Homeless turkey trot in Akron tho.
There are several reasons why I was in a rut - many friends being injured or no longer running or only running on trails, my tri-training schedule that had me only run 2 days a week with shorter distances, stress and lack of motivation. And most importantly, I was homesick :(
We finally booked the tickets to Thailand in November because Thailand finally changed its entry/quarantine rule to allow vaccinated people to enter Bangkok with only one-night quarantine. If tested negative, we could leave the hotel in the morning. I flew back to Thailand as soon as my last class of the semester was done. The time in Thailand was amazing. We got to see and hang out with our families and friends after not seeing them for 2 years. We also went scuba diving in the South of Thailand for a week. It was our first time diving in Thailand since 2018.
The only challenge for me was that I still had to keep my triathlon training in Bangkok. I found a pool about 5 minutes from where we stayed. I borrowed a bike from my aunt. Luckily, there was a bike lane near the airport, which was about 20 minutes drive. The traffic and how people drive in Bangkok scare me and there are so many world-renowned cyclists that died while biking in Thailand. So, the bike lane was perfect. I wished I had brought my bike to Thailand tho.
We came back to the US one day before my 40th birthday and my coach thought that it would be a good idea for me to sign up for a 3-hour virtual time-trial bike ride 2 days after we returned #SMH. So, I did a 3-hour virtual bike race while having jetlag and was still tired from 30-hour traveling. How fun!
I had a great time and it was good to get my mind back into training mode. I signed up for IM Chattanooga in September so this will be my BIG GOAL this year (kinda scared and excited at the same time).
Hope to blog more often this year. The time in Thailand actually was a reset for me (mentally and physcially). I did not have to worry about research or tenure. We went scuba diving. We also had good news in the family and everyone was very excited and happy. No discussion about politics (*relief sigh*) and it was good to catch up with my parents and sisters (and play with the dogs).
This year the focus will be mainly on triathlon and IM training. Will see how it goes.
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