Sunday, July 22, 2007

Work VS Play

So much for writing on a regular basis...what did I say about being busy? Welcome to my world...

Whether I think I do it on purpose or not, I tend to maintain a constant level of 'busy-ness', which keeps me on the go year-round...this summer has been no exeption to the rule and I'm still bouncing around as per usual. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a complaint, I love my lifestyle and wouldn't trade for the world! So where was I...



Panama Paradise

From ski season to a quick surfing getaway in Panama where I spend most of my time lounging underwater and making friends with the ocean floor - If I wasn't trying to grow gills, my other pastime was wearing out my hammock. My good friends EJ and Van even commented on the fact that they could see my permanent butt groove in the hammock - I guess I needed the rest. Either way, it was a great trip, and it definitely made me realize that I need to spend MUCH MORE time surfing if I actually want to surf. Life on the beach was quickly replaced by life at my desk as season VII of X-C.com was about to begin...


A week upon my return, I received an opportunity to join the TransRockies Challenge team as part of their event staff. The TR is a 7-day stage race from Panorama to Fernie in BC. I worked the TR last summer as a glorified parking attendant - or as I refered to it: 'transportation technician' (learning how to cram 200 RV's in a 50 stall lot is quite the art). I told the event director that I would gladly work for TR again but only if I moved up a few notches up the ladder...My wish was granted this spring as TR decided to create a new event called the TransRockies Run. Since the current event director would spend more energy on the logistics of this new event, I was offered the Operations Manager position for the TR Challenge (bike event). The new responsibilities, the growth of the event and the experience of working with a well organized crew has been really interesting and challenging. With less than a month to go until the event's start, the pressure is on to get everything dialed and ready to go.

The good (or bad) thing about joining TR is that it also led me to register as a competitor in the inaugural TransRockies Run - a 6-day, 200km trail running race from Vail to Aspen in Colorado. The format is the same as the bike event, where you have to run with a teammate for the duration of the event. So aside from the fact that I have to manage two jobs and a trail running race (Canmore Challenge), training all of sudden became a priority! What did I say about keeping busy?

Training...hmmm wonder what that's all about? After two years of taking it easy (ok-my understanding of the term 'easy' may be a bit different than yours...), I've decided to use TR-Run to get back in shape...not as simple as it sounds. It's amazing how much shape you lose when you take time off. The body has this amazing ability to recover and regenerate, but if you haven't pushed it in a while, it will fight you ALL THE WAY!! To add to the fun, I like to jump into workouts/races that will push my body beyond its limits...simply to know where I stand fitness wise. I figure you might as well get the shit kicked out of you - simply to know how much more work you need to do...sound reasonable? If you continually raise the bar, you'll have no choice but to improve.

That's pretty much where I stand these days...somewhere between working at my desk and being permanently sore from a running workout - When you consider how life can turn for the worse in an instant, I figure it's not all that bad!


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