Expecting the Unexpected!!

One thing I've heard over and over about race day is to expect things to not go as perfectly planned! Before Ironman, Carole said expect 5 things to happen that you hadn't planned for. Just to let me know, ok I'm going to have to be quick on my feet out there and be able to deal with things as they come up.

Well, the good news is... I get LOTS of practice in that department! If any of you out there need to train for the unexpected, let me know, and I'll let you borrow my kids for the day!

Every Tuesday evening I teach a cycling class at my gym. It also counts as part of my evening workout for that day, as I teach class and then do a quick 30 min brick run afterwards on the treadmill. I always like to leave my house around 5:30 to give myself 15 min before class to get set up, greet everyone, etc. And on evenings when Adam can't make it home by 5:30 in time for me to leave, I take Cooper and Gracie with me to the gym and they'll either go in the playcenter for a little bit until Adam can pick them up or he'll meet me in the parking lot and take them home.

Well... last night was one of those nights that Adam was going to meet me in the parking lot. My house is chaos as usual...feeding the kids, the dog, getting Cooper's homework done, packing all of my stuff, and leaving the place in a somewhat presentable manner! I finally get EVERYTHING loaded into the car except for Cooper who is finishing his "Q's." I leave Gracie in the car to run inside and hurry Cooper along when we head back to the car to discover that Gracie is playing one of her favorite games..."Lock Mommy Out!" Not one of my favorites if you can imagine.

It usually proceeds with Gracie locking the doors (car or house), I stand on the other side threatening and counting, she laughs, opens the door, and then gets scolded!

Well last night would have been similar except for the fact that my keys were in the car with her and she used THEM to lock it. See, my car has some sort of weird technology where depending on how and where you lock it depends on how you can unlock it!!

At first, I didn't realize she COULDN'T unlock it. So I'm standing there yelling at her probably where the entire neighborhood could hear! I'm not to fond of the game, and at this point, we're running late. Then I realize she CAN'T unlock it with the handle!

Panic sets in!!

I call Adam who is sitting in the parking lot at the gym!

Have you ever tried explaining to a 3 or 4 year old how to unlock a car with the keyless-entry?? Not as easy as it seems if you can't really show her! She kept wanting to press the LOCK button. Obviously... not helping matters!

I can't call any of the other team members, because my cell is in the car which contains all of their numbers.

And yes,... here is the biggest issue... THE SPARE IS IN MY CAR TOO!!

I KNOW!! I KNOW!!

Stupid, right?? Well, I use it when I ride with my friend so they'll have access to my car/our gear also.

However, I've learned my lesson about that!

So ultimately, I call BMW to figure out how in the world to get my daughter out of the car. He tells me that she has to hold down the unlock button for 15 sec continuously and it will automatically open. Not just push it. So, I'm standing in my garage with all of my neighbors around me telling Gracie, "Squeeze.... the button Gracie! Say... UHHHH!!"

And thank God, it opened!! Completely nerve racking experience! By now, it's 6pm, class has started, my replacement (Super Pam) showed up to fill in for me!

So... I spent my evening with an hour on the trainer and then had to head over to my neighborhood gym to get my run in as it was SUPER dark outside by the time I finished!

THAT...is what expecting the unexpected is all about!!

K :)