An Unfortunate Consequence of When I'm Working Hard

So I may have mentioned this before, but I have this really bad habit of "turning my brain off" when I'm either focused or working really hard!

We first noticed it back in college. During really stressful times I couldn't do the most basic of tasks. Simple math, concentrating in conversations, you name it, I was just out of it!

It would happen right at the peak of these events and then heaven forbid when the break finally came.... I was just useless! My brain seriously went on vacation. It was pathetic!

Pregnancy... I could barely do carpool duty when I was teaching because somehow I decided that it made more sense to walk IN FRONT of the car where they could see me??? I'm surprised I'm still here!!

Well training has the SAME effect on me! It's usually at it's worse either during or immediately after workouts. My friends and I would laugh at me after those long 6 hour rides about how I would manage to even get home!

As you can imagine... I've been kind of focused lately. I mean if you think about it, it makes sense. It's my brain conserving it's energy on what MUST get done like triathlons, kids, etc and dismissing those non-important things like current location! :)

Well today I had one of those "moments." I got up early to go do a brick for several reasons. Number one... Carbon Electra leaves for her big trip tomorrow, so I had to get in ONE last ride before she heads out! Plus... Cooper had this other party thing today at school that I HAD to go to. I've been to seriously EVERYTHING BUT one thing. You'd think I missed all the parties this year! So I made sure that I got my brick in early enough to even shower before heading to the party so that I wouldn't be "that" mom! :)

I got my ride in and everything is going ok for the most part except that I'm unexpectedly freezing! I was not expecting it, so I didn't have any gloves, socks, or anything. But still... everything "functioning" on all cylinders from the brain perspective at this point!

Then I move onto the run. I always run with my handy-dandy Garmin. I've had it for oh over a year now, and apparently the lap memory is Full!! It's been warning me about this for God knows how long now. Well... it thinks it's Warning me when it's really be driving me freakin' batty!! So I thought if I just synced it with my computer that would solve things, but apparently not. I've continued to let it "warn" me for weeks now. Well today it finally reached that point of capacity! As soon as I started running it started beeping at me and wouldn't stop. I even stopped running and started pushing any and every button to make it stop but NOTHING. Finally I decided that I would just have to endure this through my run, which was only 25 min, so I let that darn thing beep away.

So I'm running along and after 10 min I'm supposed to do 10 min of 1 min HARD/1 min EASY. I go for my first HARD min and I'm pretty much sprinting. I look down at my watch thinking, holy crap when is this min ever going to end. I then glance at my pace to see how I'm chugging along and read 8:30. Immediately I'm like, "What the F$$$!" I mean 8:30 isn't a bad pace but I'm feeling like I'm going all out almost, so that can't be good! Ok... well the min ends, and I move onto my min. of recovery. 2nd try... 8:31/8:32 pace. Again... I start thinking... ok... I guess I'm a whole lot more tired than I realize.

Then I start rationalizing it... I'm running on the trails and I tend to be slower on the trails!

My Feet are still numb from that FREEZING ride!

Maybe it's too early in the morning!

I proceed with my 3rd... 4th... and by the time I finish my 4th and move onto my 5th I've decided that it MUST be my watch. It's broken that sorry piece of "crap!"

Finally I'm done with my short little intervals and start to cool down when I realize that this whole time I thought I was looking at my pace, I was reading the Time of Day!! :)

Oh... it was one of those moments where I felt so retarded I couldn't even feel better about my pace! :)

So as Honu get's closer and then even ultimately comes to an end... this blog may actually become incomprehensible! Bree, Brooke, and other's that meet me are going to wonder what the heck is wrong with me!

So bare with me please!! :)
K