Leadership

My Timex teammate, Kyle Marcotte, leaves me the craziest text messages (and emails) from time to time. Makes me giggle. The most recent was, "Sharpie, I ate a box of Kraft Dinner tonight. I think I have to go to fat camp!" KD = macaroni and cheese to a Canuck. The boy is a wacko. :)

Not to be upstaged, I was given a HUGE hold-my-gut laugh yesterday. I received a very kind, supportive email from local Atlanta triathlete, Joe Reger. Among his thoughtful words he included support for my rehab and return to triathlon. Then, he added what I thought was hilarious: "It’s incredibly instructive to watch you go through the process on your blog… like watching those animals on the Discovery Channel get eaten… I certainly would like to help!"

WATCHING THE ANIMALS GET EATEN??? :) :)

I laughed out loud when I read that... reading of my attempts to heal parallels the plight of the wounded prey, the carnage... ?? Man, I thought that analogy was priceless. I appreciated the humor he brought to the scene.
Good times.

So this week I somehow found myself on the invitation list to an evening wine and cheese party for "Women in Leadership" in Atlanta. After scouring my closet to try to find something to wear without the word Nike or Powerbar on it, I headed downtown. It was a memorable evening; I was surrounded by women who were amazing, accomplished, true leaders in our community. Several business owners, entrepreneur's, vice presidents of major companies, published writers, life coaches, law professors, etc. I was so impressed with these women and enjoyed learning about their chosen field(s). Each of them was poised and articulate, successful, and inspiring. I wondered how in the world I landed an invitation for this thing?? It's hard not to feel intimidated when surrounded by my intellectual, academic and career superiors, but each of them could not have been more gracious. In fact, I actually felt quite comfortable (eventually).

I tried to prevent conversations turning to me. I kept the rapid-fire questions on others so I wouldn't have to address (and excuse) how I had somehow been invited to join their elite group. Eventually I couldn't avoid the inevitable, "So what do you do, Carole?" I hate that question because I always feel so small. Especially so in this room. I smiled and took a deep breath, "I'm a professional triathlete..." and watched as their expressions changed to a similar look I would expect if I told them I wrestled aligators: a few needed seconds to register a profession you rarely hear, and then a bit of awe for the requisite skills.

I continued that I had begun doing some motivational speaking, but also did some consulting for Behavioral Sciences Technologies and had been hired to work for NASA a couple years ago. No one seemed to care about the consulting, everyone seemed so intrigued by triathlon and wanted to know more. I was honest that I certainly was not one of the bigger fish in our sport, but they all seemed impressed with what racing at my level required. I appreciated that.

It was a fun evening and as I made my way to my car at 10:30pm on a school night :), I reminded myself I would have never been able to attend this thing, or have the fun I did, if I was training. My schedule is so strict, I am never out past 9pm, mostly because I cannot keep my eyes open later than that. My body clock get thrown off very easily. I am like a 12 mo old in a way because if I miss my window of bedtime, I miss it. It throws me off and I usually have a very difficult time falling asleep later, have restless sleep, and then am completely exhausted the next day, and my training suffers. This evening is usually not something I can do.

My friend Lisa has invited me to a bowling party (yikes!) for her husband's 35th birthday. We're supposed to gather tomorrow night at 8:30. This is when the night BEGINS. I feel like I am 80-years old by suggesting that is late, but to me, with my chosen profession, it has been. 8:30pm is when I am normally yawning, my verbal skills become mush and I am preparing to leave a place. Pathetic, isn't it?

Most triathletes complain about the lack of balance to their world. I think this is a legitimate complaint for most. I've been working on bringing more overall balance to my life but to be honest, I haven't yet figured out how to do it and remain a professional triathlete.

I am not sure it is possible.