De-Railed

Sometimes things come up in life and throw your perfect plans right out the f'ing window. Last quarter at school turned out rough for me and my financial aid might be in jeopardy. As a result, I was staring at the decision to bag a few WEEKS of training or drop a class. Since financial aid requires me to complete at least 12 units per quarter and I can't afford to pay 20K a year for school, I made the excruciating choice to bag training.

I literally sat at home for two weeks and studied from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed. All to make sure I passed all my classes and maximized my grades in the courses I was already doing well in. I took all my finals last week and grades have yet to be posted. Please cross your fingers for me.

With that much of a break in training, my season goals are now questionable. I skipped one of my goals already :sub 4o minute 10K at the St. Patrick's Day 10K. Didn't have the money and hadn't trained all week. Skipped it.

That same weekend was my re qualifying swim for State Lifeguards and I didn't make it! Not like I missed the time cut-off, I didn't make it through the surf. It was breaking 6-8' with occasional sets of 12' (!) and the long shore current was a brisk 3-4 mph (brisk walking speed). I picked my head up for 2 seconds too long and got swept into a BIG set. With all the wave ducking and white water swimming, I thought for sure my number was up. The first time in my life I've ever been scared in the ocean and the first time I've ever called for a rescue. Luckily, the set pushed me to shoe before the PWC (Personal Water Craft) got to me, but now I have to re-test somewhere else. The worst part is that I could have made it if I started further down the beach, closer to the jetty, but I overestimated my fitness and underestimated the conditions. Stupid.

Then last week I get a call from the local Air Ambulance provider who has had my resume for three years. They wanted me to interview Friday (3/21) for a position starting April 7th. Crap! A job I've always wanted and can see myself doing for a long time and they call me a year early. I scheduled my interview and, for a week, strongly considered taking a year off school so I could work this job full-time and then switch to part-time status and finish my degree. I asked friends, family and people I hardly knew trying to get different viewpoints to help convince me one way or the other. Eventually, I realized I had to pass and called to cancel my interview. If I had shown up for it, I'd have for sure loved the job and never gone back to school. As much fun as I would have had, I'd be stuck making peanuts for the rest of my life. It'd be fun, but I'm tired of scraping by and being poor. Thanks, but no thanks.

Now it's spring break and training is back on track. I've slowed down a touch, but I still think I have a shot at making my season goals. At least Spring is here, the weather is perfect and I'm on vacation. I took this pic while I was on a bike ride in Los Penasquitos Canyon. The single track runs from right to left across the slope in the foreground, you just can't see it because of all the grass. Great day to ride and great to be riding again.

Thursday I'm heading for Scramento to hang out with my brother for a few days and to race my first Xterra of the season: Xterra REAL. Considering the time off I took, I'm bagging my time goals and treating it like a hard training day. Chances are it's gonna hurt. I'll post a race report next week once I get back. Word.

E.