Time Management

There is so much to do in a day and it always seems like there is not nearly enough time to do it all. Over the last few weeks I've realized that I'm a busy woman! There are so many things that have to get done and then there are those so much more fun things that I would like to get done.

I don't know about you but I often feel like a hamster on a wheel: Going nowhere fast! Before I know it it's Monday again and it's time to do it all over again. Lately there has been a lot of this going on around here:

running

swimming

biking

and this has become my second home:

My 5th triathlon is coming up in little over a month! I'm trying to set a personal record at the Mach Tenn Triathlon this year. Last year I shaved off 15 minutes {that's huge!} from the first time I did it, coming in at about 2 hrs 5 min. My goal is to come in under 2 hours this year. I'm a pretty good swimmer and I know I can't shave off more than a few seconds from last years 18 minute swim time (.6 mile swim.) I can maybe shave off a few minutes of my run time but I know I'm not a very good runner! So my best bet is to improve my bike time. I know I have a lot of room for improvement there. I've been biking twice as much as I did last year and I have even joined a 5:30 am spin class.

It has not been easy to get up so early in the morning but it is the only time I can do it without sacrificing time with my family. Training for an event takes so much time out of your daily life that sometimes I wonder why I'm doing it. This is were time management and prioritizing comes into play. Sometimes I have to give up other things, like blogging, quilting, doing the dishes, or hanging out with friends in order to accomplish my goals. Other times I give up a workout so I can do something special with my family or because my church obligations are more important {and often much more enjoyable} than a 4 mile run!

Unless you are a professional, life goes on outside of training, you still have to do all the daily everyday things like go to work, get the kids ready for school, make dinner, wash the dishes, do laundry, feed the dogs, etc. etc! Training is what you do for "fun?!"

So why do I do it if it takes so much time, effort and is so hard? You might think my main reason is weird but, I feel that I draw closer to my Heavenly Father when I train for an event! Let me give you a few examples.

1) I realize that with the Lord's help I CAN do hard things. Yes, I often pray to my Heavenly Father to help get over the next hill, the next, mile, or the next 10 minutes! I can't tell you how awesome it is to receive that surge of confidence that Heavenly Father knows that I CAN do this. Once I realized that I can do things that are physically hard, I realized that I can do things that are spiritually hard.

2) I usually try to raise funds for a charity. By doing so I am helping/serving others and thus serving my Heavenly Father. "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:7) Having this goal really motivates me to not give up because there are people counting on me to help.

My other reason is that I want my children to learn that they can accomplish hard things but it takes hard work to do so. I especially want my daughter to learn this lesson. Being a woman doesn't mean that you can't do amazing things. Although I believe being a mom is super amazing! {and it's definitely hard work!}

So basically what I am saying is, I hope you all don't stop reading my blog if I go AWOL til June! Believe me, I'm busy I just don't think you all want to hear about the piles of laundry, dishes falling out of the sink, blisters on my toes, or other silly little things. I do have things to share with you but blogging definitely takes time!

Have you ever trained for an event? How did you find balance in all that you have to do?